On the Subject of Unmentionable Things

Walton (Just Our Luck) delivers a sharply rendered tale featuring white high school junior Phoebe Townsend, whose sex education blog goes viral after a conservative local politician denounces it. Most of Phoebe’s classmates know her as the quiet girl who writes for the school paper; no one would suspect that she, under the pseudonym Pom, also writes a sex ed blog. While she initially started the site to journal her extensive research into topics her school’s health classes glossed over—including masturbation and female arousal—all that changes when the white president of Linda Vista, Calif.’s Citizens’ Coalition for Responsible Censorship, Lydia Brookhurst, attacks Phoebe’s blog on Twitter, calling it “disgusting.” The confidence boon Phoebe gains from Pom’s notoriety inadvertently helps boost Phoebe’s popularity; she manages to line up interviews with health professionals and charm both the cute school paper editor and the star quarterback with her newfound take-charge attitude. But when Brookhurst’s continued demands that the blogger “reveal” herself threaten Phoebe’s anonymity, she must decide whether she’s willing to walk away from her mission or risk going public. Via Phoebe’s persistent and courageous voice, snippets of her Twitter and blog posts, and a wealth of useful factoids, Walton crafts an essential, sex-positive volume. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Aug.)