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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Abortion, Pregnancy
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual assault
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TW: sexual assault, abortion.
The main character, Ivy, was sexually assaulted by the son of the man she works for. She lives in Texas where it recently became criminal to have an abortion past 6 weeks. Her boyfriend offers to help her get an abortion. Her mom and brother and the rest of her family are super supportive, but her friends and the people in her town are not. Ivy and Lorenzo head on a road trip to Oregon where she can legally have an abortion. This book follows their journey.
This book packed a big punch. A personal preference for me with the writing is to not have so many things italicized for emphasis. However - this book was really well done. Ivy’s conflicted feelings about who supports her, her love for her boyfriend and family, and her shock at how many stories are like hers - so relatable. I would fully recommend reading this one. It’s extremely timely.
The main character, Ivy, was sexually assaulted by the son of the man she works for. She lives in Texas where it recently became criminal to have an abortion past 6 weeks. Her boyfriend offers to help her get an abortion. Her mom and brother and the rest of her family are super supportive, but her friends and the people in her town are not. Ivy and Lorenzo head on a road trip to Oregon where she can legally have an abortion. This book follows their journey.
This book packed a big punch. A personal preference for me with the writing is to not have so many things italicized for emphasis. However - this book was really well done. Ivy’s conflicted feelings about who supports her, her love for her boyfriend and family, and her shock at how many stories are like hers - so relatable. I would fully recommend reading this one. It’s extremely timely.
3.5 stars
Plan A tells the story of 16 year old Ivy, who has to take a roadtrip out of state to get an abortion after becoming unexpectedly pregnant. Her boyfriend, not the father of the baby, joins her, and the two of them encounter various people along the way with stories of their own.
Overall, I really wanted to enjoy this story, but I found that it didn't land as I had hoped. The circumstances around her pregnancy were a little confusing to me, and I am not entirely sure I'm clear on what happened. On the positive side, the author did a great job of sharing many stories around motherhood, pregnancy (planned and unplanned), and reproductive rights. Any book that champions the right for women to have agency over their bodies is an important one.
Plan A tells the story of 16 year old Ivy, who has to take a roadtrip out of state to get an abortion after becoming unexpectedly pregnant. Her boyfriend, not the father of the baby, joins her, and the two of them encounter various people along the way with stories of their own.
Overall, I really wanted to enjoy this story, but I found that it didn't land as I had hoped. The circumstances around her pregnancy were a little confusing to me, and I am not entirely sure I'm clear on what happened. On the positive side, the author did a great job of sharing many stories around motherhood, pregnancy (planned and unplanned), and reproductive rights. Any book that champions the right for women to have agency over their bodies is an important one.
3.5 stars rounded up. With all of the controversy over Roe vs. Wade in recent years, books like Deb Caletti's Plan A, a story about a teenage girl seeking an abortion in Texas where the procedure has been outlawed, are crucial in helping women of all ages not feel alone in their desire to have a choice, a voice about their own bodies. This novel highlights the struggles pregnant women face in seeking an abortion in states where Roe vs. Wade has been overturned, and shines a light on the stigma put on women in this position.
In Caletti's Plan A, we are introduced to Ivy, a sixteen-year-old pregnant girl living in Paris, TX, where abortions are illegal. Wishing to terminate, Ivy heads out on a road trip with her boyfriend Lorenzo to her grandmother's home in Oregon, where she should be able to procure an abortion with ease. But of course, like in any modern day abortion story, Ivy faces a slew of roadblocks on her journey west.
Plan A deftly shows how the actual abortion procedure is often the simplest part of termination for many women. For being such a lengthy novel (350+ pages), Ivy's procedure is handled within a few paragraphs of this book. The rest of this novel demonstrates the lengths women have to go to secure a termination in some states, and spotlights how these women are often chastised and ostracized for making a choice about what is best for themselves.
Spoilers ahead ... although I wholeheartedly believe in the importance of this novel, there were several things about it that I took issue with. One, I found the novel to be entirely too long. I know that all of the details surrounding the road trip were likely there to add some levity to an otherwise serious book, but this part of the novel lasted much longer than I would have preferred. Lorenzo's behavior and dialogue was also questionable - he basically spoke in juvenile exclamations throughout the trip. I don't know if this was done to drive home the point that Ivy and Lorenzo are basically still kids making adult decisions. Furthermore, the book got a little preachy and propaganda-based at times from both sides. I also found Ivy's pregnancy story to be incredibly problematic. She basically becomes pregnant after being raped sans intercourse. She casts away any doubt that this could actually happen by stating that this extremely rare, but because she is young, it is possible. I honestly would have preferred that she made the choice to have sex, got pregnant, and is now taking ownership of her decisions and choosing abortion, as this is the situation most girls find themselves in. Instead, Ivy comes off as a victim, rising above the girls who actually decided to have sex and find themselves in this position - it just makes her less relatable in a book where being able to see yourself in the characters is key.
Lastly, it just about drove me crazy how Ivy constantly provided an alternate version of everything in her life dubbed, "If this were a movie ..." She then proceeds to explain how this scene would play out differently if this were the movie version of her life. This felt like a covert attempt to insert some excitement into the book.
In Caletti's Plan A, we are introduced to Ivy, a sixteen-year-old pregnant girl living in Paris, TX, where abortions are illegal. Wishing to terminate, Ivy heads out on a road trip with her boyfriend Lorenzo to her grandmother's home in Oregon, where she should be able to procure an abortion with ease. But of course, like in any modern day abortion story, Ivy faces a slew of roadblocks on her journey west.
Plan A deftly shows how the actual abortion procedure is often the simplest part of termination for many women. For being such a lengthy novel (350+ pages), Ivy's procedure is handled within a few paragraphs of this book. The rest of this novel demonstrates the lengths women have to go to secure a termination in some states, and spotlights how these women are often chastised and ostracized for making a choice about what is best for themselves.
Spoilers ahead ... although I wholeheartedly believe in the importance of this novel, there were several things about it that I took issue with. One, I found the novel to be entirely too long. I know that all of the details surrounding the road trip were likely there to add some levity to an otherwise serious book, but this part of the novel lasted much longer than I would have preferred. Lorenzo's behavior and dialogue was also questionable - he basically spoke in juvenile exclamations throughout the trip. I don't know if this was done to drive home the point that Ivy and Lorenzo are basically still kids making adult decisions. Furthermore, the book got a little preachy and propaganda-based at times from both sides. I also found Ivy's pregnancy story to be incredibly problematic. She basically becomes pregnant after being raped sans intercourse. She casts away any doubt that this could actually happen by stating that this extremely rare, but because she is young, it is possible. I honestly would have preferred that she made the choice to have sex, got pregnant, and is now taking ownership of her decisions and choosing abortion, as this is the situation most girls find themselves in. Instead, Ivy comes off as a victim, rising above the girls who actually decided to have sex and find themselves in this position - it just makes her less relatable in a book where being able to see yourself in the characters is key.
Lastly, it just about drove me crazy how Ivy constantly provided an alternate version of everything in her life dubbed, "If this were a movie ..." She then proceeds to explain how this scene would play out differently if this were the movie version of her life. This felt like a covert attempt to insert some excitement into the book.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes