Kelly has a soft spot for student Joe Alvarado. Mac knows his brother Juan is deeply involved in the mounting violence. The two have very different methods of trying to resolve the issues, and Kelly puts herself in danger more than once.

Mac is too macho for my tastes, threatening to "punish" Kelly with sexual acts from the beginning. She is turned on by all this, but I never felt any emotional connection between the two. The supporting characters are shadowy at best. Rodney Peterson poses as a gang-worthy student working undercover with Mac. Kelly's best friend Meg Madison, newly married and with a baby, appears only peripherally.

The students, both gang-oriented and good kids, are described only sketchily. We are shown Kelly's control of her classroom, but there is little depth to her relationships with most of her students. We are told of her commitment, but I would have liked to have this fleshed out in the story. Gang activity involves mostly fights in the halls,

I found the plot lacking in detail and realism. There was lots of sweaty sex and little genuine romantic connection. This was a great premise, but it fell short of its promise.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Explicit

Reviewer: Lynn Bushey
April 21, 2009