For a book titled “Unexpecting,” I expected just about every plot point of this story. Nothing about it was surprising, and I felt like everything that happened was just a given in one way or another. I did appreciate that this book focused on teen parenthood and sexuality with an intersection that I’ve never seen explored.

As for the characters, I quite frankly did not like the main character, Ben. There are multiple times throughout the book where people tell him that if anyone could be a teen parent, it would be him. I just feel like that’s a blatant lie. This is the least put together kid I’ve ever seen. I think he’d be an awful parent. I appreciated that the author was trying to show how someone with Ben’s drive and ambition could step up and become a better person for his child, but I think he just had too many faults. It felt like the cons list was way longer than the pros and it made rooting for him difficult.

I did not like how Maxie was pretty much discarded until she served a greater purpose in Ben’s growth as a character. I think she was treated very poorly and it left me with a strong distaste for the narrative.

Lastly, I just thought it was weird that Ben’s love interest was his former step-brother. It was odd and I didn’t enjoy it.

Needless to say, this was not my favorite book.

I liked this book. I often find that teenagers in books are very naive but there it's not the case. There were some very good point made on why we do what we do and what does it mean to be a good parent. The process of the main character was slow as it often is in this type of decision. And the ending was pretty good.
A good one even if you are not a fan of robotic !

Oh boy...Let's start from the beginning....In the synopsis it states its Juno meets Heartstopper. No, absolutely not. There is one part that could say Juno but it's nothing like Heartstopper. I've read Heartstopper.

I'm not the biggest contemporary fan but I will give a book a try. Sometimes I do find some I like. This one was not one of those. I believe this is Jen Bailey's debut novel. At least that's what it looks like on Goodreads. You can tell. The story line is not unique. I didn't care for any of the characters. They were very flat and boring. The story line seems like it jumped in some spots with no good transition. It was like one minute there was a conversation happening and then it would end and jump somewhere else and I feel like there was no conclusion to the conversation that was happening. I knew how this was going to end barely 50% in. But it does have a pretty cover. Some people may like this but it was not for me.

3.25 stars
Don’t take my rating too harshly. I’m not so much into YA anymore so that is the reason for the rating. However, I can see enjoyers of YA rating this higher.
This is a pretty good debut novel. I was happy to find that there wasn’t any cringey dialogue or writing overall. Bailey wasn’t trying to be trendy or go beyond their knowledge of teenagers.
I wouldn’t take the comparison to Heartstopper serious because Ben’s interactions with Gio are primarily friendly (because having a baby as a teenager is overwhelming so who has time to date). I really appreciated that the author didn’t just put them together because it would’ve hindered Ben’s progression in the story.
This story mostly centers around Ben, the absence in not having a biological dad or lasting father figure, his mom, and his step dad. It’s about how their family relationship changes and strengthens.
The ending is smart. It ends how it should. This novel is surprisingly pretty mature considering all the drama I’ve read in YA previously. That’s why I think this author is one to remember.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for a free and honest review.

1.5/5 stars

This book follows Ben who recently came out as gay. Ben and Maxine had sex a couple months ago and Maxine got pregnant because of that. Ben did this because he wanted to make sure that he wasn’t attracted to women and Maxine did this because she wanted to examine how virginity is a social construct. Maxine sends Ben a letter asking him to agree to set the baby up for adoption and Ben disagrees with this. This starts the journey of Ben fighting for his “rights” as a dad.

What I liked:

Gay parenthood
When it’s revealed that Ben is the one who got Maxine pregnant his peers act weird about it. This is because Ben is gay. I thought this was an interesting thing in the book because in real life when queer people do get pregnant or impregnate someone else cishet people tend to make a show of it. I do wish that there was more intersectionality with this topic in the book, but it did seem realistic for someone in Ben’s position

Ben and the candidates for adoption
Although Ben got on my nerves, when he met with potential parents for the bay he asked good questions. There was one couple that talked about the importance of family values and Ben recognized that as being a phrase that conservatives say. He asked them what they would do if the child came out as gay and the couple did turn out to be homophobic. I thought this was good and liked how Ben asked these questions even though it made the situation more awkward.

What I disliked

How Maxine is handled:
It is revealed early on in the book that adoption is not Maxine’s choice. She doesn’t get much of a say in this at all. Unfortunately this is something that a lot teenage girls who get pregnant have to deal with. Ben doesn’t understand this. People in Ben’s life try to explain to him that Maxine is going through more difficult stuff than him, but Ben stays ignorant. When Ben does figure this out, Maxine says something to him that implies that she would get an abortion if she could. Ben expresses sadness for this because that’s his baby. Basically Ben is only thinking about what he wants and Maxine is always a second thought.

Ben’s rights:
This book talks about paternal rights in pregnancy. If you’re going to examine paternal rights, then you have to acknowledge why people who can get pregnant are expected to do everything in terms of parenthood. Most single parents are mothers, not because they choose to be but because the father has the right to not be the parent. Unless the mother gets an abortion (which not all people have access to) or she sets the child up for adoption, she is required to fulfill her parental role. The book doesn’t acknowledge that this is why Ben has no say over what happens to Maxine’s baby.

Misogyny:
Ben is dismissive at the beginning towards Maxine’s ideas about virginity. Maxine agrees to have sex with Ben because she wants to show how virginity is a social construct and how it hurts women. Ben acts like this a dumb idea. I’m just gonna list some of the things Ben does because it’s a lot.
- Implies that he’s going through just as much difficulty as Maxine
- Maxine snaps at Ben and Ben gets accuses her of being “exasperated” even though she’s pregnant
- When they go to an ultrasound together, Ben makes a big deal about how pregnant Maxine is
- When they go to a birthing class a video is shown of a women giving birth naked. Ben complains about this because he doesn’t wanna see anyone’s boobs and then complains when the camera shows her vagina dilating because she’s giving birth. Ben acts like this is disgusting
- Ben plans to give Maxine meal plans to lose weight once she’s given birth
Ok that’s all the misogyny that I remember.

Incest:
I’m not gonna linger on this, but Ben’s love interest is a boy named Gio. Gio was once Ben’s step-brother. I know they are not related by blood, but there are lines about them being family. Therefore I think it’s weird that they ended up dating

Overall I wouldn’t recommend this book and I need to be paid money for reading this sober. Hope y’all enjoyed the review

When someone in the marketing department reached out about this back in December, I wasn't I was going to read it as I'd had a very stressful fall with a new puppy and school and work, but the blurb stayed in my mind, and after a couple of days deliberation I finally said yes.* I mean I had months to read it so may as well say yes and then plan around my schedule.

Unexpecting was unexpectedly (hardy har har) charming. Was it perfect? No, but that's okay. It was a fun easy-to-read debut with unique and memorable characters (main and supporting). The book brought a lot of emotions out of me from hating and then understanding Maxie's parents to my wanting to shake some sense into Ben but also wanting to give him a big hug for trying so hard and finally seeing reality. It was definitely a whirlwind.

Bailey did a great job of really getting into Ben's mind and these two quotes were big for me because I feel like most of us go through some sort of phase for the first. Seriously though, like WTF: coming out, orientation, top, bottom, queer, all these fun words that are assigned/prescribed and we just sort of have to exist in them unless we break the paradigms or dualities (oh hey gender queer friends!). And the second one she NAILED overstimulation in one paragraph. I mean I feel like there's usually a lot more you're hearing and feeling that you can't even describe. Also the use of tennis shoes - I've never felt more seen!

Orientation. I hate that word. It makes me feel like a compass or map or something that can be twisted or turned to point in the right direction. Like I'm something that needs to be altered to follow the right path. Or maybe I'm overthinking meaningless details in an attempt to avoid the bigger issue. (Chapter 1)

It takes me longer to swap out my books between classes than it should because the jumbled thoughts seem to jumble everything else too. Colors don't make sense, and letters swirl and morph on the book covers. Every bang of lockers around me, every squeak of tennis shoes on polished floors, every raucous burst of laughter grates on my nerves. Even the soft cotton of my T-shirt feels gritty and rough. It's something that happens when I'm stressed, this getting sucked into sensory overload on all fronts. (Chapter 7)

My biggest problem with the book wasn't the perceived casual misogyny or unintentional patronization of Maxie, by Ben and so many other characters,  but the lack of her voice and agency in the entire story. I know the story is told from Ben's point of view, but everything we know about Maxie says she wouldn't just sit there and take it. And I get that Bailey wrote this as a massive thing and Maxie changes because of it, but for some reason, it just really bothered me that she went from this bad-ass science personality to meek and weak and not invested in anything. There are moments where she breaks out of it, but for the most part, I was just sad at how she was portrayed

The thing is, Maxie was always the one to keep us on track, pushing the KISS principle. Somehow, without her involvement, we forgot about the 'Keep It Simple, Stupid!' approach. (Chapter 11)

The love story aspect was adorable, especially because Gio was trying his best to protect Ben and work with him to support him. This was all happening even while Ben was convinced he was going to do everything he could to raise the baby on his own. If that's not a deeper love than childhood love then I'm not sure what is. And then there was the love of Ben's stepfamily I think both times they surprised Ben I was almost in tears because it was just so wonderfully perfect and well written and Bailey again nailed Ben's emotions perfectly.

I've never understood the idea of bittersweet as an emotion before. Like, how can something be painful and comforting at the same time? But that's exactly what this moment is. Bittersweet. Because, while I hate—absolutely hate—that Gio is one more sacrifice I have to make, the fact he's promising to be my friend forever fills me with sunshine and cotton candy. I can't tell Gio any of that, so I say, 'Good.' (Chapter 19)

The above quote was the beginning of the end. At that point, he started to truly understand everything he would be giving up over the next few chapters. He also FINALLY connected the dots of who could adopt the baby (not a surprise for me, but if you read it fast you might miss it). It all led to his personal growth and maturation and understanding that what he wants and thinks is required isn't necessarily what's best for everyone.

Recommendation: 100% worth the read. I enjoyed reading it and there were so many great characters and scenes. Ben's growth and his journey to acceptance and understanding is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster but I was there for it and glad he finally came around and everything was wrapped up so neatly and perfectly.  I'm not sure I really get the Heartstopper reference, but hey you gotta do what you've gotta do for marketing right?

*I received a copy of Unexpecting via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I was so excited to dive into this book. The premise of a teen pregnancy told by the perspective of the father was very intriguing, and the likeness to Heartstopper was promising to me.

In reality, this book was a difficult one for me to rate. On one hand, it has a lot of heart – the ending especially is a happy-tear-jerker – but other parts left me entirely frustrated.

Perhaps what was most frustrating for me is Ben himself. His reasoning for wanting to keep the baby rather than give it up for adoption (“I didn’t have a father growing up so I don’t want to do that to my child”) is selfish at best. The fact his mother encourages this throughout the book is irresponsible to say the least. When Ben gets upset he’ll have to skip a super special summer camp because he’ll be looking after a child? Really? What did you think was going to happen if you agreed to raising the baby?

What was also disappointing to me was Maxie, the mother of the child. It felt like she was really just used as a vessel to carry Ben’s baby throughout the book. I felt so awful for her – no one ever asks her what she wants. On one hand, Ben is telling her he wants to keep the baby, and on the other hand, her parents are saying they’ll put it up for adoption. But we never really know what Maxie herself truly wants. I wish this book had been told from a dual perspective so we’d know what she was thinking, because Ben certainly didn’t care.

Something that really grossed me out about this book – that I don’t see many people talking about – is that Ben’s love interest is his former step-brother, Gio. EW. There are passages where Ben talks about when his Mother and former step-father had custody of Gio, and knowing that they were formerly step-brothers and STILL remember that time makes their love story very uncomfortable to me.

The ending was entirely predictable, but that didn’t take away from how sweet it was. It was nice to see Ben act mature and responsible with the final decision he makes.

ARC review

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for sharing this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

When I first read the description of this book I thought I would like it a lot. After all I liked Juno and Heartstopper, but it definitely didn’t have the same magic for me. In part I think it’s because I don’t like Ben all that much. Not because he was written poorly but because I think he acts very much how a 16-year-old boy would in this situation. It’s not charming, but it doesn’t make it disingenuous. The one thing that didn’t ring true was the budding romance between Gio and Ben. Since I didn’t like Ben much I suppose I don’t know what Gio sees in him.

I’m glad with how the book turned out, even got a bit choked up! Ben grew a lot and I think it was a natural progression of the story and character.

I was really excited to see the synopsis of this book, and doubly excited to get the opportunity to read it.

Some aspects of the main character, Ben, were hard to connect to and understand. For having seemingly good communication with his mom, I couldn't get behind how much he held back from her for 90% of the book.

What I really loved was watching Ben's family weave together before our eyes. He was slow to see it, but I enjoyed the connections as they were built.

I thought this was a great take on accidental teenage pregnancy. I feel like this is not talked about enough in YA spaces. It's especially rare to see a book from a male perspective. I really liked that Jen Bailey was able to balance the stress of a pregnancy with the regular demands of being a teenager. The MMC was able to realistically be a teenager, which can be frustrating to watch as an adult, but felt very true to life. I will definitely be adding this to my classroom library when it is released!

This book was a look at what makes a family, the pressures that press on all teens, and the ones that get added when summer choices turn into high school pregnancy.
Jen Bailey did a great job characterizing all the players and exploring the experience of a gay high schooler who got his best friend pregnant. Ben has to figure out how to navigate his oldest friendships, how to juggle highschool course work, robotics club and a job, and face the big changes that come along with being a parent.
Ultimately Ben has to figure out what it means to be a good parent and Bailey does an excellent job with his story.

Disclaimer: I was given a free ARC of this book by Wednesday Books in exchange for a review.

I was so excited to get to read Unexpecting by Jen Bailey. I feel like there aren’t an awful lot of books about queer characters that aren’t either Traumatic or Romantic. Unexpecting centers around seventeen year-old Ben who, two months after coming out to his friends and family, finds himself hitting them with another big conversation: he’s going to be a father. Maxie, his best friend, robotics club team mate, and now the mother of his child, wants to put the baby up for adoption at the urging of her family, but Ben wants to keep him/her. His family supports him, but working to become a father comes with unexpected pressures and sacrifices. Being a parent, he is learning, is all about hard choices. Can he make the right ones?

Unexpecting has done incredibly strong characters. Each of them had very clear voices and motivations. Ben, as our narrator, in particularly was very well-realized. Unfortunately, Ben is a well-realized seventeen year-old boy who lacks a lot of emotional intelligence or self-awareness, so spending the entire book in his head was really frustrating at times. In particular, I had a really hard time understanding what Ben’s motivations were for wanting to take on being a single teen father. There were mentions of it being tied up with a lack of a father figure, first from the death of his biological father, followed by a succession of step-fathers, but the emotional core of his motivation wasn’t very clear. It almost sounded like he was angry with his father for dying, which while that is totally a way that people grieve, didn’t feel emotionally real coming from Ben. There was also lip service to feeling a sense of abandonment from his step-fathers, but I wasn’t clear on that either. He holds his current stepfather at such a distance, I wasn’t clear if that was his relationship with his other step-fathers, or if they had been close and then left, or what. Overall, Ben felt a little self-centered and superficial, which is an exceptional characterization of a teenage boy, but not necessarily a character who I enjoyed living in his head for 304 pages.

That said, the other characters in the book make it very clear that Ben is an unreliable narrator. It makes it easier to be frustrated with a character when another character is calling them out for that exact thing on the next page. I especially liked Gio, Ben’s former step-brother and current crush. Gio was dealing with his own struggles, but still kind to Ben. Even when calling him on his bullshit. Which he did a lot, which may have been why I liked him so much; I knew when Gio showed up there was going to be a reality check.

Maybe the best thing about this book, though, was what felt like the queerest thing about it: the emphasis on chosen family. Ben has a supportive mom, this isn’t about being rejected by your family because you are LGBTQIA+, but he is also surrounded by his own non-biological family the entire book. I had been very worried that, for a book whose synopsis centers around fighting the adoption of a child, chosen family and kinship ties would be overlooked, despite their very real importance to a lot of people, but especially in the queer community.

If you need your narrators/main characters to be likable, this might not be the book for you, but if you want a book where the characters feel true-to-life in all their messiness, I’d definitely suggest this one. The world needs more stories about LGBTQIA+ people in all their facets, that allows them to have all manner of joys and struggles in full, well-realized lives, and I hope this book will be the first of many that do just that.

Jen Bailey does a phenomenal job of portraying her characters in this book. The book pulls on your heartstrings while making you smile all in a chapter. I really hope this becomes a series of books because I want to live in this world over and over again. I would rate this book a 5/5 stars. This is a must read for summer!

4.5 Stars

Jen Bailey's Unexpecting is a very different kind of coming of age story.

Ben is obviously on the spectrum, and thinks of everything in a scientific, fact based way. Honestly, the author absolutely nailed this aspect of Ben. Seriously, over and over, every little thing Ben thinks is well written.
This story revolves around Ben getting his best friend pregnant. They are teens and in school. Both are science geeks. Ben sleeps with her to prove if he's gay or not. Guess what? He is. Meanwhile, she slept with him for research purposes too.
Obviously, these are not your typical characters. And all of their actions prove so.
There's a huge depth as to why Ben reacts the way he does to everything. Not only does his "science" brain take over, but he also basis everything on his experiences of not having a father.
Both families are well written, with reasons behind everyone's actions.
And in the end, Ben's mom is just amazing. I truly love her. She absolutely makes the story in the end.

Why read it? It's a unique story that fully puts you in the brain of an autistic teen who's struggling with life. Not many teen pregnancy story will ever give you these feels. The writing is well done, both in being honest and authentic, but also in the writing style.

The only thing I didn't love about this book is the way it was too close to home for me. Ben is my son. That is why I can honestly say the author nailed the way he thinks. So, as much as I enjoyed reading this, it also hurt.

But I am still thrilled I found this book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was quite an emotional read, but I did find myself relating to most - if not all of the characters. The description of this book is Heartstopper meets Juno, and I found this to be very accurate. The author did an amazing job portraying the complications of highschool and the main character, Ben, was incredibly relatable. I think this is a good read for anyone who is looking for a sweet coming of age story about young love and find themselves.

Unexpecting by Jen Bailey is an emotional, heartbreaking but heart repairing story about what family really means, what defines family and how you have to make hard choices for your family, even if it's not the choice you want to make.

Benjamin is gay, and he knows this for a fact after he sleeps with one of his best friends, Maxine. But when she finds out she's pregnant, Ben does everything he can and fully gets ready to be a father until he finds out that the baby will be put up for adoption instead.

He does everything he can to fight this, even being preprepared to bring lawyers into the situation until he has a conversation with his step-dad, who was also adopted and finally agrees to let it go through as long as it's open.

There's also a really sweet b-plot about him falling in love with a co-worker at his job that I just adored.

If you love found family, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked this book. It was a very quick read and kept me engaged throughout the story. I enjoyed that this story took the teenage pregnancy from a male POV. I appreciated the writing, in both style and ease of reading. The plot was a bit predictable, and this story used many tropes (unexpected pregnancy, family disfunction, LGBTQ+, coming of age) but that did not take my enjoyment away from the story.
The characters were likeable. I especially enjoyed Ben the main character and Gio, the ex-stepbrother and the relationship that develops between Roger and Ben. The story gives you hope and good feeling upon completion of reading and I would hope there is a follow up including these characters.
3.75

This was a one-day book, and given the way my focus has been recently that’s quite a feat. The title of Unexpecting immediately caught my attention, and I am always a sucker for books featuring chosen family. This wasn’t quite the story I expected on that front, but I did love the way it explores different types of family and what family means for different people. This is such an emotional ride, but also such a good one. All around a good story, and the kind of story I’d like to see more iterations of.

This book was refreshing. It was a lighthearted and pleasant read. Somewhat predictable but I can't say I'm mad about that. We all need a read like that sometimes.

The novel is marketed as Juno meets Heartstopper. While I do see the similarities to Juno, it doesn't quite intersect with something like Heartstopper so I feel this is misleading. This did catch my eye due to the comparison but it isn't the most accurate so if that is what you're looking for then maybe pass on the book. It is a good read on its own and would be better off without that comparison.

Overall there are sweet rom-com vibes in this book and it touches upon deeper topics like teen pregnancy and juggling relationships (romantic and platonic) in an excellent way. I love the LGBTQ+ representation in this book too. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a somewhat lighthearted and quick read. Really great palate cleanser to read between dark or heavy books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This is a compelling story of teen pregnancy from the perspective of the father. It pulled me in immediately and kept my attention so much that I didn't want to put it down. It took me on a roller coaster of emotions and ripped my heart out in the best way. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would based on the description. I recommend it to readers of all ages!