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a spoiler free review
Trouble is a Perks of Being a Wallflower meets Eleanor & Park masterpiece. It's a refreshing and heartwarming story of a teen pregnancy that let’s tragedy take a backseat, making readers sit and enjoy a variety of flawed characters just trying to do the right thing. Hannah Sheppard is a fifteen year old girl who’s troubled--no pun intended. She’s just a teen doing teenager things because she’s just trying to fit in, find herself, and get by. Aaron is troubled--pun hella intended. Aaron is the new kid in school, trying to escape, cope, or just get by. They could both use a friend and boy, do they get that and more.
What starts as a very surface level, shallow, predictable novel becomes a poignant story of two kids quickly becoming adults from the cards they dealt. This story could very easily be mistaken as a romance but it’s far from it. These characters are drawn together by realizing they could be and do something bigger and greater than themselves.
I think the reason it got such “low” reviews is people who are heavy bookworms rarely find themselves drawn to a book about teen pregnancy; and when they do, they find it unrealistic and unrelatable because most readers aren’t going out getting pregnant. It takes place at a somewhat posh UK school with a clique of bullies that go out to the neighborhood park late at night, get drunk, and fuck. A lot of bookworms aren’t doing that. You aren’t going to find readers busting out East of Eden AND getting crunk on the weekends with some random guy’s wang. I mean, you might. I’m not going to say that person or crowd doesn’t exist (that would be an interesting book club concept), I just think that’s why people find these characters unrelatable.
So knowing this, I put that aside because no matter how hard I try, I will not go to a school in the UK and I will not go back to being 15 (even if you paid me) and get myself preggerts. From the cover artwork and my filmmaker mind, I read this like an indie drama that was really just about family, true friendships, forgiving others and yourself, and self-sacrifice. There’s not romance but there is a girl and a boy who fall in love and bond over their need to have purpose.
My idiot self always tries to predict the ending. Most times I’m right and that can be disappointing or exciting depending on the story. I’m always assuming the worst or the most dramatic. I think why I like this book so much is the fact that a lesser author might have jam packed as much tragedy as one could into the book for shock factor. Someone could argue and say that there was! There was too much soap opera shit--it’s a teen pregnancy after all. Okay, okay, you could say that. There could've been sexual assault, suicide, and poverty, but there wasn't because that's not the kind of story. That's a different book. This author was trying to tell us something else because the teen pregnancy is not the point of the story. It's the catalyst but not the point.
The fact that the parents are extremely involved and supportive speaks volumes. A lesser author would’ve made them deadbeats or nonexistent. They could’ve been single parents or in an abusive relationship and the kids could run away. But no. They’re successful, hard working individuals who are just trying their best and sometimes can’t get it quite right. Just like their kids. Where most stories, and some films do this, too, is they have the parents only show up angry or happy when it's funny or convenient for the story; they use this trope when it comes to the old folks in the nursing home that the troubled teens sometimes visit, which is also in this book. But these protagonists are kids. I assume Aaron is fifteen as well and therefore, can barely drive or do anything without parental consent.
These parents have their own lives, personalities, goals, and are with their kids every step of the way. Even the grandparents and the people in the nursing home! I loved that. I love when every character is useful and dynamic. I think I loved the adults most of all just for that. That helps shape the world and makes me more attached to the character and story; and I love that the author utilized every part of that. She didn’t just throw tragedy or cliffhanger after truth bomb for the clout of it--if I may say. This story had a purpose. This story wasn’t about a girl fucking up her life and everyone makes her feel like shit for choosing to keep it or fuck someone in the first place. It was the exact opposite. This was a girl trying to fix herself. For the first time in her life, she figured out who she was and what she wanted in life. This was her story.
I might be biased though. The protagonist was a Cancer… I’m a Cancer. But it showed. Hannah expressed caring for people that never cared back. For sharing all her feelings and wanting to talk everything through when others just dealt with sadness with silence and alone time. Wanting someone who doesn’t want you but still desperately seeking answers and closure whenever possible. She has an addiction to ice cream… All things I could relate to.
The ending was perfect. Not too sour, not too sweet, not too drawn out or hyped up. It was bittersweet and actually one I didn't see coming. I’m grateful the book was about the journey and not the destination. I highly recommend this beautiful novel to people who want their souls touched from a story about what self-sacrifice and healing can look like from a young teen’s eyes. So appreciative I got a chance to read this and I wish for more.
Thanks for making it this far. Follow me on Instagram for more @Kayelina. My next review is the debut book of the fantasy series A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas.
Trouble is a Perks of Being a Wallflower meets Eleanor & Park masterpiece. It's a refreshing and heartwarming story of a teen pregnancy that let’s tragedy take a backseat, making readers sit and enjoy a variety of flawed characters just trying to do the right thing. Hannah Sheppard is a fifteen year old girl who’s troubled--no pun intended. She’s just a teen doing teenager things because she’s just trying to fit in, find herself, and get by. Aaron is troubled--pun hella intended. Aaron is the new kid in school, trying to escape, cope, or just get by. They could both use a friend and boy, do they get that and more.
What starts as a very surface level, shallow, predictable novel becomes a poignant story of two kids quickly becoming adults from the cards they dealt. This story could very easily be mistaken as a romance but it’s far from it. These characters are drawn together by realizing they could be and do something bigger and greater than themselves.
I think the reason it got such “low” reviews is people who are heavy bookworms rarely find themselves drawn to a book about teen pregnancy; and when they do, they find it unrealistic and unrelatable because most readers aren’t going out getting pregnant. It takes place at a somewhat posh UK school with a clique of bullies that go out to the neighborhood park late at night, get drunk, and fuck. A lot of bookworms aren’t doing that. You aren’t going to find readers busting out East of Eden AND getting crunk on the weekends with some random guy’s wang. I mean, you might. I’m not going to say that person or crowd doesn’t exist (that would be an interesting book club concept), I just think that’s why people find these characters unrelatable.
So knowing this, I put that aside because no matter how hard I try, I will not go to a school in the UK and I will not go back to being 15 (even if you paid me) and get myself preggerts. From the cover artwork and my filmmaker mind, I read this like an indie drama that was really just about family, true friendships, forgiving others and yourself, and self-sacrifice. There’s not romance but there is a girl and a boy who fall in love and bond over their need to have purpose.
“I know it’s a lot to ask. But let me do this. Let me matter.” -Non Platt, Trouble (pg. 159)
My idiot self always tries to predict the ending. Most times I’m right and that can be disappointing or exciting depending on the story. I’m always assuming the worst or the most dramatic. I think why I like this book so much is the fact that a lesser author might have jam packed as much tragedy as one could into the book for shock factor. Someone could argue and say that there was! There was too much soap opera shit--it’s a teen pregnancy after all. Okay, okay, you could say that. There could've been sexual assault, suicide, and poverty, but there wasn't because that's not the kind of story. That's a different book. This author was trying to tell us something else because the teen pregnancy is not the point of the story. It's the catalyst but not the point.
The fact that the parents are extremely involved and supportive speaks volumes. A lesser author would’ve made them deadbeats or nonexistent. They could’ve been single parents or in an abusive relationship and the kids could run away. But no. They’re successful, hard working individuals who are just trying their best and sometimes can’t get it quite right. Just like their kids. Where most stories, and some films do this, too, is they have the parents only show up angry or happy when it's funny or convenient for the story; they use this trope when it comes to the old folks in the nursing home that the troubled teens sometimes visit, which is also in this book. But these protagonists are kids. I assume Aaron is fifteen as well and therefore, can barely drive or do anything without parental consent.
These parents have their own lives, personalities, goals, and are with their kids every step of the way. Even the grandparents and the people in the nursing home! I loved that. I love when every character is useful and dynamic. I think I loved the adults most of all just for that. That helps shape the world and makes me more attached to the character and story; and I love that the author utilized every part of that. She didn’t just throw tragedy or cliffhanger after truth bomb for the clout of it--if I may say. This story had a purpose. This story wasn’t about a girl fucking up her life and everyone makes her feel like shit for choosing to keep it or fuck someone in the first place. It was the exact opposite. This was a girl trying to fix herself. For the first time in her life, she figured out who she was and what she wanted in life. This was her story.
I might be biased though. The protagonist was a Cancer… I’m a Cancer. But it showed. Hannah expressed caring for people that never cared back. For sharing all her feelings and wanting to talk everything through when others just dealt with sadness with silence and alone time. Wanting someone who doesn’t want you but still desperately seeking answers and closure whenever possible. She has an addiction to ice cream… All things I could relate to.
The ending was perfect. Not too sour, not too sweet, not too drawn out or hyped up. It was bittersweet and actually one I didn't see coming. I’m grateful the book was about the journey and not the destination. I highly recommend this beautiful novel to people who want their souls touched from a story about what self-sacrifice and healing can look like from a young teen’s eyes. So appreciative I got a chance to read this and I wish for more.
Thanks for making it this far. Follow me on Instagram for more @Kayelina. My next review is the debut book of the fantasy series A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas.
This book gave me lots of warm fuzzy feelings. Friends being kind to each other & defending them against shitty teenagers will always get me. So fun!!
3,5
enjoyable
I liked that Hannah and Aaron had two different fonts made it easy to tell who was saying what, some repetition between the two but that just made it feel more authentic
enjoyable
I liked that Hannah and Aaron had two different fonts made it easy to tell who was saying what, some repetition between the two but that just made it feel more authentic
This wasn't the kind of book I usually read but it was on display at the library so I thought I'd try it.
Yes, this was filled with teen angst but it was believable and realistic with likeable characters and good character development.
I will definitely be reading other books by Non Pratt.
Yes, this was filled with teen angst but it was believable and realistic with likeable characters and good character development.
I will definitely be reading other books by Non Pratt.
This book was so cute!!! I would love it if they made it into a movie!
If I could give this a 3.5 I would - I'm torn! I think this had so so much potential. When I was about half way through this afternoon I wrote down my guess at who the father was... and it wasn't them! I'm obviously not going to give any spoilers, but my story would have been much more scandalous and interesting!!
Although saying that, I did really enjoy the book - enough to finish it in two days! I found the writing style used; I thought it was really easy to follow. Usually I don't like dual perspectives but because there would be no more than 1-2 pages, and sometimes only 1-2 sentences in someones perspective, I actually found this very interesting to read.
So on the whole, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others, but I have some thoughts that would've made it even better!!
Although saying that, I did really enjoy the book - enough to finish it in two days! I found the writing style used; I thought it was really easy to follow. Usually I don't like dual perspectives but because there would be no more than 1-2 pages, and sometimes only 1-2 sentences in someones perspective, I actually found this very interesting to read.
So on the whole, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others, but I have some thoughts that would've made it even better!!
I think this is a really sweet story about love, how love can drive you mad and make do the most stupid things, but also how love can be your anchor when you need it the most. Not just love from a boy but love from family and friends too, how a relationship between a boy who lost everything and a girl who is about to lose it can be formed within seconds. How friends you have shared everything with since you could remember seem so far away, and yet a stranger can find all the right things to say to make it okay. I like how Aaron tries to be a better version of himself, even though he is who he's always been, protecting and caring. He doesn't show it openly all the time but when Hannah finds herself in a vulnerable state he just pops up, like a hero. Even though every hero has a troubling past.
I love the whole twist we know is coming, you might figure it out before it is revealed, which only makes it even more fucked up. But it isn't really uncommon, it just seems twisted and weird and 'why would someone ever do such a thing?', but hey, he was hot and she was in love and thought that it would probably be the only chance she would get.
The perfect image of how every grown up and every young adult is looking upon teen pregnancy is terrible. Getting pregnant is nothing uncommon, it happens all the time, getting pregnant at 19? That is fine, 26? Perfect, 35? Finally. 45? Gross. But when a girl is 15? That is horrible, the girl herself is not mature, she will not be able to take care of a child, she is a slut, she probably doesn't even know the father, her parents are worthless for not teaching her adequately. It's all wrong. It takes one swimmer to impregnate someone, you can have sex once and will make no difference. And all it does it put stigma on the young girl having it. Like Hannah, she wanted her baby, she loved it. But she was afraid of telling her parents and the father and anyone around her because she knew that even though the baby wasn't even born, people would hate it, people would look down on her and her baby. All she gave the baby was love and was so scared to take care of it, like every mother to be is, but instead of joy all she got was pain. And it is awful. Not that I am all for teen pregnancy...
Hannah's personality, just...vulnerable, sweet, insecure and brave. She doesn't take credit for things she does really, but when she is faced with an obstacle she doesn't hide from it, she fights it and grows with it. I adore how she is capable of loving something as much as she does, her unborn baby and how much she cares that it will be oaky. When Fletch told the guys about what he had gotten from her, she didn't think 'maybe I deserve it' and pout and slept with a guy, no it was beneath her, she gave him a taste of his own medicine.
But everything wasn't a walk on a meadow full of sunflowers, no, the way the story put out the tragic event of Chris death and how Aaron felt responsible for it made me crazy, I wanted to know why he was so screwed up. But I could wait, why not? However, when Neville (oh sweet man, you are definitely my favorite) is told the truth, I thought we would find out with him...but NO. But then, when Hannah finds out...NO. We didn't find out either. Which made me frustrated, and when I did find out what had happened, I didn't know if I should be more mad at Chris for being such a dick and a horrible friend, or that Aaron, who stood up for what he believed and never meant any harm blames himself? I wanted to kick Aaron's nuts. And honestly? Chris deserved it.
Also, I love Great Britain, especially England, but their freaking tea times drives me nuts. It reminds me of how my aunt always wanders around our house with a cup of tea and every afternoon we have tea and biscuits in front of the telly or fireplace. Is it really that much tea time?!
I love the whole twist we know is coming, you might figure it out before it is revealed, which only makes it even more fucked up. But it isn't really uncommon, it just seems twisted and weird and 'why would someone ever do such a thing?', but hey, he was hot and she was in love and thought that it would probably be the only chance she would get.
The perfect image of how every grown up and every young adult is looking upon teen pregnancy is terrible. Getting pregnant is nothing uncommon, it happens all the time, getting pregnant at 19? That is fine, 26? Perfect, 35? Finally. 45? Gross. But when a girl is 15? That is horrible, the girl herself is not mature, she will not be able to take care of a child, she is a slut, she probably doesn't even know the father, her parents are worthless for not teaching her adequately. It's all wrong. It takes one swimmer to impregnate someone, you can have sex once and will make no difference. And all it does it put stigma on the young girl having it. Like Hannah, she wanted her baby, she loved it. But she was afraid of telling her parents and the father and anyone around her because she knew that even though the baby wasn't even born, people would hate it, people would look down on her and her baby. All she gave the baby was love and was so scared to take care of it, like every mother to be is, but instead of joy all she got was pain. And it is awful. Not that I am all for teen pregnancy...
Hannah's personality, just...vulnerable, sweet, insecure and brave. She doesn't take credit for things she does really, but when she is faced with an obstacle she doesn't hide from it, she fights it and grows with it. I adore how she is capable of loving something as much as she does, her unborn baby and how much she cares that it will be oaky. When Fletch told the guys about what he had gotten from her, she didn't think 'maybe I deserve it' and pout and slept with a guy, no it was beneath her, she gave him a taste of his own medicine.
But everything wasn't a walk on a meadow full of sunflowers, no, the way the story put out the tragic event of Chris death and how Aaron felt responsible for it made me crazy, I wanted to know why he was so screwed up. But I could wait, why not? However, when Neville (oh sweet man, you are definitely my favorite) is told the truth, I thought we would find out with him...but NO. But then, when Hannah finds out...NO. We didn't find out either. Which made me frustrated, and when I did find out what had happened, I didn't know if I should be more mad at Chris for being such a dick and a horrible friend, or that Aaron, who stood up for what he believed and never meant any harm blames himself? I wanted to kick Aaron's nuts. And honestly? Chris deserved it.
Also, I love Great Britain, especially England, but their freaking tea times drives me nuts. It reminds me of how my aunt always wanders around our house with a cup of tea and every afternoon we have tea and biscuits in front of the telly or fireplace. Is it really that much tea time?!