Review Detail

Scarlett and Halley have been friends for years and Scarlett has always been the stronger one. But when Scarlett’s boyfriend dies in an accident, she needs Halley to lean on. Soon she finds herself pregnant and Halley finds herself the strong one in the relationship for the first time.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters in this book. I felt like they were revealed slowly over time instead of in one blast. Halley could have been one of those girls that stayed in the shadow of her extrovert best friend, but I liked how she held her own ground. They were more of a team than ‘Scarlett and her friend.’ I disliked Macon, whom Halley begins to date. He did a few nice things, but overall, he was not a good guy. I was proud of Halley for having the courage to stand up to him when he pressured her to do something she wasn’t ready for. Cameron was a superb addition to the group of friends. He didn’t get a lot of ‘screen time’ but he was a real treat, especially for Scarlett. Another fabulous extra character was Steve, Scarlett’s mom’s boyfriend. I loved how he slowly reveal his personality without putting all his crazy out there all at once.

Though the focus of the story was meant to be the relationship between Halley and Scarlett, I especially enjoyed the relationship between Halley and her mom (and I wasn’t particularly fond of her character either). I felt this was the part where Dessen’s writing really shined. Halley had come to a point in her life where she had to decide what kind of person she was going to become and where her mother fit in. Having lived through such a relationship, it is not an easy thing to do and I thought theirs was a realistic portrayal of a mom and daughter forging a new relationship.

‘Teen girl gets pregnant’ isn’t especially unique, but the other characters make it much more complex and entertaining than it could have been. The dialogue didn’t stand out to me, though that could also be a considered a good thing. It wasn’t bad or great, just seemed standard issue.

For a book about teen pregnancy, there was very little actual sex. It was talked about in detail and there was teen pressure to have it, but nothing I would call too graphic. The dialogue was classic teen talk, with just the right amount of slang. I liked the way the 2 girls talked to each other, like you would talk to someone you’d known forever.

Though the cover isn’t too embarassing for a YA book, it had little to do with ths story itself and doesn’t reveal much about the plot or characters.