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Prey (Lurlene McDaniel)

by Lurlene Mcdaniel

ISBN13: 9780385734530
ISBN10: 0385734530
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A teacher is supposed to impart a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge. It’s a bit different with Ms. Lori Settles. All the kids are talking about how hot she is–and she is especially interested in Ryan Piccoli. When she starts giving Ryan extra attention, he’s feeling more than happy–at first. He’s used to being the class clown, but really he’s a loner. One day after school, the friendship with Lori Settles goes farther than he ever expected. She’s his teacher. She’s at least twice his age. Intimacy with a teacher is wrong, yet it feels so good in every way. Soon, Lori is making demands and Ryan begins to feel overwhelmed, but Ryan refuses to even admit anything is going on. Something immoral is going on and before too long the choices made will change lives forever.

Review:

"McDaniel (Don't Die, My Love) forsakes her typical weeper for a cautionary tale about a high school freshman seduced by his history teacher. On the first day of class, Ryan 'locks eyes' with the stiletto-wearing, cleavage-baring Ms. Settles ('I feel heat') and watches her bend over a desk drawer ('The sweaterdress hugs her backside, and I want to do the same'). Describing the same encounter, the teacher says, 'I stare at him and the room seems to recede. A halo of light encircles him and suddenly, I know... he'll be the One.' The two become sexually involved and mutually obsessed, arousing the suspicions (and jealousy) of Ryan's longtime friend Honey, who wishes she were his girlfriend. McDaniel furnishes the souped-up drama her fans crave, and even the denouement has its soapy excess (Ryan, about to be reunited with the now-vilified and convicted Ms. Settles, asks, 'Which of us is the predator and which the prey?'). Readers interested in a more sophisticated, psychologically astute treatment of the same subject should see last fall's Boy Toy by Barry Lyga (Reviews, Sept. 3, 2007). Ages 12-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

About the Author

Lurlene McDaniel is the #1 author of inspirational fiction for young adults. She lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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: srobison47, January 1, 2009 (view all comments by srobison47)
Prey is a story about a female high school history teacher, Ms. Lori Settles who seduces her teenage student, Ryan Piccoli. It alternates between the point of view of three characters: Ryan, Ms. Settles, and Honey, Ryan's longtime friend who is secretly in love with him.

The book gets off to a promising start. We learn from the very beginning that Ryan is intentionally Lori's target. From the very first day of school, she knows that, "he'll be the One" (p. 15). Upon reading this, I felt a chill and was eager to continue reading. However, I felt the seduction happened way too quickly, and Ryan's situation didn't seem realistic. His father is a traveling salesman and is out of town four days of the week. A housekeeper cleans the house, but doesn't live there and hardly pays any attention to Ryan when she is there. It almost seems too easy for Lori to manipulate him and too easy for them to get together.

Writing in first person is challenging and probably one of the most difficult tasks to pull off well. Successfully writing from the first person point of view of multiple characters is extremely difficult (I'm thinking of Faulkner here, who I believe was a master at this). I applaud McDaniel for taking a risk here. I was interested in the relationship between Honey and Ryan and then Ryan and Lori, but McDaniel never really went deep enough with the characters. While Honey's character was needed to describe Ryan's friend's and family's concern about his sudden change in behavior, I often felt she was just an aside, an interrupter of sorts, especially when her chapters disrupted the flow and momentum of the novel.

In addition, at some points, McDaniel didn't seem to capture the teenage voice in a believable way. For example, at one point in novel, Ryan hears that a coach at the school has been asking Lori out. When Lori picks him up for a tryst, he confronts her. Here's how he describes his feelings to the reader, "Rain is pelting the windows, sluicing in long noisy rivers along the glass, like a knife cutting through my heart. The windows are fogged, moist from our breath and the heat of anger. Hot wetness swells behind my eyes. I'm acting like a jerk, but I can't help myself. I have to know the truth about her and Coach" (p. 76).

To me, language like this coming from a 15/16 year old seems inauthentic, while at other times, he's completely thinking like a teenage boy. McDaniel did, however, make Lori Settles seem to be the most authentic and consistent of the characters. We see what's going on in her mind, what makes her tick, and her deliberate plot to seduce him.

Oh, and let me address the white elephant in the room: how were the sexual encounters portrayed? McDaniel tastefully describes the seduction and subsequent encounters. Without going into detail, she leaves much to the imagination and doesn't get too graphic. But don't get me wrong--we are talking about a teacher having sex with a teenage boy. It's in the book, but I was never shocked or offended or thought McDaniel went too far. Given the sensitive subject matter, I'll leave it up to you to decide whether or not you think it's appropriate for your teen, and I would only recommend this for teens.

Overall, Prey was a good story on surface level, but it lacked the depth, consistency, and authenticity that would have made it a great story. McDaniel herself admits in the author's note that this is not typical of her writing, and I commend her for stepping outside of her comfort zone. I also admire her for addressing such a serious issue and hope that teenagers who read the book will be able to spot the warning signs if their friends start to behave differently and secretively
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Product Details

ISBN:: 9780385734530
Author:: Mcdaniel, Lurlene
Publisher:: Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Author:: McDaniel, Lurlene
Subject:: Social Issues - Death & Dying
Subject:: Social Issues - General
Subject:: School & Education
Subject:: Fathers and sons
Subject:: High schools
Subject:: Single-parent families
Edition Description:: Hardcover
Series:: Lurlene McDaniel
Publication Date:: February 2008
Binding:: Hardcover
Language:: English
Pages:: 196
Dimensions:: 7.24x5.48x.79 in. .48 lbs.
Age Level:: 14-17

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