Dancing Naked

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

After two linked adventure fantasies (Disconnected, 1998, and Tangled
Web, 2000) Shelley Hrdlitschka switches genres to produce a teen problem
novel, which follows 16-year-old Kia Hazelwood as she deals with an
unplanned pregnancy, the result of a faulty condom during her first and
only act of intercourse. In a nondidactic, nonjudgmental way,
Hrdlitschka, through Kia’s emotional struggles, informs readers about
a pregnant teen’s choices—terminating the pregnancy, or giving birth
and then having to decide whether to raise the child or give it up for
adoption. As well, Hrdlitschka does not ignore pregnancy’s possible
secondary effects on teens—social shunning and isolation.

Commencing with a prologue that recreates Kia’s experience of giving
birth on August 15, the novel returns to January 1, the day Kia
self-acknowledged being pregnant and then moves forward chronologically.
As an organizing structure, the book is divided into the trimesters of
pregnancy. Because Kia has learned that “a pregnancy lasts forty weeks
from the first day of the last menstrual cycle,” Hrdlitschka eschews
normal chapter numbering, electing a “measurement” approach instead
(e.g., “week 8/40”). Additionally, brief facts about typical weekly
developments of the embryo/fetus introduce each chapter.

The catchy title is a metaphor for making tough heart/head decisions
and then acting on them, thereby leaving oneself exposed and vulnerable.
Definitely superior to most teen pregnancy novels, Dancing Naked’s
only weakness is attempting to do too much. For example, having Kia find
emotional support within her church youth group and especially from its
leader, Justin Reid, was a nice, unexpected touch; however, Justin’s
“coming out” near the novel’s end was insufficiently developed.
Nonetheless, this is a fine young-adult novel. Recommended.