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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
I wish I could have every single person read this book.
I was a “pro-life” person growing up, and am now loudly pro-choice. Reading this and seeing both sides has made me even more proud to be pro-choice.
It also makes me absolutely heartbroken for the country we live in, and for the future my daughters are facing. While I hope they NEVER have to face the decision to have an abortion (nobody is out here getting abortions for fun), I would travel to the ends of the earth to get them that health care procedure if they ever needed it.
This book had me feeling so bonded with all the women who have come before me and will come after me. I loved how Ivy made herself a network of support. Also reading about the road trip is something I’ve always wanted to do, stopping at every little town, roadside attraction, or whatever struck our interest. They also crossed through my home state, Utah, and visited where I have actually grown up visiting, and she wrote it very accurately for how it really is.
I was a “pro-life” person growing up, and am now loudly pro-choice. Reading this and seeing both sides has made me even more proud to be pro-choice.
It also makes me absolutely heartbroken for the country we live in, and for the future my daughters are facing. While I hope they NEVER have to face the decision to have an abortion (nobody is out here getting abortions for fun), I would travel to the ends of the earth to get them that health care procedure if they ever needed it.
This book had me feeling so bonded with all the women who have come before me and will come after me. I loved how Ivy made herself a network of support. Also reading about the road trip is something I’ve always wanted to do, stopping at every little town, roadside attraction, or whatever struck our interest. They also crossed through my home state, Utah, and visited where I have actually grown up visiting, and she wrote it very accurately for how it really is.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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
I was wrong, so wrong, about prefaces and prologues, and that’s the problem with easy opinions — you can be wrong until you know more. It’s impossible to understand the whole story, any story, without knowing the beginning before the beginning, without acknowledging the long, buried roots that have led us here, held us here.
I first saw this book sitting on the shelf at The Bookworm in Omaha. I was immediately drawn in by the over and when I read the book flap, I knew I wanted to read this incredibly timely story about a teenager in Paris, Texas, who finds out she’s pregnant and travels to Oregon with her boyfriend to get an abortion. Sound like a news story you’ve read recently? I mean, this could be so many young girls’ story, really. And that reality made reading this book incredibly difficult and emotional. Knowing that state abortion laws are similar here in Iowa, I know that many young people here in this state could potentially relate to Ivy’s story.
Abortion Road Trip Love Story
That’s what Ivy decides to name the road trip she and boyfriend Lorenzo (who is an actual saint, I think) go on to visit Ivy’s grandmother in Oregon. We find out pretty early on that Ivy was sexually assaulted by another boy and didn’t think what happened to her would leave her pregnant. The whole time I was reading this book I couldn’t help but think: how many teenage girls are sexually assaulted by some cocky, confident teenage boy and are left with a very real and adult decision to make? The irony of many of them not being “old enough” to have comprehensive sex education in school but are most definitely old enough to carry a fetus to term… it’s sickening.
This book is written in a way that it’s very clear to see how author Caletti feels about abortion access and women’s healthcare. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, but it did feel a little over the top when every single woman Ivy encounters in the book has a story that deals with abortion in some capacity. While I don’t doubt there are many silent stories of abortion, I also found it hard to believe that many women in Ivy’s circle would have a personal story to share. Or, maybe that’s something the women in my family have never opened up about so it felt very unrealistic to me.
Regardless, I think this is an incredibly important book for young people to have access to. While the audience will likely be teenage girls, I think it’s so important for young girls to see options presented to them, even if it’s just in literature, and also to realize just how many women have had to make this decision before them. I doubt this book is picked up by many young men, but maybe it would help them think twice before doing whatever the heck they want, especially when it comes to experiencing sexual experiences with the young women in their lives. I’m really glad I took the time to read this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Pregnancy
emotional
hopeful
Honestly, Ivy is such a badass. And so is Lorenzo and Ivy’s mom, Ivy’s grandma and aunt, and especially Mase who is a great little brother and a great character. This book is badass *chef’s kiss*
This book handled the subject of abortion differently then I’ve seen in other books. It was about choice and forming these choices rather than having to choose a side of you are for or against abortion. Ivy went through doubting her decision, thinking it may be the wrong choice all the way to knowing it’s something she has to do and everything in between. And all of that is valid no matter what “side” you’re on. It is perfectly fine to do something others don’t agree with or don’t want you to do, because your life is not for them. It’s for you.
This book handled the subject of abortion differently then I’ve seen in other books. It was about choice and forming these choices rather than having to choose a side of you are for or against abortion. Ivy went through doubting her decision, thinking it may be the wrong choice all the way to knowing it’s something she has to do and everything in between. And all of that is valid no matter what “side” you’re on. It is perfectly fine to do something others don’t agree with or don’t want you to do, because your life is not for them. It’s for you.
Set in rural Paris, TX, this book will resonate with anyone who was put to shame for having an abortion. Ivy is 15, finds herself pregnant due to a non-consenusual act (I was super surprised by it but it made total sense). Upon discovering she is over the “six week” deadline to obtain a legal abortion in Texas, she has no other choice but to travel to another state, Oregon, where abortions and female reproductive services are legal.
Ivy has a small but hefty support system, as she travels across the US, deemed the “abortion road trip love story”, by her extremely supportive boyfriend Lorenzo, who we come to find out is NOT the father. As they travel across the states, Ivy discovers she is not alone in this trek, hearing stories from other women who have gone through similar events in their lives.
I learned a LOT from this book, not realizing that 1 in 4 women have abortions and that it’s more common, going way back into the early 1900s. That those who are pointing fingers may actually have a skeleton in their closet (come to find out near the end…no spoilers!)
My only negative comment is that I wish Ivy had been able to confront the “father” or at least, while I don’t condone lowering yourself to others, she should have been able to stand up for herself rather than run away..even though that was best for her and her family. Sadly, the way her “best friends” treated her was not uncommon. I understand Ivy’s not wanting to speak her truth, today’s young girls would turn to social media and blast the “dad”. This is definitely one book that will stay with me for a while…
Ivy has a small but hefty support system, as she travels across the US, deemed the “abortion road trip love story”, by her extremely supportive boyfriend Lorenzo, who we come to find out is NOT the father. As they travel across the states, Ivy discovers she is not alone in this trek, hearing stories from other women who have gone through similar events in their lives.
I learned a LOT from this book, not realizing that 1 in 4 women have abortions and that it’s more common, going way back into the early 1900s. That those who are pointing fingers may actually have a skeleton in their closet (come to find out near the end…no spoilers!)
My only negative comment is that I wish Ivy had been able to confront the “father” or at least, while I don’t condone lowering yourself to others, she should have been able to stand up for herself rather than run away..even though that was best for her and her family. Sadly, the way her “best friends” treated her was not uncommon. I understand Ivy’s not wanting to speak her truth, today’s young girls would turn to social media and blast the “dad”. This is definitely one book that will stay with me for a while…
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:
Complicated
“Abortion road trip love story” pretty much sums it up, but Ivy is a sympathetic protagonist whose struggles to come to terms with her choice—and especially how others criticize or support her choice—makes for an engaging read. As in Heart in a Body, the author makes reference to a big plot point but doesn’t explain until the mid point—a bit frustrating, but I still enjoyed the read.
Deb Caletti just knows how to write a book that will make me feel everything so hard to the point of tears. Ivy's language is very, very repetitive in the beginning and it drove me bonkers, but thankfully it tapers off so that you can really immerse yourself in this painfully beautiful story.
emotional
reflective
Loveable characters:
Yes
A most read in a post-Roe world.
I encourage everybody, especially those trying to decide where they stand on this debate, to read this book.
As an SA survivor, what happens to Ivy was my biggest fear. I finished this book the week Amber Nicole Thurman lost her life to Georgia's LIFE Act after not passing all fetal tissue. My heart aches for the people who don't have choices to get help or who lay in a hospital bed for 20 hours knowing that they are dying and will never see their children again because a fetus is more important than doctors being able to practice medicine safely.
I encourage everybody, especially those trying to decide where they stand on this debate, to read this book.
As an SA survivor, what happens to Ivy was my biggest fear. I finished this book the week Amber Nicole Thurman lost her life to Georgia's LIFE Act after not passing all fetal tissue. My heart aches for the people who don't have choices to get help or who lay in a hospital bed for 20 hours knowing that they are dying and will never see their children again because a fetus is more important than doctors being able to practice medicine safely.
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix