Review: Pure by Terra Elan McVoy

Jul 30, 2011 by shanyn

Title: Pure
Paperback, 352 pages
Author: Terra Elan McVoy
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: April 7, 2009
Source: Purchased
Buy: Amazon

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Book Summary:
Promise. Betrayal. Confession. Revenge.

Tabitha and her four best friends all wear purity rings, symbols of the virginity-until-marriage pledge they made years ago. Now Tab is fifteen, and her ring has come to mean so much more. It’s a symbol of who she is and what she believes—a reminder of her promises to herself, and her bond to her friends. But when Tab meets a boy whose kisses make her knees go weak, everything suddenly seems a lot more complicated. Tab’s best friend, Morgan, is far from supportive, and for the first time, Tabitha is forced to keep secrets from the one person with whom she’s always shared everything. When one of those secrets breaks to the surface, Tab finds herself at the center of an unthinkable betrayal that splits her friends apart. As Tab’s entire world comes crashing down around her, she’s forced to re-examine her friendships, her faith, and what exactly it means to be pure.

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Review:
I purchased Pure on our road trip across the country because I love the bright yellow cover. I also read The Summer of Firsts and Lasts by Terra Elan McVoy not long ago, and really loved it.

I was VERY surprised at (but not turned off by) how much of the plot is based on religion. The summary describes that the girls have purity rings, but Pure really is about Tabitha figuring out her beliefs and how those tie in to her friends and family.

Tabitha is a very real YA character. She doesn’t jump to conclusions for the sake of the story, but rather thinks them through while making some mistakes along the way. She is in a household where her parents don’t go to church but still still chooses to go herself, and there are some great dialogues between her parents and her on this topic.

The girls with the purity rings are also at different levels with their beliefs, which is another reason why the book is realistic. It would be easy to have them all be devout Christians, but the story becomes important when the emphasis is not on their devoutness but rather their beliefs and how those fit with their actions and thinking. No one always makes the perfect decision, and these girls don’t either.

I enjoyed The Summer of Firsts and Lasts more than Pure, but wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Pure if I thought it were a good match for someone.

Buy: Amazon

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