Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios is our next First Chapter Fridays!
Author: Heather Demetrios
Copyright: 2017
Recommended for: Grades 9-12
Genre: realistic fiction
Themes: parental abuse, dating abuse, suicide, OCD, drama/theatre, controlling behavior
Protagonist: female, high school junior, cues white
Starred reviews: no starred reviews
Pages: 360
This is the story of an abusive high school relationship. It may read like a love story for a little bit, but readers will know right from this first chapter that this is NOT a romance. This is a controlling, abusive relationship that for the narrator, feels exhilarating, confusing, unpredictable, and terrifying all at the same time.
I know when I do any type of booktalk or read-aloud, the book flies off the shelf for weeks. For students looking for YA novels about abusive relationships, Grown by Tiffany Jackson is another fantastic choice.
For this title, you need only start with Ch. 1 and read until Grace makes a reference to The Sound of Music. That’s only about one page of reading, but it’s plenty to hook readers.
Unfortunately, I don’t see any audiobook version of this title. It will be up to you–the read-aloud person–to channel Grace’s anger and pain. It comes through so nicely just in Grace’s voice, but you’ll do it a disservice if you read it without emotion. Grit your teeth. Get MAD.