Unpregnant
Jenni Hendricks & Ted Caplan
Veronica is the poster child for her parents – straight As and a prestigious college acceptance letter. She wears her chastity ring with pride, and her parents are glad that she didn’t turn out like her sister – married to probably-not-Mr.-Right with a third child on the way. When she gets pregnant despite playing it safe, her best friend of old has to get her out of trouble.
Oh dear. I had to look up the main character’s name. I at least remembered Bailey’s name, probably because I used to have a guinea-pig named Baileys (after Bailey’s Irish Cream liquor). Veronica on the other hand is a blank, boring slate with nothing unique about her. I mean, I felt for her having an unexpected pregnancy and having to drive a bloody long way to get an abortion, but it’s not like she was actually a 3D character I could care about.
Now, tell me how two high schoolers got away with stealing two cars. Yes, not one, but two cars! I thought Veronica was dumb and clueless, and I couldn’t believe Bailey tolerated her at all. Sure, we all dream of a roadtrip with our bestest best friends, but doing it with someone you don’t even really like? I don’t even get the reason why Veronica and Bailey broke up as friends (and I’m not sure they know either).
Veronica spends the whole weekend making sure that no one will know she ended up pregnant and then she ends up telling them all anyway! Just because she was new and empowered and didn’t care about that anyway, since she was so much more empowered and unafraid than she was before. I just couldn’t believe the 360 degree turn she made! She went to a lot of trouble to cover her tracks and then told everyone anyway, because she felt free and relieved.
Overall it was too much of a cliche. What was the purpose of this book, besides the “journey”? I knew from the beginning that she wasn’t going to change her mind. I knew from the beginning that they’d end up besties again. So why did I read it? Well, I was sent a free copy and I thought I should finish it.
TL:DR? The straight A girl gets pregnant and therefore takes a road trip with her ex-best friend to get an abortion, breaking multiple laws on the way. Also, don’t trust the dude not to get you pregnant. 3 stars from me.
Scholastic | 1st April 2020 | AU$16.99 | paperback
