Julia Walton

Seventeen-year-old Phoebe Townsend created her blog, The Circle in the Square, as a place for her research into sex, and now she answers other teens' questions while trying to stay anonymous, but as the number of her followers rises, Phoebe finds herself exposed to the darker side of social media.

On the Subject of Unmentionable Things

This was smart and sweet and definitely a book I wish I could have read as a sex-curious teenager!

Amelia Hruby

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: On the Subject of Unmentionable Things

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, sex education

Age Relevance: 15+ (sexual content, racism, micro aggressive comments, alt-right ideals, rape mentioned, illness, vomiting, homophobia, romance)

Explanation of Above: The book talks openly about sex and sexual practices and sexual health in an informative and educational manner that I believe every teenager needs to read. We cannot stop teenagers from having sex, but we can give them the information to proceed with it in an informed, safe, and consensual manner. There is some racism in the book, including micro aggressive comments about ethnic food, and homophobic remarks as well. Alt-right ideals are shown in the book, though the MC and most of the cast of the characters are against it, but it does eerily show reality in those passages. There is some illness shown with vomiting shown as well. There is one scene in which a character is threatened with an allusion to rape and that is discussed. There is also some romance in the book.

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Synopsis: Phoebe Townsend is a rule follower . . . or so everyone thinks. She’s an A student who writes for her small-town school newspaper. But what no one knows is that Phoebe is also Pom—the anonymous teen who’s rewriting sex education on her blog and social media.

Phoebe is not a pervert. No, really. Her unconventional hobby is just a research obsession. And sex should not be a secret. As long as Phoebe stays undercover, she’s sure she’ll fly through junior year unnoticed. . . .

That is, until Pom goes viral, courtesy of mayoral candidate Lydia Brookhurst. The former beauty queen labels Phoebe’s work an “assault on morality,” riling up her supporters and calling on Pom to reveal her identity. But Phoebe is not backing down. With her anonymity on the line, is it all worth the fight?

Julia Walton delivers a brutally honest novel about sex, social media, and the courage to pursue truth when misinformation is rife. Who knew truth could be so scandalous?

Review: Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I think that this is one of those necessary books because it speaks so openly about sex and sex education and sexual consent. I love that it was directed at teenagers as well. Teenagers are going to have sex and making them ill-prepared is only setting them up for failure via pregnancy, sexual violence, sexual trafficking, or illness with STDs. It’s uncomfortable and raw, but it’s a necessity for them to learn, especially about how to protect their own bodies and what warning signs to watch out for with partners. The book is a funny, but passionate and honestly raw book that I think everyone should read. The character development was amazing and the writing was well done.

The only issue I had with the book is that I felt like it was a bit quick with the romance aspect and that sometimes it took away from the plot of the book.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

 

Book: On the Subject of Unmentionable Things

 

Author: Julia Walton

 

Book Series: Standalone

 

Rating: 5/5

 

Diversity: Hispanic Character

 

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, sex education

 

Publication Date: August 23, 2022

 

Genre: YA Contemporary

 

Age Relevance: 15+ (sexual content, racism, micro aggressive comments, alt-right ideals, rape mentioned, illness, vomiting, homophobia, romance)

 

Explanation of Above: The book talks openly about sex and sexual practices and sexual health in an informative and educational manner that I believe every teenager needs to read. We cannot stop teenagers from having sex, but we can give them the information to proceed with it in an informed, safe, and consensual manner. There is some racism in the book, including micro aggressive comments about ethnic food, and homophobic remarks as well. Alt-right ideals are shown in the book, though the MC and most of the cast of the characters are against it, but it does eerily show reality in those passages. There is some illness shown with vomiting shown as well. There is one scene in which a character is threatened with an allusion to rape and that is discussed. There is also some romance in the book.

 

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

 

Pages: 320

 

Synopsis: Phoebe Townsend is a rule follower . . . or so everyone thinks. She’s an A student who writes for her small-town school newspaper. But what no one knows is that Phoebe is also Pom—the anonymous teen who’s rewriting sex education on her blog and social media.

 

Phoebe is not a pervert. No, really. Her unconventional hobby is just a research obsession. And sex should not be a secret. As long as Phoebe stays undercover, she’s sure she’ll fly through junior year unnoticed. . . .

 

That is, until Pom goes viral, courtesy of mayoral candidate Lydia Brookhurst. The former beauty queen labels Phoebe’s work an “assault on morality,” riling up her supporters and calling on Pom to reveal her identity. But Phoebe is not backing down. With her anonymity on the line, is it all worth the fight?

 

Julia Walton delivers a brutally honest novel about sex, social media, and the courage to pursue truth when misinformation is rife. Who knew truth could be so scandalous?

 

Review: Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I think that this is one of those necessary books because it speaks so openly about sex and sex education and sexual consent. I love that it was directed at teenagers as well. Teenagers are going to have sex and making them ill-prepared is only setting them up for failure via pregnancy, sexual violence, sexual trafficking, or illness with STDs. It’s uncomfortable and raw, but it’s a necessity for them to learn, especially about how to protect their own bodies and what warning signs to watch out for with partners. The book is a funny, but passionate and honestly raw book that I think everyone should read. The character development was amazing and the writing was well done.

 

The only issue I had with the book is that I felt like it was a bit quick with the romance aspect and that sometimes it took away from the plot of the book.

 

Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!

Thank you, TBR and Beyond Tours, for the chance to read a really great young adult book that tackles an important topic without making it cringy or dull. 

Which of us has ever had a really informative talk with our parents? What we know, generally speaking, comes from pop culture, things we google in secret and porn. I live in a country where we ask if a woman is married to check if she’s sexually active or not. For me, the talk was just about periods and just that this happens to a woman as she grows older. I was then accidentally given a book on teen health that everyone thought would convince me to eat healthier and lose weight but instead answered the other question that plagued my mind; can a guy pee inside you when you’re having sex?

Sex education is still a controversial topic in most places. For some reason, people think it will involve showing young kids porn and encouraging kids to do it, and not as we will tell young people that STDs are a real thing, you can get pregnant the very first time, and what is good touch and bad touch. Let’s not even get into the joy of sex. It can be about pleasure and not just something for men to thirst for and women to put up with.

So when the sign-ups for On The Subject of Unmentionable Things went around, I was curious. This could either be really good or really bad, and I’m happy to say it fell into the first category. 

I had a brilliant professor in my freshmen year. She was a labor historian in Pakistan. I may not remember her exact words, but she talked about people who commented on why she was researching labor in Pakistan and not women because she was a woman. Her answer was, simply put, because I’m interested in labor. 

I thought of this because On The Subject of Unmentionable Things reminds us that a woman’s interests are political. A woman’s choice to study something not directly related to women is political. And we have Phoebe right here writing a blog and managing a Twitter page on the most political thing of them all; sex. She writes about sex not from a place of fear or because she’s having loads and thinking about facts turns her on; she writes about it because the human body, and sex, are fascinating things. You can be incredibly interested in them for no reason than that.

Julia Walton’s book was excellent. She touches on subjects that impact many of us; misinformation, fear-mongering, racism, sexism, homophobia, and how people can just be assholes without making this book feel preachy or boring. She writes well and has a plot, and I’m disappointed with Random House for not marketing this book better because she only has 3 reviews on amazon.

Phoebe has friends who don’t know the truth, parents trying to figure out how to manage their business and political preferences, people whose loyalty is up for rent, and a trump like woman who wants to make her town great again. 

You get where the author leans politically, and I love that about her. This is not her first book on teens, but her third. She seems to genuinely care about younger readers because while this book didn’t hold back, it wasn’t a graphic read. Phoebe does get slut shamed; the town is vandalized; she is stolen from. And yet you have a character that comes through with dignity and self-respect. Julia Walton writes about a character more mature than most of the older ones, a reminder that only the young can run. 

Seher Mohsin

Thank you, TBR and Beyond Tours, for the chance to read a really great young adult book that tackles an important topic without making it cringy or dull. 

Which of us has ever had a really informative talk with our parents? What we know, generally speaking, comes from pop culture, things we google in secret and porn. I live in a country where we ask if a woman is married to check if she’s sexually active or not. For me, the talk was just about periods and just that this happens to a woman as she grows older. I was then accidentally given a book on teen health that everyone thought would convince me to eat healthier and lose weight but instead answered the other question that plagued my mind; can a guy pee inside you when you’re having sex?

Sex education is still a controversial topic in most places. For some reason, people think it will involve showing young kids porn and encouraging kids to do it, and not as we will tell young people that STDs are a real thing, you can get pregnant the very first time, and what is good touch and bad touch. Let’s not even get into the joy of sex. It can be about pleasure and not just something for men to thirst for and women to put up with.

So when the sign-ups for On The Subject of Unmentionable Things went around, I was curious. This could either be really good or really bad, and I’m happy to say it fell into the first category. 

I had a brilliant professor in my freshmen year. She was a labor historian in Pakistan. I may not remember her exact words, but she talked about people who commented on why she was researching labor in Pakistan and not women because she was a woman. Her answer was, simply put, because I’m interested in labor. 

I thought of this because On The Subject of Unmentionable Things reminds us that a woman’s interests are political. A woman’s choice to study something not directly related to women is political. And we have Phoebe right here writing a blog and managing a Twitter page on the most political thing of them all; sex. She writes about sex not from a place of fear or because she’s having loads and thinking about facts turns her on; she writes about it because the human body, and sex, are fascinating things. You can be incredibly interested in them for no reason than that.

Julia Walton’s book was excellent. She touches on subjects that impact many of us; misinformation, fear-mongering, racism, sexism, homophobia, and how people can just be assholes without making this book feel preachy or boring. She writes well and has a plot, and I’m disappointed with Random House for not marketing this book better because she only has 3 reviews on amazon.

Phoebe has friends who don’t know the truth, parents trying to figure out how to manage their business and political preferences, people whose loyalty is up for rent, and a trump like woman who wants to make her town great again. 

You get where the author leans politically, and I love that about her. This is not her first book on teens, but her third. She seems to genuinely care about younger readers because while this book didn’t hold back, it wasn’t a graphic read. Phoebe does get slut shamed; the town is vandalized; she is stolen from. And yet you have a character that comes through with dignity and self-respect. Julia Walton writes about a character more mature than most of the older ones, a reminder that only the young can run. 

On the Subject of Unmentionable Things

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