Published by: HarperTeen on July 31st, 2018
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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Synopsis: Before:
When Bridget imagined her life at sixteen, it didn’t look like this. She didn’t think that her boyfriend would dump her for another girl. And she certainly didn’t think that she would be pregnant. With just a few months until she gives birth, Bridget must envision an entirely new future—one for her baby. But as she sifts through the many paths and the many people who want to parent her child, she can’t help but feel that there is no right decision.
After:
Ivy doesn’t know much about her birth mother. She knows that she is now the same age Bridget was when she placed Ivy for adoption. She knows that Bridget was the one who named her. And she knows that fifteen years ago Bridget disappeared from Ivy’s and her adoptive moms’ lives. Ivy wants to discover more about herself, but as she goes to find Bridget, she can’t help but feel that the risks might far outweigh the benefits of knowing where she comes from and why her birth mother chose to walk away.
Review:
I absolutely hate to be disappointed in books. In fact, I think it's my least favorite feeling ever. I had very negative feelings about her YA debut, We Were Never Here, but I decided to give her second YA book a shot. After all, it was a topic hardly ever broached in YA, so I was hoping it would be beautiful.
Not only was it not beautiful, but it was confusing as heck. Not only were there alternating timelines: Bridget's & Ivy's lives 17 years apart, but there were also random chapters about what would have happened to Ivy if Bridget had chosen another family for her. For each family Bridget considered, there was a what if chapter about their lives with Ivy. There were way too many characters involved in this book and none of them were developed well.
I was excited about this book because teen pregnancy & adoption stories are so rare in the YA universe. I was totally uninterested in either Bridget or Ivy's stories. Bridget had this irritating idyllic nature about her that really drove me insane. I know she was 16, but she was so naive about what it takes to raise a baby and how hard it was going to be. She wanted to raise the baby with her best friend Dahlia. Personally, I think Bridget had feelings for Dahlia, but they were ones she could never explore because of her super religious upbringing. Bridget's sexual orientation was never talked about, but was definitely insinuated.
Also, she really let the baby's father, Baylor get away with a LOT of crap. Like most importantly, not insisting that he meet ALL of the adoptive families Bridget was considering. He only met the first one and the last one. I actually happened to agree with Bridget & Baylor's parents: He was there for the beginning, he needed to be there for ALL of it.
I did want Ivy to meet her mother. I was super excited and hopeful for that scene. I was desperately hoping for some character development for Ivy at least. Bit we didn't get any of that. In fact, Ivy & Bridget's reunion happened off the page and I am still really, really annoyed by that. I wanted to see it on the page. I wanted to feel the emotions that were so completely lacking in this book. But nothing.
I felt nothing positive the entire time I read this book and I really hate saying that.
Final thoughts: From the underdeveloped & flat characters to the massively confusing timelines to the addition of dozens of characters that were just there, this is a book that I would not recommend.
I absolutely hate to be disappointed in books. In fact, I think it's my least favorite feeling ever. I had very negative feelings about her YA debut, We Were Never Here, but I decided to give her second YA book a shot. After all, it was a topic hardly ever broached in YA, so I was hoping it would be beautiful.
Not only was it not beautiful, but it was confusing as heck. Not only were there alternating timelines: Bridget's & Ivy's lives 17 years apart, but there were also random chapters about what would have happened to Ivy if Bridget had chosen another family for her. For each family Bridget considered, there was a what if chapter about their lives with Ivy. There were way too many characters involved in this book and none of them were developed well.
I was excited about this book because teen pregnancy & adoption stories are so rare in the YA universe. I was totally uninterested in either Bridget or Ivy's stories. Bridget had this irritating idyllic nature about her that really drove me insane. I know she was 16, but she was so naive about what it takes to raise a baby and how hard it was going to be. She wanted to raise the baby with her best friend Dahlia. Personally, I think Bridget had feelings for Dahlia, but they were ones she could never explore because of her super religious upbringing. Bridget's sexual orientation was never talked about, but was definitely insinuated.
Also, she really let the baby's father, Baylor get away with a LOT of crap. Like most importantly, not insisting that he meet ALL of the adoptive families Bridget was considering. He only met the first one and the last one. I actually happened to agree with Bridget & Baylor's parents: He was there for the beginning, he needed to be there for ALL of it.
I did want Ivy to meet her mother. I was super excited and hopeful for that scene. I was desperately hoping for some character development for Ivy at least. Bit we didn't get any of that. In fact, Ivy & Bridget's reunion happened off the page and I am still really, really annoyed by that. I wanted to see it on the page. I wanted to feel the emotions that were so completely lacking in this book. But nothing.
I felt nothing positive the entire time I read this book and I really hate saying that.
Final thoughts: From the underdeveloped & flat characters to the massively confusing timelines to the addition of dozens of characters that were just there, this is a book that I would not recommend.
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