V is for Virgin by Kelly Oram

Release Date: December 11, 2012
Publisher: Bluefields
Pages: 360
Series: n/a
Review Source: eARC from author for review

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
When Val Jensen gets dumped for her decision to stay a virgin until marriage, the nasty breakup goes viral on YouTube, making her the latest internet sensation.

After days of ridicule from her peers, Val starts a school-wide campaign to rally support for her cause. She meant to make a statement, but she never dreamed the entire nation would get caught up in the controversy.

As if becoming nationally recognized as “Virgin Val” isn’t enough, Val’s already hectic life starts to spin wildly out of control when bad boy Kyle Hamilton, lead singer for the hit rock band Tralse, decides to take her abstinence as a personal challenge.

How can a girl stay true to herself when this year’s Sexiest Man Alive is doing everything in his power to win her over?

My Thoughts:
‘V is for Virgin’ is a smart and fun look at how teens can view virginity, focusing on one girl’s plan to remain a virgin until marriage. I was immediately interested by the fact that Val’s reason for staying a virgin had nothing to do with religion. I think this makes the story more accessible for all readers, and also shows different reasons why people might make this decision. I also loved how Val wasn’t anti-sex for other people. She didn’t look down on those who were doing it, she just saw it as a choice for herself, and wanted to make other people not ashamed to make that decision as well.

I have to admit that I’m a sucker for “sudden fame” type of stories, and I think it really worked well in this book. I loved how Val took responsibility for her decisions and embraced becoming a public figure, even when it embarrassed her. I also really loved how Val stuck to her convictions. She truly believed in what she was saying, and she stuck to her own morals, not compromising them, even when it would have been easy to do so. Speaking of compromising morals, I couldn’t help but love Kyle. He was so douchey at times, but he’s that type of guy who is on the charming side of sleazy. The guy who you can’t help but blush around, and whose comments make you smile, even when you want to smack him for being a jerk. I also liked that you could tell Kyle genuinely liked Val. Despite some of his words and actions, there was definite respect and admiration there.

This is a really fun story that takes something serious and discusses it in a really interesting way. I loved how the immediate end to the story wasn’t all perfect ‘happily ever after’, because that wouldn’t have been realistic at all. This is one book where I actually appreciated the epilogue. It felt real, like in that book’s universe it could happen, and while it allowed for more of a HEA ending it still wasn’t perfectly/neatly tied into a bow. It seems like a lot of books, especially the newly popular 'new adult' books, have syrupy sweet “make you want to gag” epilogues, so I was really delighted that this epilogue didn’t fit into that category.

‘V is for Virgin’ is really fun, sweet, and at times thought-provoking; it is definitely Kelly Oram’s strongest book to date.

The Cover:
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Rating:
[Strong 4/5]

Find V is for Virgin by Kelly Oram on Goodreads; check Kelly's website for purchase links.