I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

“On the Subject of Unmentionable Things” is a young adult novel by Julia Walton, the author of “Words on Bathroom Walls”. The book tells the story of Phoebe Townsend, a high school student who creates a blog about sex education. Her blog went viral after it was attacked by a conservative politician, Lydia Brookhurst. The novel explores themes of sex education, consent, and freedom of speech

Such a cute and hilariously awkward YA novel that shines a light on the lack of sex education for teens and the problems surrounding purity culture.

I loved this is an audio book! The main character really shines, and the local election plot did a great job fueling the conversations that the author wanted to have.

Definitely a great crossover choice for both teens and adults.

4.5 stars! This was refreshing and funny and amazingly sex positive. The political parallels to our current world are done in such a succinct and easy to read way that it has the ability to open a teenager’s eyes who may have been purposefully sheltered. I really, thoroughly enjoyed this novel and can’t wait to see it on the shelves!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me an ARC!
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Unfortunately I DNFed this, it just didn’t catch my attention and maybe I’ll get into it again when I’m in the perfect headspace to give this another try! But I would buy and recommend this to others definitely!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC. This was an enjoyable read about Phoebe who everyone thinks they know as a rule follower but she's posing as Pom, a teen who's anonymously talking about the truth about sex through her blog and social media. Not surprisingly many are not comfortable with this. and find it scandalous. The story provides an interesting look at sex and our culture.

Phoebe Walton knows a lot about sex. As the researcher and writer for a fact-based blog on sexuality known as Pom, Phoebe's site has come under fire from a local politician who finds the frank discussion too controversial for young minds.

As Phoebe tries to stay one step ahead of the aggressive campaign to reveal her online identity, she also struggles with discovering who she is as her senior year in high school unfolds. Julia Whalton's On the Subject of Unmentionable Things starts out with a terrific hook and first-person narration by Phoebe as she navigates difficult waters -- some she's created for herself and others she encounters through the living of her life. As her small town and friends become increasingly polarized over reaction to her blog, Phoebe debates whether or not she should confess to Pom and the consequences it could bring to her life -- both intended and unintended.

Walton doesn't pull a lot of punches in the story and it's nice to see a story that addresses human sexuality (teen or otherwise) in a mature, level-headed fashion. There is no shaming of anyone here and Phoebe's open-mindedness is refreshing. And while the novel steers into a couple of YA tropes like the love triangle (thankfully, quickly resolved though there are implications and ramifications over the course of the novel), it eventually unravels in the final act. Much of this stems from the YA trope of having teens who seemingly know more than adults and act wiser than their years would have you believe.

And yet, the novel is one that manages to touch on taboo subjects without necessarily getting heavy-handed about them.

In the end, like Phoebe, I felt a bit unsatisfied about how some of the events in the story played out. I still think this is a worthwhile read and one that could open some doors to interesting conversations for teens and the adults in their lives.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When did it become considered inappropriate to speak the truth? And why should someone need to sneak around and feel guilty if they are searching for information on the most basic of subjects – sex.
In the novel, On the Subject of Unmentionable Things, we meet an informed, talented teen who is curious about sex. Phoebe Townsend is not interested in engaging in sex, but does not believe it should be difficult for those pursuing information to find it. She has an analytic and inquisitive mind and starts researching simply out of curiosity regarding this taboo subject. Eventually, she begins to blog about her findings. She keeps her blog straightforward, facts only, no opinions to muddy the waters, and, most important, anonymous.
She has good reason to keep her writing secret. Though she knows she has nothing to be ashamed of, the blog is attacked by those who call her a pervert and clamor for her to reveal her identity. Rather than engaging with hate mongering, Phoebe opens her blog up to allow questions and comments. This, of course, means she will have to deal with the cruelty that the internet allows when people engage from a distance. It also means, though, that Phoebe is able to give answers to teens who are too frightened to ask questions in person. Teens post on her blog asking such question as “Can I become pregnant from oral sex?” or “Are condoms 100% effective?” How much fear and unwanted pregnancies could be stopped if only teens and adults, both, could easily find information which they have been trained not to ask.
While Phoebe is running her anonymous blog, she also has a completely normal, and active, teenage life. She is on her school paper and is busy getting ready for college. She has aspirations and goals that are important to her including creating a future where she can work in journalism getting all sorts of important information to the world. She has two boys that she is interested in and a best friend, Cora, who is testing out her first serious relationship. She has a close relationship with her parents and loves her community.
The adversity begins ramping up when a local celebrity runs for office and decides to make her loathing of Phoebe’s blog a part of her campaign platform. She asserts that though the anonymous author claims she’s a teen, it’s obviously an adult and a pervert. She calls for the author to reveal themselves and, eventually, she hires someone to hack into the blog and find the actual author. She then shares Phoebe’s name with the world during a political debate.
This third story arc in the novel begins as Phoebe deals with how her life changes once her hometown knows she is the author of the blog. There is support from some surprising places, but, also, unfortunately, the terrorizing and bullying one would expect in this day and age. However, Phoebe never backs down from what she believes is her right and the correct way to live. The end of the book is not a too-sweet happy ending, but it is a very clever and realistic beginning to a new era in Phoebe’s life.
Everything about Julia Walton’s novel, On the Subject of Unmentionable Things, pulls the reader along without utilizing overblown or excessive drama. It feels like this novel could be taking place in any town in America at this moment. Though there is a strong story line and engaging characters, what really sticks with the reader is how thought-provoking this story is. I cannot recommend it enough.

On the Subject of Unmentionable Things is a well written YA coming-of-age novel by Julia Walton. Released 23rd Aug 2022 by Random House on their Children's imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out in 3rd quarter 2023. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

The author delivers a sex-positive story with an impressively believable and genuinely relatable young protagonist who writes a sex-ed blog anonymously in a sadly all-too-believable conservative town. The way the author manages to handle the unequal power dynamics and conflict between conservative religious figures and fact-based understandable sex education is -wonderfully- nuanced and engaging.

The book does contain good information about sex, which is a nice bonus and a valid reason to access the book for its own merits. In addition, it's engaging and fun, with moments of humor and some pathos, and a solid character driven plot arc.

Four stars. I'm a few decades outside the target audience, but I found myself rooting for Phoebe/Pom and satisfied with the denouement and resolution which are self contained in this volume. It's a very well done book, but it *is* a YA book about sex, and library acquisitions personnel & educators should be aware that there are on-page descriptions of sex, sexual acts, and sexual expression. They're absolutely not egregious, and there's nothing objectionable, but I'm 100% sure that it won't stop people protesting and clutching their pearls.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Such a great book! It’s super informative and handles important topics with care and honesty. I also love how individual choices are handled with respect and it showed how damaging it can be to keep people in the dark about their own bodies.

I absolutely loved the format of this book as well as the sex positivity. I loved that the author effectively carried the story line and did not feel the need to tidy it up in a bow at the end - this story does not need an “everyone accepted it and we all lived happily ever after” finisher and I’m glad it wasn’t given. We need more books like this!

I absolutely loved this book! It was such an open and honest story about teens and their questions about sex. Walton tells the story through a variety of formats that keep the reader engaged (and sometimes outraged) at how people react to teens having a questions about a subject that too many adults are not willing to have with them. I loved all of the characters and it was refreshing to also love the parents -- even when they were struggling and just being human. This book is a must have for all high school libraries!

SEX, it's a four letter word and one subject that places fear in any parents hearts. Yet, if you cant go to a parent than who do you go to for information? You go to Pom, the online instructional social media personality. Pom has the researched information and will answer any question you may have. But can Pom stay anonymous and keep her personal life behind closed doors? Walton brings all the sexual questions teens have out from the shadows in a relatable way. This book is very much needed and will hopefully start conversations that will lead to more informed teens. The only bump in this book for me was the superficial side plot of the food trucks. It seemed to distract from the central theme and was not given enough depth.

I really, really liked this book. The voice was fresh and relatable, and the sex positivity was realistic, informative, and approachable. I am a sucker for a secret identity/alter ego, and this was a really fun twist on that trope. I like that it showed conflict regarding religion at a time in teens' lives when that sometimes comes into play especially where sex positivity is concerned. Overall, this was a good, progressive read.

Highly recommend for all teens and any adult working with teens!! This book tackles the ongoing issue of banning topics from kids, and using kids’ issues to fight adult battles. I loved the sex positive aspect to Phoebe’s blog.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

On The Subject Of Unmentionable Things sticks very true to its title. Growing up in the United States, the way the education system teaches its students about sex education is very subpar. This book takes those issues and fights against its “taboo” in a beautiful and brilliantly executed way. I recommend this for fans of “Moxie.”

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. On the Subject of Unmentionable Things tells the story of Pom, an anonymous blogger who discusses sexual questions on their blog in a honest, straightforward and truthful manor with links to helpful sites for more information. This site draws the ire of a conservative town person who tries to shut the blog down and unmask Pom, while also trying to shut down the "unamerican" groups in Linda Vista. In today's climate of book challenges, protests of xenophobia, this is a very timely book

This was pretty much a quick read and I read it in about a day and a half. I was instantly hooked and wanted to keep reading this. I definitely did not want to put it down. If Julia’s previous books are anything like this then I definitely want to read them.

Another thing I enjoyed about the book was the additional elements from the main character, Phoebe’s blog, Twitter, emails, texts and etc I think it adds just another dimension to the book. I plan on picking up a finished copy to see how they look in the book since I read an eArc of it.

I am clearly not the demographic for this book but as a parent, I think it’s an important book to read and have our teens read. I admit it made me uncomfortable and that is because I am looking at it through a parent’s eye and we want our kids to know things but yet we don’t if that makes sense? Growing up this kind of book never existed and I wish it would have. This was a taboo and uncomfortable topic and no one wanted to talk about it. Sadly it still seems to be a taboo and uncomfortable topic.

The main character is Phoebe, a high school student who follows things to the tee. She is a straight-A student and writes for her high school paper. (I loved that the storyline takes place in a small town.) What her small town doesn’t know is that Phoebe is actually Pom, an anonymous teen who is rewriting sex education on her social media accounts. I should mention Phoebe is curious and she wants everyone to have the right information. Everyone is loving it except one person and that is Mrs, Brookhurst who doesn’t hold back on her criticism of Pom calling Pom a pervert. This was why Phoebe remained anonymous. But can she remain anonymous? What will people think about her if they find out?

Without giving too much away I suggest you pick it up to read. Julia did a perfect job bringing such important topics to light.

This was such a great read. It tackles that sensitive subject of sex education in teens. And it was so refreshing to actually see a teen taking this into her own hands due to the fact that the proper education was not out there. Phoebe is such a great main character who everyone who so dead set on being a rule follower and a goody two shoe. She grows. She’s all around what a main character should be comprised of. The development throughout the book was fantastic and the whole story was executed beautifully.