The Opposite of Innocent by Sonya Sones (review)

Lily’s parents have always found her childhood crush on family friend Luke cute. When he moves in with them, then, they don’t notice that something has changed in the way Luke looks at Lily. Lily does, though. At fourteen, her braces are off, her breasts have appeared, her acne isn’t that noticeable anymore, and she thinks she’s ready for twenty-nine-year-old Luke to make good on all those teasing promises he made when she was little that he would wait for her. With a quick kiss that progresses rapidly to clandestine make-out sessions, he does. When Lily’s friends try to set her up with a boy from school, she demurs, revealing that she’s involved with an older guy, though she fudges just how old he is. They object, but Lily is caught in the throes of a long-cherished dream come true, even when that dream turns sour. Luke wants more than Lily is ready for, starting with hand jobs that she finds mildly disgusting, and while she finds his jealousy over her spending time with her friends flattering at first, it soon becomes manipulative. When she finally decides to set boundaries, emotional manipulation turns into actual threats, and Lily knows she’s in way over her head. Sones is a seasoned hand at the verse novel, varying her poetic forms and measuring pace and impact through line breaks as she develops a realistic picture of a young teen’s thought patterns. Lily’s romantic naïveté is convincing enough to be both painful and frustrating, especially as she is credibly unaware of the serious illegality of Luke’s behavior. Fortunately, she has an older, wiser friend to turn to, and readers can find satisfaction in devising their own ending once she does.