Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on
At 17, Audrey finds herself in the same place that her birth mother was. She young and unexpectedly pregnant, and must decide between the three available options: termination, adoption, or keeping the baby.
When I was 22, I was faced with the same decision as Audrey. I was a little older, but I still had all the same fears and doubts, and I thought Barrow did an excellent job portraying that. It was clear, that this was very difficult for Audrey. It was taking a physical and mental toll on her, as well as affecting her relationships with her family and friends, and she was overwhelmed by what was happening and the choice she had to make.
Barrow worked in Audrey's adoption quite beautifully, and thoughtfully leveraged that part of Audrey in her decision making. In fact, I liked that she has Audrey fully consider each option, pros and cons. The author never made one option seem like the wrong option, because someone's choice isn't wrong, and I really appreciated the way she handled that.
There were a lot of really great characters in this book, who showed unconditional love and support for Audrey. Things were not always cupcakes and roses with these people, because Audrey lashed out and pushed many people away at some point in this book, but they never stopped loving her. They were not going to stop loving her even if her decision is not the one they would make for themselves.
I commend Barrow for some of the decisions she made in this story. Audrey and Julian were open and honest, and they did not keep it all a secret. They knew when they were in over their heads and sought additional help.
(By the way, my daughter is 22, amazing, and I couldn't imagine my world without her.)
Overall: A thoughtful and honest story of a young adult struggling with a difficult and life changing decision, which was quite emotional and fairly presented all sides.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 23 August, 2017: Finished reading
- 23 August, 2017: Reviewed