You know those books that just get better and better as you go along? This is one of those books. The premise was enough to hook me, the plot hit the ground running on page one, the characters completely had me wrapped around their fingers, and the emotional stakes just increased with every page turn. By the 70-80% mark, I was in tears.

Ben is the sweetest kid. He’s 16 and an excellent student, super smart, responsible, a hard worker, but now he’s struggling to make sense of his life now that he’s found out he got his friend pregnant. He’s also gay. So there’s a bit of angst and drama but Ben ends up learning a lot of important lessons with the help of his amazing support system of family and friends.

My heart truly broke for Ben. I wanted him to not have to go through such pain and anguish. I wanted him to be able to enjoy what time he has left being a kid and not have to sacrifice the promising future he’d worked so hard to make possible for himself. And his heart is always in the right place which makes it all the more difficult to watch him struggling to come to terms with what has to be done. I was so proud of him too for listening to all the advice he was given, learning from his mistakes, and realizing that what he wanted wasn’t necessarily the right way to go.

One thing that stood out to me was that you don’t often see a teen pregnancy told from the father’s point of view. Jen Bailey handles this extremely well as it could have easily been a #notallmen / MRA / anti-woman message but it wasn’t (thankfully). In fact, Ben learns that he needs to make more of an effort to understand the baby’s mother’s experience and to ask himself why he’s doing what he’s doing. Part of his journey in this book is centered on him growing up and learning to put others’ needs before his own desires when necessary. I applaud Bailey on the careful and thoughtful way she navigated these tricky topics.

I suspect Ben is neurodivergent, likely on the autism spectrum. He admits to struggling with picking up nuances in conversation, is awkward in social situations, and exhibits rigid thinking, among other things. He even acknowledges knowing his whole life that he’s “different” from everybody else. I appreciate the subtlety Bailey used in conveying these elements of Ben’s character. They were never shown as obstacles or portrayed as negative. Props to the author for handling this aspect of the character so beautifully.

I enjoyed this book SO much. I would absolutely recommend Unexpecting for anyone of any age. It’s categorized as YA and the marketing compares it to Juno (which is a very apt comparison. If you liked Juno, you’re sure to enjoy this) but it’s a story for all ages, relatable and heartfelt, and highlights many important things along the way. It’s a beautiful story and will fill your heart with all the best feelings.

Unexpecting tells the story of teenage geek, Ben. After an experiment at summer camp go awry he finds out he's about to be a father.

I appreciated what this book was trying to do, but the way it went about it fell flat. I think it was amazing that the author wanted to portray the reality of teenage pregnancy and that came across pretty well, but Ben was so unlikeable it was hard to feel anything for him. I also thought the romantic subplot (if you could even call it that?) with Gio was totally unnecessary and took away from the rest of the story. I found most of the characters dull and unrelatable. This book was fine.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

What a gorgeous novel full of loveable characters and a storyline that I couldn't put down. This one is a must read!

This was a really interesting concept but was very frustrating to read. The main character has this sense of entitlement to a child/control over a fetus that he isn't carrying. At best it's immature and whiny; at worst it's obnoxious. The whole book just feels terribly immature.

I read this straight through in one night. The synopsis had me intrigued and the story kept me reading. You can’t help but to root for Ben. I’ll admit I was hoping it would end differently because there’s a scene early on that pretty much gives away the ending. It’s just a bit too on the nose. Overall, it’s an enjoyable read about finding yourself and what makes a family.

Rep: MM Gay/Bi

Rating: 4.25 stars