Plan B by Charnan Simon

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Book Info

Title:  Plan B 

Author:  Charnan Simon

Publisher:  Lerner Publishing Group

Publication Date:  3/1/2011 

Language: English 

Format:  Digital copy 

Pages:  104 pages 

ISBN-13:  9780761361497

Source:  Advanced reader's digital copy from Lerner Publishing Group, via NetGalley
*Part of my Mini Reading Challenge*  

Buy this book on Amazon 

Summary

From Lerner Publishing Group:  

"Is this happily ever after?

Lucy has her life planned out: she'll graduate and then join her boyfriend, Luke, at college in Austin. She'll become a Spanish teacher and of course they'll get married. So there's no reason to wait, right? They try to be careful. But then Lucy gets pregnant. Now, none of Lucy's options are part of her picture-perfect plan. Together, she and Luke will have to make the most difficult decision of their lives."

Review

After reading After - isn't that funny? - by Amy Efaw, I was hoping to read a similar story with a different take, something more accepting of their situation, unlike Devon and her denial.  I wanted something like Juno or like Allison in Knocked Up.  That is why I decided to request for this book on NetGalley.

This book had so much potential, but never unraveled.  And I am not complaining about this book's length.  Good stories do not need hundreds of pages.  But it would have been great if the author was able to elaborate further on the effects of teenage unprotected premarital sex.  Luke and Lucy were very credible as lovesick and lovestruck teenagers.  They were very in love with each other, but the quick shift into Lucy's pregnancy also created a confusing shift in their characters.  I felt that Luke's sudden change from scared and irresponsible boy to dependable and mature adult was too hurried and unreal, in that it still felt like he was still acting under his parents' influence.  It did not feel like how a real responsible teenager would act under the circumstances.  I'm not saying that a real teen would immediately accept whatever happened, but the phases that he would go through would be very obvious and notable that when he finally accepts his responsibility, everything has fallen into place naturally.  Lucy, on the other hand, was the perfect scared and confused pregnant teen.  Between these two, I would have preferred more communication and action to have happened before the final outcome.  

Another problem I had was that this book was supposed to show Luke and Lucy's Plan B.  However, even towards the end, they were still undecided about what that plan would be.  The readers are left hanging as to the characters' futures and though sometimes it's good to make your own guess, I would have liked a more black and white ending for this story as I felt it required more specific answers for its very specific topic.  

On the bright side, the author was able to perfectly portray the causal relationship between unprotected sexual contact and growing number of teenage pregnancy - and in such limited number of pages at that.  Regardless of the issues I presented above, this story is a good, light, but educational read for teenagers in teaching them about safe sex.  Most reproductive health classes would appear too superficial and feigning concern for the issues but reading this book, not only would teenagers be able to accept and understand the impact of safer sex, they would also be entertained by this light and compelling read that was able to summarily delve into their world without any judgment and prejudice.

And regardless of my negative points, I would still say that I enjoyed this book, although not as much as I enjoyed After, but good enough. 

Rating

If you have any questions on this particular rating, please refer to my ratings system here.

Notice

I received this book free of charge from the publisher, Lerner Publishing Group through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest and truthful review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book. 

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