'89 Walls

Gr 9 Up—Pierson packs AIDS, abortion, suicide and more in her message-heavy 1989 romance. Quinn and Seth have different viewpoints on most things, as evidenced by their heated classroom debates. They've met their match in each other, and a mature and respectful first love story follows—although the plot is secondary to the setting. The author's passion for the periodis clear. The narrative is built around the events of the decade, instead of starting with a compelling story and then setting it in a specific time frame. Instead of delving deeply into a few issues, numerous big themes are only touched upon at a surface level. Stylistically, Pierson makes curious choices as to what details she provides in the story line and pacing and which ones are left out. Quinn's pregnancy reveal and the internal conflict that ensues on whether she should have an abortion is given short shrift while a sex scene with Seth garners pages of excruciating detail. Also, Quinn's breakup with her best friend seems rather abrupt. Politics, not the personal, drives the story. Pierson's novel reads like a primer on the 80s through the eyes of likable, although unmemorable, characters.