Saying Good-bye to London

February 13, 2017
Burtinshaw (The Perfect Cut) tackles teen pregnancy, child abuse, homophobia, and the impact of a parent’s death with mixed success. Francis Sloan, a 15-year-old Canadian, meets Sawyer, 16, at a local dance. Confident and experienced, Sawyer is everything Francis is not. When their relationship turns sexual, neither is prepared for the consequences of unprotected sex and the choices they must make after discovering that Sawyer is pregnant. Burtinshaw attempts to realistically portray what happens when a teenage couple decides to give up their baby for adoption, but her story seems to sugarcoat the situation. Sawyer’s mother, teachers, and classmates are all extremely supportive, and Francis’s life doesn’t really change at all, save for a few sideways glances by students at his private all-boys school. The most realistic and dramatic parts of the story happen to the supporting characters—Sawyer’s best friend Jack gets kicked out of his home for being gay, and Francis’s best friend Kevin has a father dying from ALS—neither of whom gets much time on the page. Ages 13–up.

February 1, 2017
Two Vancouver, British Columbia, teens discover they're expecting a baby and must overcome differences to choose ideal adoptive parents. A couple of weeks before school starts, awkward, inexperienced 15-year-old Francis Sloan meets bold and beautiful 16-year-old Sawyer Martin at a summer dance. They fall for each other quickly, and on their fifth date, they begin to have sex. By the time school starts and public school-student Sawyer meets private school-student Francis' relatively posh family, she's already beginning to feel queasy. Weeks tick by before Sawyer verifies she's pregnant, narrowing her options. Complicating matters is Francis' immature reluctance to accept he's the father due to his unwarranted jealousy of Sawyer's best friend, Jack (who is clearly gay, but somehow Francis is shocked by the revelation). While the narrative predominantly focuses on Francis, the point of view skips around, sometimes in a jarring manner that forces the rereading of passages. Although Sawyer's pregnancy struggles ring true, it's difficult to empathize with Francis. Both Jack, who has an abusive father, and Francis' best friend, Kevin, who's grieving a loving but terminally ill father, are more compelling characters than the frustrating father-to-be protagonist. The significant characters are all evidently white. There's not a whole lot to recommend this book, except as a pro-adoption addition to an issues-title list. This flawed teen-pregnancy novel suffers from inconsistent characterization and confusing third-person narration. (Fiction. 13-17)

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January 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-When Francis and Sawyer meet at a community center dance, the chemistry is instantaneous. Francis, a shy 15-year-old who attends a private all-boys school, is approached by Sawyer, a beautiful 16-year-old girl from the other side of Vancouver. After dancing the night away, Francis and Sawyer begin a relationship, and their romance is intense and all-consuming. Not long after, Sawyer learns that she is pregnant. When she tries to tell Francis, her best friend, Jack, is there for moral support. Francis, not realizing that Jack is gay, is upset by the closeness Sawyer and Jack share, and he runs away, thinking that Jack is the father. Eventually, though, Francis has to face the fact that he is responsible for the pregnancy. With the help of his friend, Francis talks to Sawyer, and she is clear: she is going to give the baby up for adoption. Soon, the teens, along with their friends, are combing an adoption agency's website to find the perfect parents for London, their name for the baby. This novel struggles to impart important messages about adoption, safe sex, and acceptance of sexual preferences. Unfortunately, it reads like the plot of a 1980s after-school TV special. The characters are undeveloped, and while they try earnestly to locate the ideal family for baby London, the idea of a teen committee all working together to complete this task seems contrived and unbelievable. VERDICT A story overstuffed with issues and flat, idealized characters makes this a low-priority title.-Nicole Detter-Smith, Homestead High School, IN

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