Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

If there was ever a book that captures the extreme discomfort of coming into your own self, then EASY is that book. Fourteen-year-old Jessica lives a life in turmoil. Whether all of the turmoil is real or imagined doesn't matter. What's important is that for this girl who once knew exactly who she was and what place she held in the world, she no longer knows anything at all.

It was simple once. There was her mom, and dad, and older sister, Anne. There was school and her best friend, Elisabeth. Most of all there was photography, and Ruth, the art teacher she's had since seventh grade. But now her parents are divorced; her mom is unable to cope, and her dad has a new girlfriend, Dana, who caused her parent's split. Anne is busy alternately hating their father and being the parent to their mother. Ruth is equally busy hounding Jessica for her self-portrait that's to be entered in the national high school art contest.

But Jessica doesn't find the same comfort behind the camera that she'd once took for granted. In fact, Jessica doesn't take comfort in much of anything, except the new-found confidence she has when she's around members of the opposite sex. She finds herself lying in bed at night, reconstructing scenes with Jason, her crush. Somehow, though, it's not enough, this wanting from afar. Her body has changed, almost beyond recognition, and the catcalls and whistles from guys on the street give Jessica a feeling she hasn't had before--that of being admired, wanted, needed.

When she meets Ted, a guy in his twenties who stops for her on the highway, her initial wariness quickly turns to feelings of power. This guy desires her. He needs her. She, the girl who hasn't felt loved or wanted for such a long time, finally has the type of power that makes her feel alive.

This type of power doesn't last, and it's only a matter of time before Jessica figures this out. While her father is planning to marry his once-mistress, and her sister gets an actual boyfriend, and her mother revels in her misery, it will take some drastic circumstances before Jessica realizes just what, exactly, she's become. When she finally figures out which photograph to use for her self-portrait, it's not pretty. But neither, she realizes, is real life.

This is a book that, like its title suggests, is terribly easy to relate to. Even in this day and age, it is extremely simple for females to equate desire and attraction with self-worth and love. Whether it's the way of our society or the fault of the media, young girls especially learn from an early age that being wanted by males makes you a better female. EASY shows, without ever being preachy or self-effacing, the fallacy in this way of thinking. This is a definite winner that I highly recommend to anyone and everyone. Kudos to Ms. Hoffmann for such an emotional, heartfelt story. ( )

This book reminded me a of "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson. It wasn't written as creatively as "Speak," nor was it as engaging, but the storylines were similar. I appreciated the candid nature in which this book talked about teens and sex, but something about the way it was written seemed... off to me. The writing throughout the book was flat (Flat? Again, I can't put my finger on it...) causing me to feel very disconnected from the main character and unable to really get into the story. Or perhaps she just wasn't very likable.

Still, I think I should have been able to feel a little more for her than I did. I also thought the revelations and changes she made towards the end were rushed, contrived even. However, the book had a very important message, and again, I appreciate it when authors aren't afraid to speak candidly and realistically about teenagers and sex. Also, I really liked her final idea for her self-portrait! ( )

School Library Journal
Gr 8-10-With the hindsight provided by two years' maturity, Jessica looks back on the year her parents divorced, her mother withdrew, her father moved in with his girlfriend, and she herself slipped into sexual activity that she almost immediately regretted. Hoffmann vividly depicts how a 12-year-old's confused desperation, need for comfort, and inability to know when or how to stop self-destructive behavior lead her down a perilous path. Even well-meaning friends and a concerned teacher have difficulty breaking through to her. It's almost an accident when an observant neighbor alerts her mother to a suspicious stranger-Jessica's lover-helping the girl to end that relationship. A pregnancy scare gives her additional reason to reflect on and question what she's been up to. In the end, she has the luck and support that enable her to change course. The writing is realistic, insightful, and nonjudgmental. This book can provide teens with some understanding as to why people might make risky choices while offering readers the assurance that bad decisions need not be irrevocable.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. ( )

Reviewed by Mrs. Foley
Fourteen-year-old Jessica has realized it is easy to get the attention of boys and men, but she soon finds herself in over her head and longs for someone to help her. - From library catalog

This is a quick read (only 123 pages) and does explore how some girls (and guys) end up doing things that they know they shouldn't or that give them a reputation they would rather not have. That said, I wasn't too impressed with the book overall.

Review from Booklist:
After her parents' divorce, Jessica's father turns to a new love, and her mother is absorbed in grief and rejection. Jessica feels abandoned and unimportant until she becomes aware of the attention her blossoming body and sexuality can bring. Gradually, this attention seems more important than school, her budding talent as a photographer, or even her self-respect. In her desperate unhappiness, Jessica mistakes male lust and sex (described in frequent, frank scenes) with the beginning of a fulfilling relationship. Her photographer's eye can see her mother's neediness, but not her own; her former friend's status as easy, but not her own bad reputation. Hoffmann's writing talent saves the novel from becoming too didactic, even as the story hammers home a lesson that is far better for teenage girls to learn from a book than from experience. ( )