A Christian teen has a medical problem that makes it impossible for her to have intercourse. Monique is a 17-year-old Black Baptist preacher's daughter in a small Texas town. Everyone expects her and her boyfriend, Dom, to do everything properly (read: no sex before marriage). However, because they're in love and will eventually get married, Monique figures there's no need to wait. But after two years together and secretly trying dozens of times, unsuccessfully, to have intercourse, Dom ends the relationship. Reeling from the breakup, Monique learns she has vaginismus--her vaginal muscles contract involuntarily, preventing penetration. The condition is caused by trauma, fear, guilt, or shame, and Monique has been raised to think of sex as dirty and bad. She wants to "fix" herself quickly and win Dom back, so she turns to two unlikely sources for help: Sasha, a seemingly straight-laced church girl, and Reggie, a troubled kid Monique's father hopes to rehabilitate. Along her unorthodox healing journey, Monique makes some surprising discoveries about her family and, more importantly, about herself. As described in a note to readers, Monique's story does much to raise awareness of vaginismus and directly confront toxic views about sex. Thanks to Goffney's superb storytelling and dazzling prose, this candid exploration of a sensitive subject is also a heartfelt, funny, and irresistible read. Smart, sex-positive--and positively terrific. (Fiction. 13-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Monique is a preacher's daughter, and she tries to follow her parents' strict rules. But while she's never had sex with Dom, her boyfriend of two years, it's not for lack of trying--Monique physically can't get her body to cooperate. Finally, Dom breaks up with her. Monique is determined to get him back, even if that means--gulp---exploring her own body. But she'll need help from the unlikeliest of places: Sasha, perfect church girl, who also happens to work at a women's clinic. And Reggie, the "troubled youth" Monique's dad is mentoring, who's also the life of every party and is slowly showing her what it might be like to spend time with someone who likes her simply for who she is. Goffney (Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, 2021) infuses her narrative with humor and Black culture and beautifully expands on Monique's relationships with her family. Her journey toward recognizing her own value is hard-won, and her awareness of her own worth, when it comes, feels like a true victory. An empowering read for teens.

Goffney's (Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry) sincere novel underscores conversations around sexual autonomy, purity culture, and internalized shame with earnestness and humor. Seventeen-year-old Black Texan Monique is a Baptist preacher's daughter and the prime example of a "good girl" who doesn't curse and never parties. Despite her conservative upbringing, however, Monique craves intimacy with longtime boyfriend Dom, 17. But after two years of trying, intercourse still proves too physically painful for her to endure, and Dom dumps her, leaving Monique feeling like "damaged goods." Searching for answers, Monique recruits fellow good girl Sasha, 15, who suggests Monique has vaginismus, an automatic and involuntary contraction of vaginal muscles. Joined by local "bad boy" Reggie, 16, Monique attempts to come to terms with her condition and interrogates the varying sources of shame that have cultivated her fear about her sexual desires. Safe spaces composed predominantly of Black women, discussions regarding sexual health education's importance, and tender, healthy depictions of romance that exhibit respect for personal boundaries populate this sex-positive read, a compassionate novel that encourages teens to prioritize the control, safety, and comfort of their own bodies. Ages 13--up. (May)