The Baby

September 5, 2016
The lives of Olivia, her best friend Nicola, younger sister Alice, boyfriend Jonty, and the girls’ gay friend Ben are forever changed at Olivia’s 17th birthday party when Nicola unexpectedly gives birth to a baby girl. Set over five months with perspective shifting to each individual, Drakeford’s debut delves into the repercussions of that night as readers gain insight into the characters’ backstories, insecurities, motivations, and personalities. Drakeford weaves a tightly-knit character study as the plot unspools to include Olivia discovering the betrayal that led to Eliza’s conception, Nicola finding the strength to be a single parent, Alice gaining a friend, Jonty making amends and taking responsibility, and Ben accepting big news. While the novel’s language reflects its British origins and setting (nappies, newsagent, sixth form), the struggles are universal (unplanned teen pregnancy, bullying/abusive behavior, discrimination), and Drakeford handles them with considerable sensitivity. Though “nothing will ever be the same” for these characters, and questions still remain at the close of the story, the open (and surprise) ending feels like a hopeful new beginning for all of them. Ages 14–up.

July 15, 2016
In this throwback to the early 2000s teen Brit-lit craze, the lives of five young people are affected by an unexpected baby.It's Olivia's birthday, which means a party. Her best friends, Nicola and Ben, are there, along with her boyfriend, Jonty. Her younger sister, Alice (who reads as though she may be on the spectrum), stays in her room. It's all going well--other than Jonty knocking Olivia about. But then Olivia discovers Nicola moaning in pain in a bathroom: she's delivering a baby, one not even Nicola realized was coming. And the baby is Jonty's. Over the next five months, each of the characters--Olivia, Nicola, Alice, Jonty, and Ben--feels the impact Nicola's baby, Eliza, makes on their group. Olivia moves on from Jonty to a new guy, Alice works to make a friend, and Jonty slowly takes to fatherhood and starts to become a better person. Nicola, of course, must adapt to motherhood--and has a secret to reveal to Ben, who is gay and doesn't know how to react. While the teenage domestic violence subplot could add depth, it's dealt with too easily. The third-person, present-tense narration alternates focus from character to character (all appear to be white), with too little modulation to give each a clear sense of voice. Add in the now-dated Brit-lit feel and the sudden, nonsensical plot twist, and it's all ho-hum. (Fiction. 14-18)

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September 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Nicola gives birth to a baby girl on the bathroom floor at her best friend Olivia's 17th birthday party without even knowing she was pregnant. Nicola's life is changed, and she must abandon her fashion designer dreams, leaving school and embarking upon single parenthood. Rifts come between friends as the father of Eliza, Nicola's baby, is Olivia's boyfriend, Jonty. The only consistency in Nicola's life is her gay friend Ben, who attempts to reunite Nicola and Olivia. Olivia's younger, socially inept sister, Alice, is also a narrator and helps with Eliza but doesn't add much to the plot. Each section is told from the perspective of a different character for a month, providing nuance as well as confusion. The third-person near stream of consciousness narration can be insightful but also veers strongly toward incomplete sentences and muddled writing. Issues of teenage pregnancy, domestic abuse, and sex are skirted more than confronted, while the alcohol flows freely for all the teens throughout. An unnecessary twist at the end adds to the lack of realism and detracts from the overall story line. VERDICT A supplementary purchase for collections in need of realistic fiction that deals with teen pregnancy.-Cyndi Hamann, Cook Memorial Public Library District, Libertyville, IL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2016
Grades 9-12 Olivia's seventeenth birthday party is everything she wanted it to be: her best friends Nicola and Ben dancing around her; her weird younger sister, Alice, quietly confined to her bedroom; her boyfriend, Jonty, looming lovingly (if somewhat possessively) by her side. But when Olivia discovers Nicola in the bathroom giving birth to a baby she didn't even know she was havingJonty's babythe celebration comes to a crashing halt. Over the next few months, Olivia, Nicola, Jonty, Alice, and Ben adjust to life with Nicola's baby, Eliza. Olivia struggles to forgive her friend, while Alice attempts to make a new one; Nicola takes to motherhood with relative ease, leaning on Ben for his support and constant companionship; and Jonty initially resists his responsibilities as a father. While relevant issues like domestic violence and autism are woven gracefully across the narratives, the resulting conflicts are too neatly wrapped up. Written in alternating third-person voices, Drakeford's debut transforms the stark and grim realities of teen pregnancy into much fluffier fare, complete with a surprising, rom-com-worthy eleventh-hour twist.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)