Community Corner
Bloomingdale Grad Pens Controversial Novel Based On Debra Lafave Story
A book called 'Tampa' is being called the most controversial book of the summer.
Author Alissa Nutting attended Bloomingdale High School with former Hillsborough County teacher Debra Lafave.
Lafave, who graduated from Bloomingdale High in 1998, made international headlines as the attractive 23-year-old Greco Middle School teacher arrested for having sex with her 14-year-old student in 2004.
Now, Nutting has turned the theme of students and teachers having sex into what The Guardian is calling “the most controversial book of the summer.
A review of the Nutting's debut novel, Tampa, released July 2 on Tampabay.com called the book, "a dirty, but dull take on Debra Lafave."
The sexually graphic fictional work focuses on Celeste Price, a smoldering 26-year-old middle-school teacher in Florida, who recounts her determined seduction of a 14-year-old student. Sound familiar?
Nutting is currently an assistant professor of creative writing and English literature at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, and lives in Ohio with her husband and daughter.
The book is available for $16.95 through Amazon.com.
What do you think of what the author has to say? Let us know in the comments below.
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