Shandra Hill

While I found the book slow-moving, I am giving the book a high rating simply because the author was brave enough to tackle several serious and often avoided subjects.

The book revolves around a 25 year old young, career-minded woman named Jasmine. She is an editor but has a soft spot in her heart for a young girl named Tiffani who was abandoned by her mother as an infant and, as a result, has grown up in the system. The book opens with Jasmine feeling proud of the article she wrote about Tiffani and how the article resulted in Tiffani's upcoming adoption celebration. Naturally, the adoptive parent backs out just before the ceremony begins and Tiffani ends back up at the shelter/group home.

The remainder of the book deals with Jasmine's guilt and Tiffani's rollercoaster feelings of wanting a permanent home while trying to make the most of her current situation. Meanwhile, we learn more about Jasmine's boyfriend, Daniel, who, by all outward appearances, doesn't know the meaning of the word "faithful". This is where the book takes an interesting turn. When Jasmine mistakenly has unprotected sex with Daniel, she later discovered she has contracted herpes and genital warts. Having only been intimate with 3 men in her entire life, there is no doubt who has given her the STDs. On the other hand, Daniel has no idea who he got the diseases from since his string of bed partners has been so diverse and plentiful.

As Jasmine learns to cope with her life-long conditions, Daniel finally apologizes and begs for another chance. Just when Jasmine starts to feel Daniel's pleadings are sincere, she arrives at Daniel's house only to discover two empty condom wrappers lying on top of the trash in his bedroom. This is the final straw and gives Jasmine the strength to leave Daniel once and for all. Meanwhile, she experiences down-sizing at her job. But, through it all, she develops a stronger bond with Tiffani.

While the overall storyline was interesting and I applaud the author for her realistic handling of the STDs, I felt the book had a tendency to get bogged down in mundane details. For example, once when Jasmine and Tiffani were out to lunch, the author felt it was necessary to tell the reader that Jasmine was drinking a root beer while Tiffani had an orange soda and how often the waitress returned to the table to refill their drinks. This really slowed down the pace of the book. Then, there were times when the author would seem to go off on a tangent. For example, when Jasmine wanted to confront Daniel about where he might have contracted the diseases, the author decides to tell us how Jasmine and Daniel met and their first few dates. I found this frustrating - I was looking forward to the confrontation and was not expecting 3-4 pages regarding the background on how their relationship started.

Overall, I would recommend the book simply because it is realistic. So often books and movies portray a fabulous life where there are no consequences of casual or unprotected sex. It was refreshing to find an author brave enough to tackle the real world of sexual conduct and the associated pitfalls. It was an welcomed dose of reality.… (altro)