EVERY LITTLE THING IN THE WORLD
By Nina de Gramont
2010
282 Pages
From Inside Cover:
Sixteen year old Sidney Biggs is a "good kid"-smart, pretty, self-aware. No one doubts that she'll go far in life. But lately her mother worries that Sydney is wandering down the wrong path and getting all caught up in petty teenage rebellion and shenanigans. When Sydney and her best friend, Natalia, "borrow" a car to go to a party and then get escorted home by the police, their parents pack them up and ship them off to a hard-love wilderness camp to stop this behavior before it gets out of hand, before things go too far. The problem is, they already have.
Sydney the "good kid" is pregnant.
In the wilds of Canada-where the girls are to spend the next four weeks canoeing, camping and foraging for food-time is ticking, because Sydney isn't sure what she wants to do about this baby. And she certainly isn't expecting the other heady issues that will confront her as she forges friendships with her adventure mates, including a guy who makes it no secret he is a major thug, and a teen television heartthrob with a secret of his own, not to mention her own best friend-who is adamant about what Sydney should do.
My Thoughts:
First let me start off my saying that this book cover really doesn't match the story. On the cover we have a beautiful sun tanned girl with a smile on her face and what appears to be-not a care in the world.....a little misleading.
This story deals with some very tough topics like teen pregnancy and abortion.
Next I will tell you that I loved this story! I really LOVED it!
Sydney is a good girl who makes a bad choice- now she's dealing with the consequence-an unplanned pregnancy. She in the middle of the frikkin wilderness. There are no doctors, helpful nurses or Planned Parenthood.
Stuck in the middle of the Canadian wilds Sydney tries to come to terms with her pregnancy and then the decision to keep the baby or have an abortion. Meanwhile her best friend Natalia has just received the news that her big sister is really her mother. As Natalia grasps the meaning of these and tries to understand what made her mother/sister give her up she offers Sydney some very strong opinions of what she thinks Sydney should do about her pregnancy.
During the entire trip we gain insight and perspective into Sydney's thought process and then are there for her ultimate decision. I don't want this review to contain spoilers so I'll stop here. I will say that I found this story to be emotional and enlightening. I felt that Nina de Gramont did a very good job writing about a very real issues.
I bought this book used on Amazon.com and will be donating it to either my local high school library or my public library. It's a book that should be on shelves and available for teens to read.
Whoa! I don't know what I'd do if I was Sydney stuck in the wilderness and pregnant. You don't feel much like doing anything at that time in pregnancy much less foraging for food. You're right about the cover, it doesn't match such a tough subject. Teen pregnancy, abortion and adoption are tough subjects but as I searched through the Banned Books list which included books that were Challenged and Retained it seems parents don't want their children informed about these things. So stupid! How else will they learn? How else will they know the pressures of those decisions and the consequences of their actions? Obviously these parents aren't teaching their children this if they don't want them to read about it. I applaud writers that take on such hard topics and confront them with what you seem to think is a good story, told well.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great review and I will read it. It could so easily happen to a girl we know.
Heather Buried in Books