The true story of a high school senior whose faked pregnancy rocked her community and made international headlines. Growing up, Gaby Rodriguez was often told she would end up a teen mom. After all, her mother and her older sisters had gotten pregnant as teenagers... from an outsider's perspective, it was practically a family tradition. Gaby had ambitions that didn't include teen motherhood. But she wondered: How would she be treated if she "lived down" to others' expectations? Would everyone ignore the years she put into being a good student and see her as just another pregnant teen statistic with no future? These questions sparked Gaby's school project: faking her own pregnancy as a high school senior to see how her family, friends, and community would react. What she learned changed her life forever, and made international headlines in the process.In The Pregnancy Test, Gaby details how she was able to fake her own pregnancy--hiding the truth from even her siblings and boyfriend's parents--and what it was like to become an accidental overnight media sensation, trying to navigate a new world of film and book offers and talk show invitations while getting ready for the prom. But more than that, Gaby's story is about the power of stereotypes, and how one girl found the strength to come out from the shadow of low expectations to forge a bright future for herself.
The writing seemed very juveline, and this girl is supposed to be 18. The backstory about her family took up a good half, and it dragged on. The actual content about her MONTHS pretending to be pregnant were only a few pages. The same thoughts about her family being disappointed repeated incessantly. I didn't really feel bad for the way she was treated because she brought this upon herself knowing what would happen, and honestly I don't know what point she was trying to make. That pregnant teens are looked down on? Yeah, no shit. Everybody already knew that. How badly they're treated? Well Gaby didn't seem like her life was too bad, she kept all her good friends and her boyfriend. She wasn't called any horrible names, and the things people said about her - please, she was 16, my toddler niece could come up with more hurtful words. I've missed the point here.
The second half is probably 90% her talking about defying stereotypes and how she's upset that everyone could believe she would get pregnant. What stereotype did she defy? She wasn't actually pregnant. She is a smart, ambitious Latina girl who seemed like she had her whole life ahead of her. Of course people aren't going to believe you got pregnant!
The drama with her brother's drinking seemed like random filler to me. And to mention that at your presentation? That's incredibly tasteless.
It's to be noted that I've never written a review. This book deserved it.
