Devon is a straight-A Student. She is an Olympics-worthy soccer player, and takes care of her emotionally immature mother. She has a handful of close girlfriends, but stays away from boys. Devon's mother had her when she was a teen herself, and Devon wants nothing to get in the way of her dreams of success.
But if Devon has it all together, why would she be sitting in a jail cell waiting for a meeting with her court appointed lawyer? Why is she bleeding profusely? And why, WHY did she throw her baby in dumpster outside her apartment building only moments after giving birth on her own in her tiny bathroom?
In this horrifying novel, Amy Efaw paints us a picture of Devon's life and how she could possibly convince herself that she wasn't pregnant even at 9 months. Though she never justifies Devon's actions, the reader does feel sympathy for her (or at least I did). This is a tough read, and I think it will be a tricky sell to teens. Some girls will really embrace this tale of angst, trial, and desperation. Others will be too horrified by Devon's actions. Personally, I was sucked in by the story, but was really left wanting for more. Efaw did an okay job of telling the story, but to me, she ended it before I was satisfied with the conclusion... not in a "leave the reader hanging" kind of way, but IMHO a "couldn't figure out where to go next" kind of way.
1 comment:
Knew this was more of a high school book, but now that I think about it, it really is more of an adult perspective. My middle schoolers like reading about teen pregnancy, but this is too much for them.
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