When eighteen-year-old Laurel Harris discovers she’s pregnant four weeks into the start of her freshman year at prestigious Colman College, she has all intentions of telling her father. But being away at school makes it too easy to hide. And while she can’t explain to her friends, or to herself even, the reasons why she doesn’t want the baby’s father to find out about the pregnancy, the rest of her world begins to unravel.
Freshman year is hard enough. Most girls get through by forming close friendships, finding new boys and a phone call from mom or dad on Sunday. Laurel has to navigate all of it while hiding an unplanned pregnancy from a summer fling...
An imperfect heroine plagued by bad choices and haunted by the memory of her deceased mother and grandparents, readers are sure to identify with Laurel as she navigates teen pregnancy, in secret, in a remote college setting
My Review:
“Everyone warned me about Colman College. The workload is heavy. The professors don’t mess around. To say I am overwhelmed is an understatement. I have a math class, a writing seminar, a phys. ed. requirement that’s being fulfilled by taking a class in Swedish massage of all things, a course in molecular biology that I like, plus a lab to go with it, and an Intro to Legal Ethics class that I can’t stand. I also have a positive pregnancy test – two, actually. Way to get things started.”
This is Laurel's world . Being freshman is supposed to be an exciting experience for her. New school, new people to meet...everything is overwhelming and for Laurel , only 18 ...is already face to make a decision that will change her life forever.
While everyone decides which party to crash on.. She has to decide whether to keep her baby or not. She have not told her emotionally distant Dad. Her best friend. And even the baby's father. She decided to do this on her own. Though, I don't agree with Laurel's hasty decision of keeping it to herself. I still admire her. At a young age, she is strong to carry such a burden. And I'm so happy that she decided to go on with the pregnancy and not the abortion.
I love how Ms. Christine Duval presented the story. It was realistic and it gave me a clearer understanding about unplanned teenage pregnancy and how important is having someone for support . I'm glad that Laurel joined one of the support groups that clearly help and gained her a few friends with the same situation as her.
Being in college and being pregnant is never been easy for Laurel.. She has to keep up with her classes at the same time keep up with her prenatal visit. Plus she has to keep her"being pregnant" from everyone else. And when she met Mike whom she definitely like , all became confusing. Being pregnant and all is more than she can take.
As the story progresses, I surprisingly became involved in Laurel's life. I felt the hesitation, the pain every time she attempts to tell her Dad about her situation. ( and I'm holding my breath the whole time! ) And when she finally did , I feel like crying . I'm glad at the end that her relationship with her dad was restored. I love that they really communicate and get things cleared up. Acceptance and forgiveness are proven to be both powerful words and actions indeed.
“I want you to focus on acceptance. In other words, don’t try to control the uncontrollable, and don’t try to change a person who can’t be changed. People are who they are. With acceptance comes forgiveness, and with forgiveness comes inner peace, and we can all use some of that.”
Overall, this is a good story. But the ending left me with a lot of questions. Will Laurel tell Danny about their daughter? Now that she has the chance? How will Danny react? I guess all these will be answered on the next book which I would be happy to read.
My Verdict:
3 wonderful stars!
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