RED

A young woman is shunned and harassed by members of her youth group after they discover she had an abortion.

Sixteen-year-old Tess Pine and her mother had to move in with Tess' strict Christian grandparents following the death of her father and the loss of her mom’s job. Tess finds comfort in being with her peers from Grace Presbyterian; singing the choir is a particularly welcome outlet. So she feels terribly alone when they turn their backs on her after learning of her abortion. Tess struggles with the bullying, which includes someone spray-painting a red letter A on her locker in an unsubtle nod to The Scarlet Letter, and her conflicted feelings about a relationship she was forced to keep secret. She eventually finds hope among a new group of friends who share her love of music. This harrowing, poignant, first-person tale takes its time unfolding, and readers will both ache for Tess and feel fury over the situation she’s been put in. Her slow but steady process of finding her voice rings emotionally true. Tess reads white; there’s some diversity in race and sexual orientation among secondary characters. The book also shows a realistic variance in the ways the Christian characters relate to Tess.

A heartfelt tale of an ostracized teen who finds caring people and a way through trauma.