Trouble

Starred review from April 7, 2014
Friendship, betrayal, lust, and love are recurring themes in U.K. editor/publisher Pratt’s first novel exploring the trials of a British teen after she finds out she is pregnant. Reluctant to reveal the identity of the baby’s father, 15-year-old Hannah is surprised and relieved when her new friend, Aaron, offers to pretend he is responsible. But Aaron’s motives run deeper than wanting to help Hannah: part of him hopes that acting nobly might make up for previous actions that ended in tragedy. Secrets about both characters, expressed in Hannah and Aaron’s alternating narratives, will pique the interest of readers as conflicts test their efforts to do the right thing. Hannah’s best friend turns a cold shoulder and spreads rumors about Hannah, while Aaron is unsuccessful at escaping ghosts of the past as he becomes more intricately involved with Hannah. Pratt eloquently shows how empathy and compassion cause hope to spring from despair. The teens’ growing trust for each other gives them both strength and comfort, helping them survive heated family battles, broken relationships, and truths they find hard to admit. Ages 14–up. (June) ■

May 1, 2014
Alternating narratives explore the private motivations of two teens brought together by crisis and the pair's developing friendship.Fifteen, pregnant and desperate to avoid revealing the father's identity, Hannah is eager to allow Aaron, the new guy at school, to pose as the baby's daddy. Readers may expect Hannah's narrative to focus on her fears about becoming a mother when she is still emotionally and financially dependent on her own parents. Instead, she almost exclusively considers her immediate situation: her fears about revealing that a drunken, consensual one-night stand with someone she should not have slept with resulted in her pregnancy and her hopes that he will eventually embrace her decision to keep the baby (an unlikely scenario). It's possible that Hannah's lack of concern about her post-pregnancy future reflects her immaturity, but it also allows readers to ignore the very difficult situations that Hannah and her family will face after the baby is born. Glossing over the harsh realities of teen pregnancy and parenthood at times invalidates the novel's authenticity. Aaron's narrative, however, with his paralyzing grief and self-recriminations about his role in a friend's death, provides a plausible explanation of why he would agree to his role in Hannah's rather outlandish deception.Ultimately, the uneven alternating storylines fail to allow either the characters or their friendship to fully develop. (Fiction. 14-18)

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June 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Fifteen-year-old British teen Hannah is not an ambitious student and spends a lot of time partying at the park in the evenings. She soon discovers that she is pregnant. She knows who the father is, but neither readers nor any of her friends know his identity. Fellow student, Aaron, is haunted by demons of his own, and for reasons that are initially unclear, decides to help Hannah continue to mask the father's identity by claiming paternity. The novel traces the development of their relationship while navigating the issues of teen pregnancy. Character motivations, including Hannah's initial promiscuousness, become clear as the story progresses. Told in alternating viewpoints, Hannah and Aaron slowly reveal themselves to each other and develop a deep bond. While adults might be uncomfortable with the purely positive outcome, the story speaks to the teen experience and doesn't get bogged down in the slut-shaming that books with more negative outcomes reinforce. Occasionally the voices of the two protagonists can be difficult to identify. Astute observers will note that the cover art and design is reminiscent of the iconic cover of J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. Though this book does not approach Salinger's mastery, it is still worth adding to teen collections.-Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2014
Grades 9-12 Hannah has a lot on her plate: her grades aren't great, she and her mom are fighting, and she can't be sure of the identity of her baby's father. But Hannah enjoys sex and genuinely likes most of the partners she has been with, unlike her best friend Katie, who treats the boys she pulls with contempt. For Aaron, good company is hard to find, especially since he is worried his past might catch up with him at his new school. Yet he finds new purpose when he poses as Hannah's baby daddy. Pratt's provocative debut doesn't shy away from Hannah's sexual conquests, nor are they condemned. Hannah's eventual pregnancy is posed merely as an outcome, not a punishment. However, the stress, strain, and isolation of being a pregnant teen, and, therefore, an outcast, is delivered with intense emotional clarity. Hannah and Aaron's bond could easily be misconstrued as romantic. Rather, theirs is a deep, platonic friendship, and Pratt's honest and mature depiction will endear readers to the unconventional pairing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)