I've read other books by Lauren Myracle called "The Winnie Series." These books (titled Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, and Thirteen Plus One) follow Winnie's life as she transitions from preteen to a teenager. Why am I bringing up these books? Well, the last book (Thirteen Plus One) wrapped up just about every plot in the series, so it's to be assumed this is the last book in the Winnie Series. :(
But TTYL is like a continuation of the Winnie Series! It's true! Winnie, who is based on the author Lauren Myracle, would be Angel. Dinah, Winnie's shy friend, would be Zoe. And Cinnamon, Dinah and Winnie's risk-taking friend, would be Maddie. If you've read a later Winnie book and TTYL, reread TTYL. There are references and hints that these are the same characters. :)
On Amazon.com, many people (and by people I mean control-freak mothers and their control-freak teenage daughters) who think this book should be banned for it's language. Banning books is not a practice I approve. I feel that the language of this book is not an issue. I happen to read books with swearing (though this one tops all others in that category) but I do not swear online or to my friends. Most kids I know who swear are the ones whose parents made it a big deal. So if your kid is yelling $#*^ all the time, don't blame the book. It's almost as immature as the swearing. /:/
The moral of the story is that some people are not trustworthy. If you see the signs, don't ignore them to keep a positive view of the person. They show this message with the plot that all three girls have bad judgement with their people. Angela has a hard time noticing when her boyfriend is interested in someone else, Maddie starts trusting Jana (the popular girl) and Zoe starts flirting with a teacher. I was happy with the Zoe plot, at first, because I knew Lauren Myracle would teach kids exactly what to do when you're in a relationship with a pedofile. :D
But, [[SOMEWHAT-SPOILER ALERT]] I was wrong. The girls decided that they couldn't tell Zoe's parents, since they would freak out (NO DUH!) I won't reveal Zoe's last date with the teacher, but I will say the two other girls ruined any romantic moment they might have had to save Zoe. While I like that they helped Zoe, I would have preferred that they told the parents. It is mentioned in the beginning that this teacher flirts with other students, so just because he and Zoe are over as a couple doesn't mean he won't go after other students. 8(
Other than the Zoe ending, I did enjoy this story. It's very funny, very interesting, and worth your time. TTYL (lame joke!)
