Very engaging read; this is fairly fluffy for the topic of teen pregnancy, but it also had friendship, love, and crazy Bible-thumpers too. ( )

How Julia copes with her best friend's pregnancy and her new stepmother and her crush and everything else life throws at her during her senior year. Nicely done, with plenty of allusions to classic literature and some warmly believable characters. The crazy/religious/evil parents were, I sincerely hope, unrealistic. A quick, enjoyable read. ( )

Julia has her whole life planned out: after high school, she and her best friend Ruth are going to move out of their respective houses, get fabulous high-paying jobs, and live in a fantastic city. She and Ruth have had this plan, or a variant on this plan, for nearly forever, but the plan has some serious changes to undergo when Ruth gets pregnant. They both know that Ruth's Bible-thumping parents will not accept this turn of events, so Julia does what she does best: she makes a plan. Together the girls conspire to hide Ruth's pregnancy and give the baby up for adoption without anyone finding out about it, but when the time comes, plans aren't always carved in stone. As stresses pile on both of them, it's time to find out how strong their friendship really is.

I can't speak to the veracity here, but it does sound like hiding a pregnancy for 9 months and then having a baby at 17 isn't that difficult. There is an acknowledgment that Ruth's baby is an "easy baby," and that Ruth's support network is wider and stronger than the average 17-year-old's, but it still doesn't really communicate just how difficult new parenthood can be. However, this hardly seems the point of the book, which is more about friendship than it is about reproduction.

This is an easy, light read (not surprising as it's an Orca book), but I don't know about its hook for reluctant readers: Ruth's story, and her relationship with her underdeveloped parents, could be fascinating, but Julia's voice is one of calm intellectualism. I could identify with her, but I'm not 100% convinced the reluctant readers this publisher aims at will share Julia's passion for classic literature, or will appreciate the way she starts each chapter with the first line from a classic work.

But the story's really about friendship, and at that, it's really good. ( )

A teen book with more than I was expecting. ( )

The Lit Report is a quick fun teen read. Characters were almost frustraing sometimes, but that made them believable teens. Interesting and different take on teen pregnancy that would make it a great recommendation for a girl reluctant reader. ( )