Unlovable by Sherry Gammon

Reviewed by Cindy

Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation

Language:  There is mention of someone spewing out profanities.  A few crude or belittling words were used such as sucks, brat, stupid, idiot.  Someone insults Maggie by calling her “Maggot”.  She is also referred to as “Trailer Trash”.

Violence:  A man forcibly kisses a young woman.  She fights her attacker off by raking her fingers over his face, putting her thumbs in his eyes, and kicking him in the groin.  She also scratches, bites and punches to be free of him.  He drags her back to him as she reaches for a gun.  A man violently attacks and stabs other women.  Some of the women die.  He has also tortured animals.  Maggie’s mom is verbally abusive.  She was cruel to Maggie when she broke her arm as a child and dragged her by her broken arm.  A girl tries to punch Maggie and hits a mirror instead.  Maggie blocks a punch from the girl.  It is mentioned that some officers killed a drug dealer.  One of the officers died too.  It is also mentioned that someone’s family died as a result of a home invasion.  Some dangerous men chase after Maggie.  Seth hurts his hands while he chases some bad guys.  Seth punched Zack.  Seth slams Mr. Hoffman up against the wall.  Maggie’s mom slaps her.  Some criminals attack a man with a knife, and he dies.  A man holds Maggie hostage with a knife.  Her head is slammed into a doorway.  Maggie is pushed around by Zack.  He bruises her face and knees.  Zack drags Maggie to a closet and threatens her life and Seth’s life too.  A man holds a gun on Sam and Maggie.  A man runs a sword through another man’s chest.  A law enforcement agent is killed in his car.  A man threatens to dismember Maggie.  Her ribs are broken through the struggle.  A young man is stabbed.  Someone shoots another person with a gun.

Sexual Content:  Maggie’s ex-boyfriend wanted to sleep with her, but she said no.  There are several kisses between Seth and Maggie.  Maggie wishes her breasts weren’t so small.  A reference is made to “doing the nasty”.  A girl has the reputation of being a “make-out whore”.  A girl tells others that she and another boy “did it”.   Maggie stays in Seth’s house, but they sleep in separate bedrooms.

Adult Content:  Seth is an undercover agent in a high school for the Mobile Enforcement Team (MET) with the Drug Enforcement Agency.  They are dealing with drug trafficking which includes heroin and marijuana.  Three heroin overdose deaths have occurred, and nine elementary age school children have died from candy laced with drugs.  A drug dealer dies in a shoot-out with officers.  An officer is killed.  Alcoholism and drug use is prevalent.  Maggie is starving and looks “Heroin Chic”.  The officers look for “track marks” on Maggie and her mother.  Maggie and her mother are very poor.  Her mother got pregnant while drunk at a party when she was sixteen.  Maggie doesn’t know who her father is.  Maggie keeps her feelings inside.  Social Services got involved when Maggie was younger.  Maggie is emotionally, verbally, and at times physically abused by her mother.  She tells her that she is “unlovable”.  Maggie is hungry.  Her mother uses what money they have on alcohol instead of food.  She drinks daily, usually vodka.  Maggie was raised by her grandparents until she was four and a half when they were killed by a drunk driver.  Maggie is referred to as “Jailbait”, meaning she is too young to be seriously involved with Seth.  He’s twenty-one.  She will turn eighteen in a few months.  An older man who served in WWII mentions the atrocities of the “Concentration Camp in Gusen”.  An elderly woman asks Seth if he is one of those “gay fellers”.  Maggie is accused of being anorexic.  She feels worthless at times.  Maggie’s mother’s health is failing due to alcoholism.  She is hospitalized.  A reference is made to abortion.  Maggie is thrown out of her house by her mother.  Maggie’s mother is in need of a liver transplant.  There is mention of someone dying from cancer.  It is mentioned that someone’s parents die in a plane crash.  Maggie is taken to a shooting range and taught how to shoot a gun.  A man suffers from a heart attack.  There are some funerals.  Drugs are found.  Maggie has a breakdown and ends up needing medical attention.  She is considered co-dependent as a result of living with an alcoholic mother.  She learns about Al-anon and seeks counseling.

Synopsis:

Life isn’t easy for seventeen-year-old Maggie Brown.  Her home life is nothing but turmoil and heartache due to her alcoholic mother.  However, she has taken notice of a new boy at school, Seth Prescott.  Unbeknownst to her, Seth is an undercover agent attending Port Fare High in upstate New York.  He has been assigned to help fight the increase of drug trafficking in the community.  A romance begins between Maggie and Seth that puts them both to the test.  All the while the stakes grow higher in the battle against drugs with some losing their lives as a result.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I read this story, but it got my attention right away.  I really liked it.  Drug abuse and alcoholism aren’t very pretty subjects, but I couldn’t help but care very deeply for the main characters of the story.  My heart just went out to Maggie.  It was a struggle for her to keep it all together on a daily basis.  I liked that she tried to make the best with what she had.  She had a 4.0 and was mature and responsible way beyond her years.  I hated that she was so hungry and cold all the time.  It brought tears to my eyes when her mother would tell her that she was unlovable.  Seth was pretty much too good to be true, but I liked him anyway.  He was a good guy through and through.  I liked that Maggie and Seth had set boundaries for their physical expressions of love.  The idea in the story of the Lunch Swap concept was awesome!  People who benefit from the lunches can offer services or sell handmade items with the proceeds going into the Lunch Swap fund.  Drug abuse, alcoholism, personal safety, abuse of any kind, and helping others in need are some of the things that would make for a good discussion between parent and child.  I would recommend this book to 8th grade and up.