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. ( )

Prey is the newly anticipated novel by author Lurlene McDaniel. McDaniel is a veteran of young adult issues and has written over forty books! Prey is the first novel by McDaniel that I have read, but I am sure that it won’t be the last.Ryan is like any other high school freshman. Trying to fit in to the high school social scene and avoiding the seniors. He has his two best friends Joel and Honey to keep him sane. Joel keeps Ryan occupied with his friendship and video games while his dad is constantly out of town. Then of course there is Honey, the basketball superstar. She has had a crush on Ryan forever, but of course like most teenage boys he is oblivious.Ryan's normal high school life changes when he steps into his new World History class and he sees his new teacher Ms. Lori Settles, as do every other male in the student and faculty population! Ryan and Ms. Settles develop a relationship out of the classroom after Ryan helps her move in to her new apartment. As the relationship progresses so do Lori's demands. Ryan's friends wonder where he is and Honey notices the change in Ryan's persona. Will their relationship be able to remain secret?The topic of Prey is very relevant and very real. You hear more about student/teacher relationships in the media then ever before. It has even happened in my small town high school. It is apparent that Lurlene researched her topic thoroughly. Her complex characters and interesting twists keep you enthralled in the story. A compelling read!Will you be able to decide who is the predator and who is the prey? ( )

In the same vein as Teach Me by R.A. Nelson and Boy Toy by Barry Lyga, Lurlene McDaniel writes PREY, the story of a fifteen-year-old boy who gets involved with his much older female teacher. This is a very short book told in alternating chapters by Ryan (the young man), Lori (the teacher), and Honey (Ryan’s best friend who has been nursing a major crush on him for years).Throughout the book the reader can see that Lori intends to start a relationship with Ryan from the first minute she meets him. She is manipulative and easily seduces Ryan. We can see that Lori suffers from deep scars caused by her father and is plagued by bouts of depression. She isn’t a likeable character because of her attitude towards men. She uses her body as a tool to get what she wants and doesn’t consider it a bad thing at all.Ryan is a typical teenager. He has a nice group of friends, plays video games, and keeps up with his school work. Once his relationship with Lori starts though, things change. He stops hanging out with Honey and his other friends and his school work begins to suffer. Most of the time he loves being with Lori, but sometimes misses his old life where there wasn’t anything to worry about except grades and getting a car.Honey is the first person to realize that Ryan isn’t acting like himself. She takes it upon herself to find out what is going on and her actions lead to some major fallout.My main problem with the book is the final chapter which takes place three years after the affair ends. I have a feeling the author was trying to illustrate how emotionally damaging it is for a young person to be in this type of relationship, but it came off weird. Things about Ryan’s personality that we were never introduced to in the book come out in the last couple of pages (things about his life even before his relationship with Lori). Whereas without this final information I liked Ryan, but after reading the final chapter, he seemed like a creep. I’m anxious to hear what other people think about this. Is it just me? Let me know in a comment.There is some strong language in the book, but the sex scenes aren’t very graphic. Still this isn’t a book for middle schoolers. Boy Toy and Teach Me are much better examples of this storyline. ( )

I don't usually like books by Lurlene McDaniel, but this one I did like. It tells the story of a boy (Ryan) who has a secret relationship with his teacher (Lori). Not a popular story idea, but a great story to read. ( )

Really interesting book. It was fun and fast paced but was realistic and you could feel the emotions of the characters. I would recommend it to others. ( )