Off Limits

by Robert Rayner

Overview

Fifteen-year-old Birmingham has a hot girlfriend who wants to "do it" anytime, anywhere. But to his (and his best friend's) surprise, it just leaves him feeling hollow, and he finds himself longing for something more. Then his school hires a substitute music teacher, and Birm feels an instant connection with her. They both share a deep love for music -- and she seems to have feelings for him too. They begin meeting outside of school hours until, one day, Birmingham's girlfriend catches him in a lie. Jealous and angry, she tells anyone who will listen that he is having an affair with the teacher. Birmingham is forced to defend himself in a formal inquiry, while he wonders whether he's the one who has done something wrong.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459400849
Publisher:	James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers
Publication date:	03/14/2012
Series:	Lorimer SideStreets Series
Sold by:	De Marque
Format:	eBook
Pages:	1
Lexile:	HL650L (what's this?)
File size:	389 KB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

ROBERT RAYNER is a former elementary school principal in St. George, New Brunswick. He is the author of a set of soccer Sports Stories about a gang of soccer-mad kids from fictional Brunswick Valley. Of these sports novels, Walker's Runners was nominated for the Ann Connor Brimer Award, Just for Kicks and Falling Star were both Hackmatack Award nominees, and Suspended and Little's Losers were Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice selections.

Editorial Reviews

"The dialogue, both witty and thoughtful, faithfully reflects current high school conversations...This book would be very useful in a discussion or unit on sexuality or bullying."

Resource Links

Surprised to find himself attracted to the new, middle-aged music teacher, 15-year-old Birmingham negotiates his first intimate relationships with her and teenage Jenna in a whirlwind of sex and innuendo. Birmingham has always been less limelight-hungry than his best friend, Geoff. New girlfriend Jenna seems to always be interested in sex, though, and in the most daring of circumstances. Not altogether sure he is keen, Birm slowly finds himself drawn to fellow musician Amber Flood, who is a substitute teacher at his school and married to a writer he admires. Trouble ensues, as is to be expected. This is a refreshing reversal from the usual boy-intent-on-sex-while-the-girl-looks-for-emotional-connection plot. The hints at how the adult world works blend with teen naïveté to create situations that may seem ambiguous to the main character at first glance, but not so much to readers, or in Birmingham's hindsight, either. The writing is thoughtful, if pedestrian. Short as this is, the main appeal is to reluctant readers who are ready for the mature content and the fast pace of events. There's a good grab on the first page when Geoff chortles loudly through a large list of synonyms for sexual intimacy. Unfortunately, the unrealistic depiction of school administrators and the unsatisfying resolution let Birmingham, Ms. Flood and readers all down. (Fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews