Victoria, B.C.-based writer Sarah N. Harvey is not afraid of courting controversy, it seems, as she gamely delves into such touchy subjects as teen sex and pregnancy, body image, religion, and post-partum depression in her latest YA novel.

Narrator Julia, a 17-year-old “good girl” with an acerbic wit, introduces a cast of characters that includes her best friend Ruth, the daughter of a born-again fundamentalist Christian minister. Though Ruth is a loudmouth and prone to skipping classes at their Christian high school, she’s a far cry from the stereotypical “wild child” cliché that one might expect. At least until she goes to a party without Julia, gets drunk, loses her virginity (and then some) and ends up pregnant – with no idea who the father might be. Julia, ever the level-headed one, devises a plan that even a minimally astute young reader will recognize is doomed to fail from the start.

Harvey does a good job of capturing the voice of Julia, and Ruth is often a riot to read. The use of language actually spoken by teens, including a few harsh expletives, gives the book a realistic feel, as though it really were Julia’s words on the page, rather than those of an adult trying to harness a youthful tone.

Things fall apart a bit with the contrived device of using the opening lines of great works of fiction by the likes of Dickens and Shakespeare to preface each chapter. While the lines themselves foreshadow the events to come, attempting to tie Julia and Ruth’s plight to that of the March sisters or Scout Finch just doesn’t work. And it’s obvious that Harvey is trying to lure her readers to pick up some of the books mentioned, dropping teasers about the stories and their endings. But the truth is that any reader who is ready to dive into Wuthering Heights or David Copperfield is likely already too advanced for The Lit Report. Then again, the transition from YA reader to adult reader has to happen sometime, and not many parents or teachers would complain if that jump was made with the help of a classic or two.