Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit
Ratings17
Average rating3.6
Joanna meets the perfect girl for her and must decide whether to break a promise that could change everything for her and her family or lose out on love in this charming young adult romance that’s perfect for fans of Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’ and Becky Albertalli’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Joanna Gordon has been out and proud for years, but when her popular radio evangelist father remarries and decides to move all three of them from Atlanta to the more conservative Rome, Georgia, he asks Jo to do the impossible: to lie low for the rest of her senior year. And Jo reluctantly agrees. Although it is (mostly) much easier for Jo to fit in as a straight girl, things get complicated when she meets Mary Carlson, the oh-so-tempting sister of her new friend at school. But Jo couldn’t possibly think of breaking her promise to her dad. Even if she’s starting to fall for the girl. Even if there’s a chance Mary Carlson might be interested in her, too. Right?
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This is a sweet, southern f/f romance. Set in Georgia, it deals with a lot of things young lesbians might have to deal with in the south - religion, bigotry, the stress of coming out or not coming out (or being forced back in the closet by a move to a small town)! It doesn't deal with any outright violence against our lesbian protagonists, and it just barely touches on drug use, eating disorders, and abusive relationships. Joanna has a mostly supportive family, even if they do ask her to hide her sexuality for her senior year in the new town. Jo reluctantly agrees to do so, but doesn't count on falling in love with a girl at her new school.
The book deals a LOT with religion and sexuality; Jo's father is a radio preacher, and she attends a baptist church in town with her stepmother and new grandparents. At one point - one of my favorite scenes in the book - she snaps, and calls out her classmates for thinking homosexuality is a sin, while they eat shellfish and have premarital sex.
I liked the book, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it. I grew up Christian; I'm familiar with all the concepts in the book, but rather than progress to a kinder, more loving version of Christianity, I left it behind altogether. I'm glad that some people can reconcile religion with progressive values, but I can't. So it might be a good book for some, but not for me.
You can find all my reviews and more at Goddess in the Stacks.
Cute, not terribly angsty, lesbian YA romance - exactly what I needed in the middle of ... everything. Love Jo and her learning to let other people into her life, from her new stepmother to her new group of friends in Rome. The minor characters were (for the most part) well-drawn and interesting, especially Gemma, George, and Elizabeth. Plot was a little overstuffed, with all of Dana's drama and the Evil Theater Lesbian toward the end, but the main storyline was so sweet and rewarding. Love that faith is taken seriously here - that seems rare in most YA, let alone LGBT YA (though that may be a lack of reading on my part). This was a fun world to escape to at the end of a terrible week.
