Lacey Burke is a senior in high school. She plays the viola and is in a band with her best friends Theo and Evita. When her high school takes an abstinence approach to sex education, it's too much for her to handle. She feels her classmates should be educated about options they have when it comes to their sexual health. But Lacey is a virgin and even though she has never had sex herself, her mother has always been open with her about sex. Lacey soon becomes the resident expert on the subject at her high school, but not everyone is so happy about that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swoon Reads for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When I saw this book I had to read it. As a person who was also taught that abstinence was the only way, I would have liked to have a friend like Lacey Burke in my life. Someone who I could talk to without judgement about what was going on in my sex life. I think that if I did, I might have made different choices in my life.

Lacey really enjoys being in a band with her best friends Theo and Evita who also used to date. When their senior seminar class starts to discuss sex education, she has a different idea of what should be taught and she enlists their help in order to do so. Holding office hours in the girls bathroom during lunch and handing out condoms to classmates, Lacey is determined to make sure everyone in their school can be comfortable talking about sex and not stigmatizing it. When her actions get her in trouble with the administration and may jeopardize her future, her friends and family rally behind her to get things changed in their school.

This is a great YA book that I think most teens will enjoy and get a lot of information from it as well.

This book was okay and dealt with sex education and rights of teens so I feel that teen readers would get something out of this. The characters were very whiney and irritating. It's been a while since I was in school but did we all whine that much? I think that teens will connect with this book and it's appropriate for that age group.

This book is about three High school friends by the names of Evita, Lacey and Theo. They all seem to go to this prestigious high school in their area. But this school promotes abstinence only sex education. This kind of thinking Prompts Lacey to really educate her school on Sex education. She believes there is one problem on her end and that is, that she has never dated a boy before let alone engage in Sex of any kind. So she sets out to educated her school and ends up learning a few things along the way.

As for this book I rated it five stars. I love how much accurate sex education was put into this book by the author Olivia. Overall I think this is well informed filled book with real life emotions. The only thing is that i find this book reads more like an a New Romance than an Young Adult novel. This book is to me gear towards teenagers that are in 10 -12 grade or higher education. I do love these characters though. I was Lacey to a certain point all through high school, myself. I would also not hesitate to share this novel with my own children when they are teenagers almost adults. Great writing, real life filled reactions make this a great book for any other kid

I thought this was a super cute YA read. I’ve never read a young adult book that was as sex-positive as this, so this one was refreshing for a change. I have to say my favorite aspect of the book was the blossoming romance. My favorite trope is friends-to-lovers and this one was just so dang cute! I also adored Lacey and her friends Evita and Theo. I loved how it focused a lot on friendship.

The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me was such a sweet, swoony, entertaining and informative book. If this was Olivia Hinebaugh’s debut novel, I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next! I would highly recommend to all fans of young adult who are looking for something fresh and unique!

"demonizing and stigmatizing sex prevents everyone from getting information on safer sex" (chapter 1).

As someone completely fascinated by the correlation between literature and culture, I went into this story wanting to love it. After all, a book promoting teenagers fighting for sex education in their school and supporting the LGBTQIA community is something that is very relevant to our current culture. But the story was completely lacking. It felt like a sex education manual with the story in the sidelines only to give practical examples. Plus there was quite a lot of awkwardness and things that didn't add up.

The parents were very awkward and weirdly obsessed with talking about sex. While I do feel like parents should have open communication about sex so that their kids are aware and feel safe to ask questions, it really felt like sex was the only thing these moms wanted to talk about.

There is no way a teenager would be allowed to be a midwife for a hospital, nor would most people feel comfortable about that. Even with an independent study internship, there's no way a hospital would allow this. As soon as Lacey starts doing this, I had so much trouble connecting with her because it just wasn't believable.

Lacey and Theo's relationship exploded out of nowhere. This girl has never even been kissed or been a noticeable attraction to guys, and she has no hesitations with jumping Theo's bones and expressing her love for him literally the day he broke up with his ex. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but that's what it felt like.

The lack of character development in lieu of all the mindless sex education did not make many of the scenarios believable, nor did I develop any attachment to the characters. They actually kind of annoyed me. There wasn't much depth to them and their actions were sometimes confusing. I wasn't rooting for the romance, and I didn't connect with the characters' overall goals because the development was such a side venture to the real goal of educating the reader about sex.

I wish this book was more enjoyable because I feel some of the themes (more topics than themes, though) are ones that should be explored in YA in this culture. Overall, it felt like an over the top problem novel (the problem being abstinence only sex education in schools) where flat, forgettable characters tripped over their words the whole time to be politically correct.

The Bids, the Bees, and You and Me is an inclusive sex positive young adult novel, which is freaking awesome! This book would be a great resource to open up some dialogue about sexual health with its readers.

The main character Lacey is sweet and passionate. This is also such a small thing, but I was also so happy to see a teen MC play the viola! That never happens, and I used to play one as a teen! Anyway, Lacey is trying to figure out what she wants to do after high school. She loves playing with her friends in their band and is passionate about music, but she is also discovering her love of being a Doola and having frank discussions about sex and helping improve the school's sexual education curriculum. Does she want to focus on music or nursing after high school? That is the question.

While she is trying to figure out her future she is also juggling her feelings for her best friend Theo. There is just one big problem about that, her other best friend Evita used to date Theo so he is totally off limits. I adored Lacey and Theo's friendship, but I wasn't really caring if it turned into something more. That whole plot line just seemed like it was there because it had to be. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. However, Lacey's struggle with her feelings seemed authentic, if not predictable. Evita on the other hand was such a wonderful outspoken and fun character, and her and Lacey's friendship ringed true and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about. However, this book constantly pushes its message in your face, making the friendships and romance stories take a backseat, which was kind of a bummer.

The Bottom Line: The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me is an overall fun story with some great/important discussion-worthy scenes. I loved this line "Like, which is better for keeping us healthy: shame or information? It seems like a no-brainer."

Nice sex positive book! I really enjoyed the growth of the characters and the strong mother-daughter relationship. I will be purchasing a copy for my school library and encourage my older teens to pick this up!

A cute teen romance with a substantial message. If you’ve been enjoying the Sex Education TV show, this should be your next read, because there are a lot of similarities.

Lacey, Evita, and Theo are the best of friends in their senior year of high school in North Carolina. They dream of attending a music college in Boston together, but then the school’s mandatory abstinence-only “healthy life choices” class starts.

Lacey is the daughter of a former teen mother and a nurse, so she’s been raised right. She understands safe sex and consent and avoiding shame when it comes to sex or issues of women’s health. When she realizes that not everyone in their class has this basic knowledge, she starts giving advice, egged on by the outspoken Evita. But Lacey is less experienced in practice than just about everyone else, and she’s starting to have feelings for a friend. Plus, since the school thinks any discussion of condoms is “lewd”, helping her schoolmates (including another teen mom) means risking her academic career.

I wish this kind of book had been around when I was younger. It’s great to see kids fighting to protect other kids from ignorance and shame. Since Evita is asexual and heads up the school Genders and Sexualities Alliance, there’s even acknowledgement that the issue doesn’t have to be heteronormative.

Of course, the romance is a bit predictable. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the parts of this novel that will stay with me are the educational elements, the friendships, and the struggle to fight ignorance cloaked as morality.

This book was an absolute delight. So delightful, in fact, that I'm invested enough in the future of Lacey, Theo, Evita, and Sarah that I will be forever disappointed if we don't see a sequel.

So, about this book. Basically, Lacey and co. go to school in a small town and in that town, despite the regularity of teen pregnancy, they teach only abstinence based sex education. Well Lacey finds this ridiculous and when she interrupts another arbitrary lesson on not letting your purity be sullied, she finds herself at odds with the administration. Even more so when she starts doling out condoms and sex advice. In the meantime, though, there's still band practice and navigating new relationships and figuring out what to do with her life. So the easy stuff. :-)

Seriously though, I loved these characters. Even when they were being idiots. They were so relatable and I honestly rooted for all of them the whole way through. Are there a few things I would have liked to see fleshed out more? Sure. But I'm happy to wait for the sequel.

I don’t actually know where to begin with this review but goodness I loved this book!

I think I’m about to say what a lot of people will say but I wish there was a book like this when I was a teenager, I mean my school promoted safe sex but there was still an element of stigma attached to any lesson because you could just tell that none of the teachers felt comfortable in those classes. This book is so positive about all elements that it definitely would have helped my confidence at that time.

The message in the book is so clear and so simple, I love that it isn’t just sex but also life choices, consent, feminism, inclusion with all the negativity that is present within these topics it is wonderful to read something so positive. I would love to be able to just push this book upon all those negative people and show them that it really is that straightforward to incorporate all these things into your life.

Whilst the message is important, it’s the characters that really make this book stand out for me. Lacey, Evita and Theo are amazing characters the three personalities meshed so well together, and I loved their ever-evolving relationships with each other and the issues that this caused because it was so natural. I felt myself in Lacey’s shoes as she starts to realise how her feelings are changing and is unsure what to do about it.

I also loved the relationships that Lacey and Evita had with their mothers it was nice to see that they would be supportive of the causes that their daughters were passionate about and that in many ways Lacey’s mindset was introduced by her mother, because often parents in books like this are seen to not understand or be a negative influence.

I have such a soft spot for Theo, I can’t even tell you, I wish there were more Theo’s in real life, he is informed and sensitive and just so swoon-worthy. I do wish maybe we had gotten just a little more background on him as I felt like there was a lot more there but maybe that’s just because he was clearly my favourite.

I feel like I could gush about this book all day long, I cannot put into words how buoyed up I was after reading this book, this one is a must read.

​Best friends Lacey, Theo and Evita have their year planned out- do good in school, practice their music apply to Berklee and live together in Boston jamming together with their band. However, things begin to change for Lacey. Lacey's mom was a teenage mom, now a labor and delivery nurse who has always been upfront and direct with Lacey about sex, consent, protection and staying healthy. Lacey has no experience with this herself, she has never even been kissed. But when her senior seminar class begins to preach abstinence only education and being fearful or ashamed of sex, Lacey steps up in order to make sure her classmates are safe and protected, Lacey becomes a guru for sex questions and she, Theo and Evita help pass out condoms and other forms of protection to students. The school is not appreciative of their efforts, however and suspends the trio for passing out lewd material. In between all of this, Lacey and Theo realize that they have feelings for one another and begin to navigate a sexual relationship of their own.

The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me is a wonderful, sex-positive and health conscious story that is appropriate and informational for young adults while being entertaining. I loved Lacey's character as well as her mom. Even though Lacey was inexperienced, she held a wealth of knowledge thanks to her mother's open attitude and positive conversations. Not everyone can have a mom like Lacey's though, which is why it is important for schools to teach about sexual health. The reaction from the school was very surprising to me, it seemed to me that if they could turn a blind eye to all of the pregnant girls maybe they could do the same for a girl passing out condoms. I do wish that Lacey, Evita and Theo would have worked with the adults more for their project instead of going rouge. I do like how everything panned out in the end. Another great aspect to the story was the friendship between Lacey, Theo and Evita. Talking things out with friends is another step in healthy relationships and these guys had a lot of difficult conversations. The straightforward conversations between Lacey and Theo about consent and sex are wonderful examples of how to start a sexual relationship. In reading these conversations, they did seem a little awkward and uncomfortable to me, but I also think that is the reality of the situation. Lacey and Theo's budding romance as well as their band add to the excitement of this fun and realistic young adult novel.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me is a bold novel that tackles issues of sexual health education head-on. It’s narrated by Lacey, a (normally) quiet girl who gets fed up with the terrible sex ed program at her school and the negative ways that it affects students, and tries to make a change by answering other kids’ questions and handing out pamphlets on safe sex.

The messages in the book were pretty spot-on: it talks about loads of topics, from consent to feminism and more. The book talks about how abstinence-only education doesn’t work: there are always going to be teenagers who have sex, and the most important thing is that they’re educated about how to be safe.

Through Alice, a friend of Lacey’s who dropped out of school after becoming pregnant, the book also talks about de-stigmatizing teen pregnancy, and how harmful it can be to shame teenagers who get pregnant.

In addition to these issues, the novel also explores other teenage things like first love, college decisions, and rocky friendships. Lacey and her two best friends, Evita (a super badass biromantic asexual) and Theo (whom Lacey is in love with) have a band which is also pretty cool!

I also really liked reading about Lacey’s internship at a hospital, where she helped to support mothers giving who were giving birth. This is something that I’ve definitely never read about and found super interesting.

I think the main reason why I didn’t give The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me a full four star rating is that I wasn’t 100% invested in the relationships. I did enjoy Lacey’s relationship with her mom (who is a nurse and SUPER open with her daughter, in a way that sometimes provides comic relief), but overall, the relationships weren’t super exceptional for me, and I was sort of wishing for less of the friends and dating drama.

I enjoyed The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me and its messages, but I thought it could’ve been a bit better. Overall, it was a compelling read, though!

3.5 stars

This book surprised me in such a positive way. I don't think I've ever read such a sex positive book. The Birds, The Bees and You and Me is very diverse and tells us it's okay to love who you love and be who you are.

Lacey grew up with her single mother who's always been very open and honest with anything that has to do with sex. She's made Lacey realize it's okay to want what you want, but that consent is very important and to only to do what she's comfortable with. I think Lacey knows more ways to protect herself than most adults! Her relationship with her mother was one of my favorite things about this book!

At school, they start sex-ed, but when it's abstinence only, Lacey has a hard time with this. Why shouldn't students learn how to protect themselves? Not only from diseases, but teenage pregnancy. Let's just say the school isn't happy when Lacey speaks her mind. I was proud of Lacey and her friends sticking up for what they believe in.

Students start to learn about Lacey's knowledge and she starts giving advice (even if she hasn't even had her first kiss). Besides her fight to help get her classmates educated, this book is filled with many other things: friendship, learning what you really want and first loves.

Lacey, Theo and Evita are a really close group and have a band together. It's fun reading about their friendship and that they'd do anything for each other. Everybody needs friends like that. Things get harder for her when she realizes her dreams may be different than what her best friends want and that Theo is starting to feel like more than a friend.

I love how Lacey grows in this book. She starts off really shy, even about giving advice about sex, but starts becoming really confident. Lacey fights for what she wants and gives herself a chance to explore her feelings. I loved how much Lacey and Theo talked about their relationship and didn't just assume things. It's important to teach teenagers about mutual respect.

The Birds, The Bees and You and Me does get a bit descriptive when it comes to sex in this story, but this is done in a very respectful way. Besides the important messages it brings, the story of young love and an amazing friendship make this book complete!

Overall, I highly recommend this book. It is one of those books that I wish came out when I was just starting high school and wasn't quite sure of how to approach the topic of safe sex or how to look past the stigmatism that surrounds the topic. This book is perfect for not only explaining things but also perfect for an adorable story that will have you squealing like nobodies business. Thank you so much to Xpresso Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!

The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me, a debut novel by Olivia Hinebaugh, takes on the practice of teaching sexual abstinence as well as the ill-informed sex-ed classes in high school.

The main character, Lacey Burke, is a quiet, breaks-no-rules, music geek whose mother has instilled in her the values of knowledge and looking out for her own sexual health, although Lacey isn't exactly a practicing sexual being despite wanting to be. When sexual abstinence is preached in class, Lacey rebels, deciding that her fellow students deserve better than what they are being taught.

The characters in The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me are well-developed without a lot of angst despite the situations they come up against. I found Lacey to be particularly well done, her reactions and insecurities on target for a young woman of her age. Likewise, her best friend, Evita, is also well done, with her brash extroverted manner, yet who also can easily have her feelings hurt without going overboard. Theo, while being pleasant, doesn't seem quite as layered as Lacey and Evita although there seemed like it was plenty of opportunity considering his parents.
I enjoyed the musical aspects and wished they'd been explored a bit more, although it wasn't the primary topic of the novel. In fact, I felt that the issue of Lacey's future as a musician was not as well considered as it should have been. Perhaps this was the case of trying to weave in too many layers. 

The novel is extremely informative and probably a good read for young adults without being too explicit. 

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*Spoiler free, 3.75 stars*

I wasn't sure about this book. SwoonReads books aren't usually my cup of tea. Though, the title is really clever (the cover is a little off for me though) and I am definitely love the idea of sex positivity in books! And this one sounded like it wasn't just going to be sex positive, it was going to be pro safe sex, pro consent, and pro learning about sex so you can make the best decision for you!

I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I thought it would be alright and the sex positivity would be awesome, but I wasn't expecting too much. The beginning is a little shaky. Sentences seem choppy (I did read an ARC, so this is subject to change) and dialogue seemed stilted and awkward. I felt like I didn't know what characters were going to say next and not in a good way. Characterization was all over the place. And there were just so many cringey lines.

The romance also started of really, really weird. It sort of seemed like it was thrown together at the last second? It does feature one of my favorite tropes, but it comes out of nowhere and character motivation does not align at all. The romance actually turned out out to be really good. Things settled down and the tropeyness really kicked in and it was awesome. I also had a few problems with Evita, Lacey's best friend. I felt like some conflict was introduced, but it never really followed through. There is development that happens, I just don't think it was stark enough for the changes that happened.

Though, about 1/3 in things really pick. Pieces start to fall into place and the plot settles. This book is fun and cheesy. And this time in a good way haha. This book features things that I rarely see in YA books, besides sex positivity. Honestly Lacey's mom was basically my mom. She was so proud when Lacey, straight As and never breaks a rule, gets in trouble. I was kinda cool to see such a present, forward thinking, and laid back parent figure!

The way sex education was handled in this book was fantastic. I actually learned a lot haha. It was so unapologetic in talking about the things that people usually feel awkward or embarrassed talking about. I loved that it normalized it. And there was such a big emphasize on consent and it being sexy and it was amazing. There is clear consent in the sex scenes and it was fantastic it to see it there. Both the MCs were completely open about what they wanted and what they were comfortable with.

Another thing that I found super awesome was the communication. I didn't expect for characters to talk things out as well as they did. Lacey makes a mistake. And she and her best friend hash it out by having a conversation. No super big dramatics. Just two girls talking about what went wrong and how they want things to change and how they want to do better going forward. It was super awesome to see.

I would love for more books to be sex positive in all the ways that in can. In having sex is cool if you want and so is not having sex. Just putting an emphasize on doing what you're comfortable with. This book does that so well. I enjoyed it a lot. I would definitely want to read a sequel or companion novel of sorts!

The premise of The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me is sure to be highly intriguing to its intended young adult audience. While tackling the topics of safe sex and acceptance, author Hinebaugh provides young readers with an interesting coming of age story.

The story follows Evita, Theo and Lacey through the trials and tribulations of their senior year of high school. The stress of college applications and upcoming (physical) separation of friends weighs heavily on the trio. Those normal stressors take a backseat to Lacey’s latest cause. Her progressive mother has taught her all about safe-sex practices, and Lacey cannot tolerate the idea of the school preaching abstinence only.

The story of Evita, Theo and Lacey’s friendship is quite charming. The trio is a nice sampling of typical young adults. Their closeness and the various relationship issues felt organic even if some of the dialogue didn’t. The trio’s friendship, budding love interests and musical endeavors really made the story for me. Author Hinebaugh has created a nice story through which to explore the ideas of the sacristy of your body as well as your perspectives that is sure to be appreciated by young adult readers.

I appreciated the fresh, healthy approach to the topic of teen sex. I was delighted by the open communication between the kids and their parents. However, I wasn’t thrilled with Lacey being the on-campus peer sex guru given that she has zero experience herself. The character’s zealousness felt self-righteous given her text-book informed point of view and lack of experience. I will say, that Lacey taking a stand, finding her voice, and doling out advice will probably be a hit with teen readers, and the story format is likely to be a great way to communicate all those safe-sex messages to the intended audience of The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me. Consequently, for me this might be a three-star read, but if I were still in high school, I would give this book 4+ stars.

Lacey has been taught well about birds and bees, to a point she's been giving office hours to solve doubts about sex from her classmates due to a failing sex-ed curriculum. Except, she's never even kissed yet.

Okay, the sex safety advices were good and the story was interesting. To a point. It all got to long and unevitably dragged for too much of the book from the moment I could see how it would end. In the end, even the health advices became too preachy. I think the author, at some point, got lost in the difference between writing entertainment and writing a school read. This would be the funniest if my intention were to learn and not to have fun reading a witty YA book.

It's still a good story. And, unlike many I've read in the genre, it's not graphic. I was actually surprised how well the author knew to set the line for that point. Lacey is also very relatable, she's not actually innocent, she just hasn't found the guy to do all the things she'd like to.

Unfortunately, it got too educational and predictable, but the advices given were great and Theo is the book boyfried you want.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

I received a copy of THE BIRDS, THE BEES, AND YOU AND ME from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!

Five stars and here’s why:

I loved it. This YA book nailed the story, and the issues teens face in today’s fast-paced world. I started reading it and couldn’t put it down. The characters are relatable, and honestly, quite refreshing.

If you enjoy great writing and an intriguing plot that sheds a new perspective on friendship and love, then this book is for you. Highly recommend!

This is everything we need in YA right now. I was blown away by the entirety of this novel. It felt so painfully real to me and it is a conversion we need to be having with teens. Sex shouldn't be something you're shamed for. We need to be handling the situation with respect. Most people are going to have sex in their lives. Even if it's not when they're in high school, we need to be setting them up for success. They need to learn about consent, birth control methods, and how to be having safe sex, preferably before they are having sex. We are trying to set them up for success in life and we need to be teaching them about their bodies, too. This is a health issue and we're really failing our youth by creating this stigma and shame around it.

I was utterly delighted to see not one but two ace characters in this book. I absolutely loved the dialogue around Evita and the fact that she spoke frankly about her sexuality. Asexuality is a spectrum and people fall on different parts of it. A lot of people don't understand even the basic idea of being asexual, let alone the spectrum. I really loved how it was handled and how much respect it was given on page. It was a learning experience for those who were unaware and a reaffirming experience for those of us who are asexual.

Besides the issues of sex and teens not being respected about it, this novel also tackled friendship beautifully. How do you handle it when two of your best friends fall in love? Do you risk the careful balance of a friendship for something more?

I think YA doesn't explore friendships enough and I really loved to see the beautiful one that this one has. It's real and honest. It's not perfect and people screw up, but that's what a real friendship is.

I also loved that our MC was struggling with her decisions in life. It's a really tough decision when choosing where to go to school or what to go to school for. There's a lot of expectations and people depending on you, from friends to your parents. This book shows that delicate balance and the difficulties with choosing your future.

This was everything I've wanted and needed in a YA. It had beautiful relationships, utterly supportive parents, feminism, and sex positivity. I could list for days all of the things I loved about this book and I will be shoving this in everyone's hands when this book releases.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*