Pure by Terra Elan McVoy

Tabitha and her four best friends all wear purity rings, symbols of the virginity-until-marriage pledge they made years ago. Now Tab is fifteen, and her ring has come to mean so much more. It's a symbol of who she is and what she believes — a reminder of her promises to herself, and her bond to her friends.But when Tab meets a boy whose kisses make her knees go weak, everything suddenly seems a lot more complicated. Tab's best friend, Morgan, is far from supportive, and for the first time, Tabitha is forced to keep secrets from the one person with whom she's always shared everything. When one of those secrets breaks to the surface, Tab finds herself at the center of an unthinkable betrayal that splits her friends apart. As Tab's entire world comes crashing down around her, she's forced to re-examine her friendships, her faith, and what exactly it means to be pure.


Sometimes you read a book that when you're finished you feel lonely. Lonely because your journey of getting to know those characters is over. This is how I felt when finishing Pure. I loved getting to know Tabitha. I loved seeing her relationship with Cara, Morgan, and Jake develop and grow and find new plains of friendship. I wish I could know what happens to everyone. Like, keeps tabs on their lives, haha!

I love how controversial this novel is. Controversial nowadays almost means rebellious and unconventional. But I think Pure is controversial because it is so conventional. Purity rings, church, and perfect families. Sometimes people are afraid of morals and what the effect of other peoples' morals will have on them.

This novel was brilliant. It was educational but not preachy. The relationship Tabitha had with Morgan was so real and I'm very glad it ended the way it did. This novel shows us that not all things are cut and dry.

The one other thing I enjoyed was something the author didn't do. I'm glad Cara didn't get pregnant in this novel. So many novels about pre-marital sex focus on the consequences of the body but not many focus on what happens to the people around and Pure did just that.

Rating: 4.5

This novel in a lot of ways reminded me of Saved! (Which is hilarious, so you should rent it!) But, again, the main character gets pregnant.
Here's the trailer (Mandy Moore is the more vindictive version of Morgan, but her conviction is what parallels the two. Plus, Mandy Moore is so funny in this movie!)

And here's the poem, Desiderata, that's mentioned in the book. I really think it's worth reading (it's not very long). My favorite line is "with all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world".

Now doesn't that just put the icing on the cupcake? :)

Happy Reading!