"Small Town Sinners" By: Melissa Walker Review

"Small Town Sinners" 

By: Melissa Walker

Synopsis from

Barnes and Noble:

Lacey Anne Byer is a perennial good girl and lifelong member of the House of Enlightenment, the Evangelical church in her small town. With her driver's license in hand and the chance to try out for a lead role in Hell House, her church's annual haunted house of sin, Lacey's junior year is looking promising. But when a cute new stranger comes to town, something begins to stir inside her. Ty Davis doesn't know the sweet, shy Lacey Anne Byer everyone else does. With Ty, Lacey could reinvent herself. As her feelings for Ty make Lacey test her boundaries, events surrounding Hell House make her question her religion.

My thoughts:

    I picked up this book after seeing it on so many YA blogs. It seemed like everyone liked it and I hated to miss out, so...off to the local library I went! "Small Town Sinners" is very unlike anything I have read but I enjoyed it none the less.
     The book starts out very basically. Lacey is attracted to the new bad boy in town, Ty. Lacey is a preacher's kid - Ty is the nephew of the liberal librarian in town and he has a history of being bad. Perfect story right? I thought it would be boring, but Walker does a wonderful job of going beyond this stereotypical tale.
    The author brings up a ton of teenage issues and how different views on these issues may be a good thing. Abortion is a huge issue. Lacey has the role of the girl receiving an abortion in a play for Halloween. One of Lacey's friends becomes pregnant - unmarried and very underage. Both of these areas add to the story in creating an atmosphere of uncertainty. Alcohol, religion, sex, and friendships are also investigated and discussed within the story in context.
    I am definitely going to be recommending this title to the teens in my library. I think its important for the young people now to realize that there are two sides to every story. We have so many people throwing messages at young people now a days...it's nice to find a story where finding your own way and thinking your own way is accepted.