SuitabookTreacherous Love
Beatrice Sparks
- Reading
- Consider reading alongside Jennie rather than judging her reactions. Pause to discuss boundaries and trusted adults, while allowing her diary’s role and the ending to emerge without assuming the outcome.
- Themes
- Unequal attention and boundaries: Jennie feels honoured when a charismatic substitute teacher singles her out, then becomes involved with him beyond the classroom. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Family instability and isolation: Jennie’s father leaves, her mother seeks solace in pills, and her best friend becomes absorbed in a boyfriend. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Diary as a route through confusion: Jennie’s diary becomes her apparent real best friend and records her loneliness, pain and confusion. The diary is presented as an important space for recording experience and possibly finding escape, but its effectiveness and meaning are not confirmed.
- Worth knowing
- The book includes a parent leaving, a mother seeking solace in pills, friendship disruption and a romantic relationship between a fourteen-year-old and her substitute teacher. These elements may merit sensitive preparation.