Official Review: Prom Night at Finley High

[ALynnPowers]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Prom Night at Finley High" by Keith Thomas Walker.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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I recently had the pleasure of reading Keith Thomas Walker's young adult novel entitled Prom Night at Finley High, and I can safely say that this is one of the best books of this genre that I have read in a long time. At 192 pages, this book is a relatively quick read, probably because it was so good that I couldn't tear myself away from it. I gladly give this book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars, only because that's as high as I'm allowed to go.

Though the title of the book suggests some kind of Sweet Valley High-like, overly girly, teen romance novel, Prom Night at Finley High is far from such expectations. The story follows Serena, a high school senior who is dealing with more than her fair share of troubles. Her father has been in prison since she was a toddler, and her mother, a single parent with four kids, relies on Serena to take care of her younger siblings while she is running around with her friends. As if that's not bad enough, Serena just found out that she's pregnant, and her baby's father, a typical hoodrat with a poor reputation, is no where to be found.

Feeling desperate and alone, Serena begins going to church with her aunt and attending a new bible club at her school. She befriends the club's founder, Jamar, who is the extreme opposite of the "bad boys" she has had relationships with in the past. Serena just wants to have one night of normalcy before she has to share her secret, so she accepts Jamar's invitation to the senior prom. It is certain to be a night that she will never forget.

If you're looking for a book with middle-class, white people living in two-story houses with white picket fences in the suburbs, you won't find it in this book. Serena lives in the projects, surrounded by drugs, gangs, and crime. I love that the characters and setting of this book are not the "same old thing" that I always seem to read about in young adult novels. I also love that the characters speak with local colloquialisms true to the dialect you would actually come across in Texas where this story takes place. I've read books that attempt this and fail, but Walker does an excellent job at accurately representing the characters and their spoken language.

I have very few negative things to say about this book. I found a grand total of two typographical errors, neither of which were enough to deter my enjoyment of the book as a whole. However, sometimes the book came across as a little "preachy" in terms of the religious elements. But because I was raised in the Bible Belt, this didn't bother me so much, though I could imagine some readers being turned off by it. Some readers might also find Jamar and his family to be a little too good to be true, but I personally liked his character and found him to be a good role model for young adults who are living in a setting similar to Serena and her friends.

There are so many eye-opening situations and good messages crammed into this short book. This book is about more than just a girl dealing with a teen pregnancy. There are messages about life in general, family, fitting in among peers, dealing with gossip, and avoiding judgment. The story is extremely realistic, and I'm sure there are many girls out there who have been in Serena's shoes in one way or another. I would recommend this book to all young adults and to anyone who is looking for a quick read in this genre. I am looking forward to checking out some of Walker's other novels as well.

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Prom Night at Finley High
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[PashaRu]

This seems like a much more realistic, gritty take on familiar themes. Good review, I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!

[bookowlie]

Great review. The title made me think the book was going to be a teen "horror on Prom Night"-type story. I guess I have an overactive imagination.

[Rachaelamb1]

Great review. The title made me think the book was going to be a teen "horror on Prom Night"-type story. I guess I have an overactive imagination.

That was my initial impression of the title too.

-- 11 Apr 2015, 09:34 --

Sounds like a great book though. I'm from TX so I'd like to see how the author incorporates the speech in the book. It sounds like it has a good message to it as well.

[bluemel4]

I really enjoyed this review. Thank you for the heads up on the religions portions. I am often turned off by an overly preachy book. This book sounds worth giving a shot though. I am adding it to the to-read pile.

[Thesaurus Rex]

This sounds like a book I would like! I will add it to my bookshelves (I am still learning how to do that, but it seems easy!)

[ALynnPowers]

Thanks for the comments, everyone! And I kind of thought the same thing about the title. The story ended up not being what I expected, but that turned out to be an even better thing!

I forgot to turn the notifications on for this topic, so I didn't even know that anyone had replied! Oops!

[mrkeith55]

Thanks for the review. This is my first young adult novel. I'm glad you enjoyed it

[ALynnPowers]

Thanks for the review. This is my first young adult novel. I'm glad you enjoyed it

I am so glad I read it! I went back and forth between choosing this one and another one. I definitely made the best choice, I think!

[bookowlie]

Thanks for the review. This is my first young adult novel. I'm glad you enjoyed it

I am so glad I read it! I went back and forth between choosing this one and another one. I definitely made the best choice, I think!

I often spend too much time choosing between two books. One time I started reading the sample chapters on Amazon to decide and came back to find both books already taken.

[ALynnPowers]

I hate that this review hasn't attracted a lot of attention. This might have been one of my favorite books I have ever reviewed on this site.

[kyriakich]

Excellent review!! Got me hooked about the book. I am definetely going to read it!!

[aneet2_5]

This made me think of Prom Nights from hell but seems completely different will definitely check it out!

[ALynnPowers]

Excellent review!! Got me hooked about the book. I am definetely going to read it!!

Yay, so glad to hear!! Hope you enjoy!