Seventeen
Shan Serafin
Bancroft, Jun 2005, $22.95, 268 pp.
ISBN: 1890862401

In New York City attending a college summer school program, seventeen years Sophia is lonely and in some ways jealous of her best friend Shauna. While Sophia struggles with their math and physics class to just attain a C, Shauna is running an A in both. While no male seems to notice Sophia, the beautiful Shauna can have everyone. Having discussed killing one's self with over the counter drugs, Sophia feels she has nothing to look forward to.

However, that night her enthusiasm picks up when Shauna mentions that Justin likes her and will be at a party. Sophia has no idea who Justin is, but looks forward to meeting him. At the party no Justin appears and Sophia along with a fat classmate are invisible females to the horde of horny males. Though her friend JP tries to calm her down, Sophia has had it with life. She gives it one week for someone to prove to her that she is meaningful or else she will end her forlorn existence.

Though targetting young adults as a cautionary tale to seek help if you feel forlorn enough to contemplate suicide, older readers will appreciate this deep look at a teen in trouble. The storyline is told from Sophia's perspective as she wonders why she is invisible to males and a failure in every other aspect of life. Shauna, the pharmacist, and others remain oblivious to Sophia's pain of believing she is a non person unworthy of life. Setting the stage of Sophia's disenchantment with living, once the countdown begins Shan Serafin grips readers, who pray for a Prince Charming climax even knowing this is not a fairy tale.

Harriet Klausner