Do you ever get a random craving for a really specific subgenre of book? Like…Books About Kids With Several Siblings Having Adventures With No Magic Involved (e.g. The Vanderbeekers, The Penderwicks, The Moffats), or Fiction About The Persecution of Catholics Before, During, and After the Elizabethan Era of England (e.g. Come Rack, Come Rope, The King’s Achievement, A Traveller In Time)?
Just me?
Well, my most recent super specific subgenre craving was
Books About Teenage Pregnancy. Ironic, given that I am neither a teenager, nor
pregnant. Nor even adopted, for that matter. But I rolled with it, because I
do, and here we are. I’m going to give you a lineup of the teenage pregnancy
books I read, with my thoughts on each! (Please keep in mind…these aren’t, like,
every book I’ve ever read about teenage pregnancy. These are the books I’ve
read about teenage pregnancy in the past three months. I don’t know what
came over me.)
Disclaimer: Some of these books were written by people with
An Agenda that I don’t always agree with. I’ll try to evaluate that frankly, if
it exists. Since these books deal with teenage pregnancy, they also deal with
sex (some consensual, some not), childbirth, racial issues, abortion, etc. If
that’s a concern for you, I encourage you to look up content ratings.
Most Interesting Narrator Choice
Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta
The fascinating thing about this one that’s quite different
than the other books on this list is that it’s narrated by the best friend (Belén)
of the girl who’s pregnant (Leti), who has her own issues to deal with. It’s a
fascinating portrayal of life in Oakland, California as young women of color (something
I have zero experience with—always interesting to read) and the trapped-ness of
that life—as well as the joy. The pregnancy is there, but it’s not quite in the
foreground, because of the choice of narrator, which I think helps put the
whole situation in context. But man, everyone’s parents are so messed up.
Least Focused On Actual Pregnancy
Exit, Pursued By A Bear by E. K. Johnston
This is an outlier among the books on this list in that the
story revolves around how the main character got pregnant, rather than
the pregnancy itself. She makes decisions about the pregnancy that I vehemently
disagree with, but I was still interested in the book. The main character was a
star cheerleader from a small town in New York, someone who quite simply can’t afford
to get pregnant (and not in a monetary way), and was trying not to. The psychology of her
cheerleading team was one of the parts that I found most fascinating—how they
supported each other, but also how her experience caused complex issues.
Most Cheerful
The How & The Why by Cynthia Hand
I loved this one. It was told in alternate POVs by a
teenager in a pregnant mother’s school, waiting to give birth to her child, and
her daughter, 18 years later, trying to figure out her life and find her
mother. For a book that centered on something so heavy, it was remarkably
light, with the characters having a balanced outlook and even keel. Cassandra,
the daughter, has wonderful parents and a supportive best friend, who help her
with her search. Her mother has a fascinating, snarky, relatable voice in the
letters that she writes to her daughter, and I loved the way that her side of
the story was told in letters, whereas Cassandra’s was told in first person.
Yummiest
Mrs. Quinn’s Rise To Fame by Olivia Ford
We love a good book about British food! In this one, an older
lady, feeling a little restless, applies to be on “Britain Bakes” (clearly a
parody of The Great British Baking Show) with her amazing baked goods
that she’s been making for her family for years. She is in a beautiful marriage
with an incredibly loving husband (Bernard! I’m obsessed with Bernard! What a
sweetheart!) but as the book progresses, it becomes clear that she hasn’t told
him everything about her past. The teenage pregnancy aspect wasn’t the most
prominent in this one—most prominent I would say were family, food, and sheer
Britishness (joy!)—but it was there, rounding out a story that otherwise might
have fallen sort of flat if the author had chosen to just focus on the
baking show. This was a wonderful cozy read!
Most Uncommon Setting
16 & Pregnant by Lala Thomas
Unique about this one was that there were two pregnancies in it, both of which were handled differently. Also, it was set in Nevada. I can’t think the last time I read a book set in Nevada. I will say that this one was much less memorable for me than the other books on this list. It was a sweet story of two women navigating a pregnancy and a friendship together, but there wasn’t that much else to it—besides some posturing about reproductive rights that also wasn’t my favorite.
Most Baby Page Time
Sun Keep Rising by Kristen R. Lee
Okay, first of all can we just talk about how much I love
titles like this that are admonitions or phrases that are more related to the
themes of the book than strictly the contents or the characters? LOVE. But
also, this one was unique in that the events of the book take place after the
MC, B’onca, gives birth. A lot of times, teenage pregnancy stories go kind of
like “she’s pregnant, it’s hard, she has the baby, it’s going to be great.”
This one was about all the really, really hard parts after “it’s going to be
great,” from getting enough food on WIC to dealing with deadbeat men to
eviction notices and how it’s easier to get money quickly doing illegal things than
legal things. It’s a tough read, and I don’t think the ending resolves satisfyingly
enough (at least for me) but I did enjoy it (I listened to it on audio all in
one evening) and thought it was a good counterpoint to the more upbeat books in
this list.
Most Pregnancies In One Book
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
I’m sure you weren’t expecting this to be on the list! But the plot is hugely influenced by a teenage pregnancy (but spoilers, so I’m not going to discuss that much), and I just read it recently and am excited to talk about it! One of the things I’ve noticed about Kristin Lavransdatter is that if you are a Catholic woman, you are either going to love it or hate it. My mom hates it, as do a few of her friends. Others of her friends, and other Catholic women online love it. I happened to love it—as may you, if you enjoy reading about the convoluted lives of Medieval Norwegian women. ;) In all seriousness, it’s a beautiful but not especially cheerful book that follows the life and spiritual life of Kristin, who mostly just Makes Bad Choices. Well, not all the time, but a lot of the time. Her pride and stubbornness felt very relatable, so it was for me a cautionary tale, but there was also a lot of beauty in it—in her family, in her love for her husband, in the landscape and the way of life—that I loved. There’s a lot in it about pregnancy and birth, too, because Kristin has Lots of Kids, and so do other people. Gotta love the Middle Ages.
As specific as this topic is, I’m also not surprised as it makes sense to be a niche thing for you. XD I don’t think I’ve ever encountered this in a book format, but I’ve seen it in TV shows.
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