Prey

My middle school students were fascinated with this novel. It was in constant circulation. ( )

This book is not like other Lurlene McDaniel's books and deals with a topic that you hear about in the news ( )

Wow... I've never would have expected Lurlene McDaniel to write a book like this.

Completely different from her other books. ( )

Another great book by Lurlene McDaniel. I always read her books when I was younger and when I read the description for Prey I knew that I had to pick up this book and give Lurlene McDaniel another try now that I am older. And her books are still as good as I remember.
The book starts off with Ryan, he has good friends, does okay in school, and is a well rounded kid. He is good friends with a girl named Honey, and Honey has a crush on him, but Ryan only sees her as a friend. Nothing more. Then comes Lori, aka Ms. Settles. She is the sexy high-heel wearing new history teacher and every guy has the hots for her. But Ms. Settles only has eyes for one. Ryan. And Ryan wants her too.
The book does get a little steamy in some places, but nothing bad for older teens to read. I actually find myself feeling kind of sorry for Ms. Settles towards the middle of the book because you can tell that she has something seriously wrong with her. She gets up at 3 AM to clean the kitchen floor and doesn't sleep. And obviously their is something wrong with her if she wants to sleep with her student.
Ryan also really likes Lori. All through the book I was wondering if he had a thing for his teacher because his mom had died when he was young and he was looking for a mother figure. Or if he found her irresistible like the rest of the guys in the school did and just wanted to be with her.
I know that I was very shocked at the end of the book and the outcome of it. Not your typical ending and what you would think would happen. But it made for a good read and I think that it fit the book. If you look at the news now and all of the cases that are going on with students and teachers, the outcome of the book sounds just like one of them.
This was a great read! ( )

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Bestselling author Lurlene McDaniel has taken a turn from her normally heartbreaking inspirational novels to write something completely different with PREY. This time around, she tackles a once taboo subject head-on -- that of the skewed relationship between a female teacher and her young male student.

Ryan Piccoli is a typical teen. He's fifteen, a freshman in high school, has a close knit group of friends that include Joel and Honey, and a fairly average student. Although his mother died when he was still a toddler, he has a father that, although gone most of the time as part of his job, still tries to connect with him as much as he can. Things are going pretty well; he's hoping for a car for Christmas for his sixteenth birthday, he's both excited and anxious to be starting high school, he's wondering if he'll get a girlfriend. And then the unthinkable happens: he meets Miss Lori Settles, the knew World History teacher.

Miss Settles is an immediate hit at McAllister High School, at least with the male population (you'd probably get a different response from the females). She's young, she's gorgeous, she seems to understand teenagers, and she has the most important attribute that any normal male can ask for -- she's got a body to die for, and she dresses for school each day in a way that will show it to its best advantage. Suddenly, every guy in the building, from students to faculty, wants to find a way to spend time with Miss Settles.

Only Ryan gets to spend time with her in a way that no one else would ever expect. What starts off innocently enough as a request to help his teacher move furniture soon evolves into trips to a coffee shop late at night. And when those trips then turn into visits at her apartment, Ryan figures it's only right, since they obviously are in love with each other. What follows is a sexual affair that, although high in intensity, might end up burning them both in the end.

Ms. McDaniel has written a real page-turner with PREY. Once you start reading, you'll not want to stop until the last word is read. This is a book that has no clear-cut answers and, actually, has no clear sense of who has done right and who has done wrong. Pick up a copy -- you'll be glad you did. ( )