Latest Read: Pregnant Pause

Here are the basics ...
Book: Pregnant Pause
Author: Han Nolan
Site: http://www.hannolan.com/
Category: Young Adult - Contemporary

Summary: Nobody gets away with telling Eleanor Crowe what to do. But as a pregnant sixteen year-old, her options are limited: move to Kenya with her missionary parents or marry the baby’s father and work at his family’s summer camp for overweight kids. Despite her initial reluctance to help out, Elly is surprised that she actually enjoys working with the campers. But a tragedy on the very day her baby is born starts a series of events that overwhelms Elly with unexpected emotions and difficult choices. Somehow, she must turn her usual obstinance in a direction that can ensure a future for herself—and for the new life she has created. (Adapted goodreads.com) 

My thoughts…

The good: In hindsight, Pregnant Pause somewhat reminds me of the movie Juno. Except the main character Eleanor Crowe is much more likable, more stubborn and possibly even more frustrating. But I liked her.  Eleanor's innermost thoughts and her dialogue with other characters felt like 100% teenager, without trying too hard to be "cool". She came across to me as someone scared and lonely and making really bad decisions. But also as someone who wanted to be better and do better, even if she often strayed away from that path. Like I said, she's young. She's sixteen, pregnant and married (to the loser boyfriend). Did I also mention crazy? Who gets married at 16 and expects to have a happy ending? (Nathan and Haley from One Tree Hill do not count.) But it's what she experiences in the aftermath of her marriage that make the book interesting. She becomes a counselor at her in-laws' summer camp for overweight kids and it's during this time that she realizes - she loves kids. She's good with them (she definitely has an interesting approach!) and she finds herself bonding with them and the child growing inside her. She starts to ask herself some really important questions: Can she keep this baby? Should she give it over to her married but childless sister? Or give the baby to her in-laws? Or put the child up for adoption? She goes over and over these questions and I liked that it wasn't easy for her. That she kept changing her mind, wanting to do the right thing for her child and in a way, for everyone else in her life who had an opinion on what she should do.

(Some) reservations: There's sort of a romance in the book. She's married but she kind of has a love triangle/rectangle going on and it just felt completely unnecessary. Eleanor has more than enough drama in her life, being pregnant and all, without thinking about playing house with other boys.  And this craziness goes on for a little too long, I just wanted to shake her and tell her to snap out of it. There were so many more aspects of her life to explore - her tense relationship with her parents (that I wanted to hear more about) and her time at the camp (which I really liked too!). I even wanted to know more about her and her husband. I wish the author has chosen to spend more time on those things.

Do I recommend?: Despite its flaws, there were moments that made me laugh and even one that made me cry. I felt like the book really found its stride towards the end and if the premise appeals to you at all, it's worth giving a shot.

Happy reading!