SEX, RELATIONSHIPS AND THE COLLEGE STUDENT
PROFILED IN YA NOVEL
HOUSTON – Trek Baden is an incoming freshman at the University of Texas at Austin – the first in her family to attend college. Bombarded with advice on how to be successful – everything from “Trust God with all your heart” to “Marry a white boy!” – it was her grandmother who lovingly encouraged her simply to “cover the coo.” Unfortunately, Trek, who’s dating one guy in Houston and another in Austin, doesn’t listen. Now she’s pregnant, with no clue which one is her baby’s daddy. Very Jerry-Springer-meets-Maury-Povich. Should she accept or abort? What would you do? Cover the Coo, by Alexus Rhone, is the fourth and final-installment in the Trek Baden-series, officially completing Trek’s “trek” to womanhood.
Although her young fans have been endlessly fascinated by Trek’s journey, Alexus confirmed Cover the Coo is the last book where Trek is the “headliner”. “I have enjoyed chronicling her life in this series. But by the end of the story, baby-girl is now a woman, forever shaped by her choices and experiences.”
Those choices make for entertaining reading, although at times they may also cause some to squirm. According to Alexus, that’s intentional. “No one wants to read about the mundane, carefully scripted experiences of people. We love it when everything’s a mess! And,” she adds, “it’s on the other side of that mess that we find our message.” Alexus wants her readers to safely explore Trek’s drama, hoping it will help them make sense of their own. Her goal is for her readers to do two things: to laugh and to think. “If they do that,” she says, pumping her fist, “mission accomplished.”
She also has a more personal mission. “Cover the Coo is a warning to freshman girls that what’s done in college may have lifetime consequences. It’s all a game. Gotta know the rules if you wanna win.” Some of those rules, cleverly weaved throughout the story, include understanding that first impressions can be deceiving. “Lots of guys come across as sincere at first, but it’s all a hustle. The longer you’re on a campus, the more easily you can spot the frogs, knowing they won’t become Prince Charming no matter how many times you kiss ‘em,” Alexus says, laughing at her own college memories. But the number one rule guaranteeing success is to simply cover the coo. “So many destinies have been altered because of the violation of that rule. Cover the coo, protect your future, and win the game. Never, EVER, give it away. Otherwise, there’s a price you’ll pay.”
Set on the campus of the University of Texas, Cover the Coo, is expressly written to young women entering college – a warning for some, a winning strategy for others. As with all Alexus’ books, Cover the Coo appeals to teens and pre-teens who hate reading. Edgy and honest, funny yet tragic, Cover the Coo invites the reader along for the ride, where everyone is out of order, but God is still there, “watching out for fools and babies.”
Trek was first introduced in Premature Pleasures (2001), followed by Secret Shame (2003) and Backseats and Bleachers: A High School Love Story (2005). Her journey wraps in Cover the Coo, scheduled for a national release June 1, 2010, available in paperback and e-book format at Border’s Bookstores, Amazon.com, and distributed through Baker & Taylor.
Alexus is a native of Houston, Texas. She holds a Bachelors of Journalism/Public Relations degree from the University of Texas, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Theology – Theology and the Arts degree from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California. Cover the Coo is her fourth book. Her primary residence is in Indianapolis, IN, with her husband Lewis.
