Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that, as books about teen pregnancy go, this one is pretty mild -- no sex scenes, and no glossing over the difficulties.
Families can talk about the issues this book raises. Why do adults insist that teens should not have sex? How will the baby affect November's life in the future? Is the level of support and understanding she receives from her mother and friends realistic? Why does November want to have, and keep, the baby? Should her mother have insisted she give it up to Josh's parents for adoption? Why or why not?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
This sequel to The Battle of Jericho can be read on its own, and should be -- it's much better than its predecessor. Author Sharon Draper's attempts at teen dialect are still embarrassingly awkward (she should just delete from her author's lexicon "she's all that and a bag of chips" right now), but they are less intrusive here, and more than balanced by a much more real and believable story.
That story also has a powerful emotional center that the previous book lacked. Draper clearly gets girls much better than boys, and from the moment that November's contractions begin, the web of relationships that has been carefully built up from the start comes to the forefront, and makes the rest of the book breathtakingly moving. The ending is unresolved, which may mean the author plans another book. But even if not, the refusal to tie everything up neatly was still the right way to go.
From The Book
With trembling hands she unwrapped the plastic and opened the box. She read the directions carefully. She looked out of the small bathroom window and watched the last of the early spring snow melting on the grass. Everything looked the same, but she knew in her heart that it was all different now.
November finally turned back to the little white tube in the box and followed the instructions, which were written, she noticed, in Spanish and French as well. Three minutes later the indicator silently screamed the news that she already suspected. She was pregnant.
Plot Summary:
In The Battle of Jericho, Josh dies in a hazing accident. Now his girlfriend, 16-year-old November, is pregnant with his baby. The story follows the course of her pregnancy, and of November and her friends coming to terms with Josh's death.
Related Books:
Other Books by Sharon M. Draper:
Forged by Fire
The Battle of Jericho
Teen Pregnancy:
Lucy Peale by Colby Rodowsky
Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
The Braid by Helen Frost
Slam by Nick Hornby
A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd
Web Sites:
Author's Site
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Sexual ContentThe main character is a pregnant teen. References to having unprotected sex, a clinical description of conception, prenatal doctor exams, a childbirth scene, discussion of abortion, a pregnant 12-year-old. |
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Language"Hell" and "damn" a few times. |
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Social BehaviorTeens lie to adults, but are supportive friends. |
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CommercialismLots of products and brands mentioned approvingly: foods, soft drinks, candy, electronics, fast food restaurants, clothing, shoes, department stores. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoA character is caught selling drugs to elementary school children, a teacher smells of cigarettes. |
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