At its most basic, this is a story of the Christian right imposing its moral agenda on a suburban town. A newly established church in town is flexing its evangelical muscles through its members. Ruth, the high school sex ed. teacher has been required to teach the new abstinence curriculum, to which she is philosophically opposed. When her daughter’s coach ends a game with a group prayer, she becomes more activist in her opposition, creating tremendous conflict in her home (both her daughters are interested in the church's teachings), and at work.

The story offers a lot of shades of gray on both sides of the issue, which I appreciated, as the characters could have remained stereotypical. The irony of the abstinence curriculum being the polarizing issue between the two sides is that the undercurrent of the whole plot is sex and its importance in our lives; how it can have both negative and positive effects but is pervasive and undeniable. This would make a good book for discussion--lots of viewpoints and perspectives to consider.

--Recommended by Susie

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