On the Subject of Unmentionable Things is a well written YA coming-of-age novel by Julia Walton. Released 23rd Aug 2022 by Random House on their Children's imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out in 3rd quarter 2023. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
The author delivers a sex-positive story with an impressively believable and genuinely relatable young protagonist who writes a sex-ed blog anonymously in a sadly all-too-believable conservative town. The way the author manages to handle the unequal power dynamics and conflict between conservative religious figures and fact-based understandable sex education is -wonderfully- nuanced and engaging.
The book does contain good information about sex, which is a nice bonus and a valid reason to access the book for its own merits. In addition, it's engaging and fun, with moments of humor and some pathos, and a solid character driven plot arc.
Four stars. I'm a few decades outside the target audience, but I found myself rooting for Phoebe/Pom and satisfied with the denouement and resolution which are self contained in this volume. It's a very well done book, but it *is* a YA book about sex, and library acquisitions personnel & educators should be aware that there are on-page descriptions of sex, sexual acts, and sexual expression. They're absolutely not egregious, and there's nothing objectionable, but I'm 100% sure that it won't stop people protesting and clutching their pearls.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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