Anything But Normal

Today's book is one I am reviewing for Revell Publishers. It's a new Melody Carlson book, to be released in February and one you'll definitely want to get your hands on!

#1 - Anything But Normal by Melody Carlson, Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2010
 
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Target Audience: Girls 16-19
Subject: Teen Pregnancy
Summary: Sophie's life has just ended. A simple little item from a drugstore has ended it: A pregnancy test. Sophie took a purity vow - fully intending to keep it. But when the cute buy at camp started kissing her and touching her, well one thing led to another and now she's pregnant. Sophie begins exploring the issue of teen pregnancy from her position of editor of the school newspaper. Her first article slamming teens who get pregnant leads to an exploration of the teen pregnancy center and some insights into the situation. It doesn't change anything though. Sophie is still pregnant and in high school. She still has to figure out how to tell everyone or let go of her convictions and abort it. How in the world is Sophie going to survive her senior year of high school?
Notes: Anything But Normal takes a very interesting look at teen pregnancy. Through Sophie's work on the school newspaper as well as her relationships with people at Church, Sophie sees both sides of the issue. The Church ladies want to shut down the school pregnancy center, feeling it's encouraging girls to get pregnant. The girls at the center are thankful for anyone who doesn't act like they have a contagious disease. Most of the girls in the stories are victims though, in some form or another. While this book does an amazing job covering a few sides of the issue, the one side not covered is the guy's perspective. The males are seen to be primarily to blame and able to move on without suffering any negative consequences of their actions. It might be neat to see a male author write a book about that guy's side of the whole issue. However, that aside, Anything But Normal does an excellent job with the sides it covers.
Recommendation Scale: 4.5
Reviewer: J:-)mi