The Pregnancy Project

December 12, 2011
In April 2011, 17-year-old Rodriguez attracted widespread media attention when she revealed that she had faked a pregnancy for her senior project. In this initially slow-paced account, the honor student discusses the rationale behind and technicalities of her ruse, which she hoped would make her peers “take teen pregnancy seriously... and encourage them to make responsible decisions about their bodies and sexuality.” Rodriguez also wanted her experiment to help shatter negative stereotypes—in her case, that she is predisposed to teen pregnancy given her family history. Rodriguez spends the first third of the book detailing her family background, including several teenage pregnancies, broken relationships, births (she has seven older siblings and 31 nieces and nephews), and deaths. She then reveals the emotional repercussions of her experiment (including her feelings of isolation and her guilt about lying to friends, family, and teachers). Writing clearly and offering incisive observations on her experiences, Rodriguez leaves readers with plenty to think about regarding teen pregnancy and society’s reactions to it. Rodriguez’s story is slated to become a Lifetime movie. Ages 14–up. Agent: Martin Literary Management. (Jan.)■

April 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-Rodriguez's authentic voice is the highlight of this inspiring book on an often-uninspiring topic: teen pregnancy. The author reveals her innermost feelings, including her pro-life sentiment, and never glosses over the truth, even when discussing her own family's almost epidemic history with teen pregnancy. Although Rodriguez opens with her family's story, not the start of her senior project that became an overnight media sensation, the history is necessary and feels like a conversation with a friend. Once she begins to tell about her faked pregnancy to unmask stereotypes and find out what really happens to teen moms, it is difficult to put the book down. Wearing a wire-and-cloth pregnancy belly, Rodriguez made her way through six months of "pregnancy" while enduring all the stares, disappointed looks, and nasty comments from family, friends, and teachers. Her boyfriend, who was also a part of the project, was repeatedly pressured by his friends to leave Gaby before she and the baby destroyed his future. The day that the teen presented her senior project and removed her "baby bump" thrust her into the national spotlight. She hoped to help teens understand pregnancy and to challenge them to live up to their own expectations, not down to the expectations of others. The Lifetime network recently aired the movie version of this story. A recommended purchase for all teen collections.-Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.