Book Review-The Pregnancy Project

THE PREGNANCY PROJECT
By Gaby Rodriguez
218 Pages
January 2012
Simon and Schuster

Summary Taken from Goodreads:
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.My Thoughts:
I remember when this was all over the media a couple of years ago. HIGH SCHOOL GIRL FAKES PREGNANCY! It was a hot news topic as we tried to wrap our minds around how and why.
So I was very interested and excited to read The Pregnancy Project, a memoir written by Gaby Rodriguez.
Gaby's story starts with an in depth background look at her family history, which explains how she came up with the concept of this unique project. You can tell it's very important to her to explain where she comes from and how she was raised. It really sets the pace for the story and gives the reader insight to Gaby's world.
She then takes us through the planning stages of the project, which had to be very thought out and organized. A few select people knew that Gaby's pregnancy was fake and them keeping a secret was imperative to the experiment.
Gaby explains that although she had really planned out the project from beginning to end, she was in fact not prepared for the loneliness and isolation that "her pregnancy" brought. She was surprised by how people's reactions and opinions made her feel. She sometimes had to remind herself that she was not pregnant and that there was an end in sight for her at the end of her nine months. She learns a great deal about not only those around her but about herself. I loved that she has a huge amount of growth in understanding and empathizing what a pregnant teen does go through.
Finally, we get to the reveal stage of the book where Gaby admits in a very public way-at a school assembly that she is not pregnant. The fallout is surprising in many ways.
I really liked this book. I think that it's an excellent read for middle school and high school. It would also be a great book club selection. Because the story is told by a teenager based on her experience I think kids can very much relate to her tale.
Looking back I wish that "the boyfriend" would have more of a voice in this story. I think his side and what he went through is also important. He had to pretend throughout this pregnancy-not even telling his parents that it was not real. A chapter devoted to that would have been a good addition.
A BIG thank you Simon and Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read and review The Pregnancy Project by Gaby Rodriguez.
I will be donating this book to my local Middle School Library.

SOMETIMES THERE ARE NO EASY ANSWERS.......

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.