One of the Worst Things a Teenage Girl and Her Parents Have to Face

“You're pregnant.” These are words no high school girl, or her parents want to hear. It's a life changer. Sandy made one mistake. One night with Brad and she found herself two months pregnant. Then comes the problem of what to do: have the baby?; have an abortion?; give the baby up for adoption? It's never an easy choice. It's also a choice that can follow you for your entire life, as Sandy learns.

On the positive side, this is an excellent topic. It brings home the problems of teenage pregnancy in the best of families. For that reason it's worth reading. It takes courage to make a choice about your unborn baby. It also means you will live with that choice for the rest of your life.

On the negative side, the characters are stereotypes. Sandy is a good girl – she only did it once. Brad is the boy who doesn't want to take responsibility, although he says he does. The parents are too good to be true. The mother is a strict Southern lady who is basically supportive of her daughter, but wants her out of the house. We are hardly able to glimpse the father. He acts the heavy and then disappears. The only real character is Linda, the aunt. She takes Sandy in and forces her to think like an adult.

I found the first part of the book too predictable and with the stereotypical characters it wasn't a good read. The second part of the book where Sandy has to deal with the ramifications of her choice in later life is much better. It moves swiftly and the characters are more realistic. I don't think Whitelaw does justice to female characters. Sandy and her mother were just not real. However, he does better with plot, so it's a good read and the theme is excellent.

I reviewed this book for the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze Program.