Published Date: September 2011
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Genre: YA
The Story: Del is a good kid who’s been caught in horrible circumstances. When we meet him, he is 17, trying to put his life together after an incident in his past that made him a social outcast - and a felon. As a result, he can’t get into college; the only job he can get is digging graves; and when he finally meets a girl he might fall in love with, there’s a whole sea of complications that threaten to bring the world crashing down around him again.
But what has Del done? In flashbacks to Del’s 14th year, we slowly learn the truth: his girlfriend texted him a revealing photo of herself, a teacher confiscated his phone, and soon the police were involved.
Basing her story on real-life cases of teens being charged with sex crimes for texting explicit photos, Susan Vaught has created a moving portrait of an immensely likable young character caught up in a highly controversial legal scenario.
My Review: I really liked this book. Del did an unthinkable act, but at the time, he and his girlfriend didn't think anything was wrong. Now Del can't go to college, let alone get a decent job. So, he ends up digging graves. His boss is a drunk and alone. But, he tries to help Del. Even Del's probabtion officer tries to help him.
Susan Vaught has brought into story form, what we have been seeing for the past while, of the new thing that has hit our teens, sexting. Through Going Underground, she shows us that ignorance is no excuse. And that we need to really think and follow our gut. At least that's what I took from this. I would highly recommend this to anyone.
Sounds like a good book. Thanks for the review and information. I will be putting this on my reading list.
ReplyDeleteI picked up an ARC of this forever ago and never got around to reading it. I also never really saw much buzz about it. It sounds like a good book, and with that rating, maybe I should pick it up.
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