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Parents' Guide to

Unpregnant

By Mary Cosola, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Road-trip-to-abortion tale is touching comedy of errors.

Book Jenni Hendriks , Ted Caplan Coming of Age 2019
Unpregnant Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 15+

Based on 1 parent review

ElizaDoolittle84
ElizaDoolittle84 Adult
October 16, 2019
age 15+

Preposterous sitcom-like treatment about a tragic situation

This is a ridiculous treatment of a serious subject, with a string of "adventures" that is a pretty shallow treatment of a very deep and complex problem for a teenager to have. Not to mention that teenage relationships seldom survive this decision. I had an abortion in the 70s, when I was 18 and a junior in college. I knew that was the choice I would make from the get-go. I have never actually regretted the decision, and I have known several young women who shared their similar experiences with me. I knew that my parents, and probably his, would have pressed us into marriage. I knew this would be disastrous. I lived, at the time, in of all places, Columbia, Mo. I know the state has become ridiculously more redneck about this in recent days, but the business of having to travel 2,000 miles to get a legal abortion without parental consent is a lame contrivance, not to mention all these things happening in a long weekend. I have never had any doubt that I was protecting the family that I wanted to have when I was more of an adult. I consider abortion a religious freedom issue--if it's against your religion, you are free not to have one. And if my faith has a different view than yours, I should be free to exercise a different faith without interference from yours. The procedure itself is treated almost like the protagonist is getting a mole removed. Regardless of the circumstances, it's not something you do casually, and I think this is a ridiculous treatment for something this tragic.
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What's the Story?

In UNPREGNANT, Veronica Clarke is the picture of high-school perfection: valedictorian candidate, dating the cutest guy in school, on the homecoming court, and hangs out with a clique of popular girlfriends. The polished exterior gets scratched when she discovers she's pregnant, even though she and her boyfriend use condoms. She's on track to attend Brown University on a scholarship -- she's the first in her family to go to college -- and she's terrified the pregnancy will derail her life. Because strict abortion laws have shut down minors' access to abortion clinics in her home state, she calls on former friend Bailey Butler to help her drive 1,000 miles to the nearest clinic where she can get one legally without her parents knowing about it. The two spend the trip confronting their broken relationship while dodging shady characters, getting into trouble, and learning some harsh truths about themselves

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (8 ):

This touching road-trip tale of a girl seeking an abortion takes a lighthearted approach to some tough topics. The authors of Unpregnant, Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan, mostly succeed in setting serious topics such as unwanted pregnancy, abortion, trust, broken friendships, and high school stress in a comedic setting. The end result is a mostly fun but shallow take on these issues. The road-trip aspect of the story is enjoyable. It has lots of twists, turns, dangers, and laughs while also giving Veronica and Bailey time together to work out their problems. The two are stereotypical good-girl and social-outcast characters. Veronica is the perfect, pretty, high-achiever, and Bailey is the odd, friendless, scary kid at school. Veronica's story highlights the problem with working so hard to keep up appearances. She's actually lonely and isolated because she thinks sharing her problems will tarnish her perfect image. Bailey's story shows how some people choose to isolate themselves socially because they're afraid of getting hurt. Both characters have good emotional development throughout the book.

However, issues of teen pregnancy and abortion -- the book's main plot point -- isn't discussed in the depth it could have been. Veronica does confront her Christian upbringing and previous thoughts on abortion, but the girls' friendship is more central to the story. Even though most of the book's topics are handled well by the authors, the behavior of Veronica's boyfriend is an exception. His actions are played for laughs too many times, when in real life he could be considered dangerous.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the treatment of teen pregnancy in Unpregnant. How does it differ from the way you've seen it explored in other books and movies?

  • What do you think about the tone of Unpregnant? Is any topic fair game for comedy, even a serious one like abortion?

  • How do you you feel about stories where kids take off and don't tell their parents where they are? What are the real-life dangers of this, as opposed to the way it works as a plot device in a story?

Book Details

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