I have a lot of mixed feelings about Kekla Magoon’s Prom Babies. On the one hand, there are a plethora of important topics addressed throughout the course of the novel. On the other, the author clearly had a goal of fitting in a variety of social commentaries that the plot and reading experience somewhat suffered as a result. It truly feels as though this should have been split into a minimum of two books in order to hit each plot beat with the amount of attention and care that it deserved. Honestly, I could have seen this entire book as a series of books that allowed each to address a different social commentary throughout.

At the very least, I think we should have separated the stories of Mina, Penny, and Sheryl and their children—the alternating timelines, while creative, unfortunately did not accomplish what they needed to. For one, the number of reviews I read that expressed some form of confusion while following the various plots were rather excessive. For another, even I experienced the need to go back and confirm whose story I was reading and when to keep everything straight.

Outside of this complaint, I do think that the book hits a lot of great points. There is real opportunity for readers to learn about essential and important topics as each of the characters experience them, though the number of stories involved does lead to a story that doesn’t have as much depth as it perhaps could have. Each characters’ journey is something a vast number of young readers can relate to, highlighting an array of experiences teens might struggle with in these very formative years. I appreciate all of the social commentary that the author was attempting to address and the impressive way in which she tackled and explored each—I just wish we had more time with it and that the stories were not broken up by each other.

I also think, unfortunately, that this book did suffer in audiobook format. With the convoluted nature of the alternating point of views and timelines, it can be very easy to find yourself lost among the plots and needing to rewind in order to reoirent yourself. This is honestly just another point in favor of splitting these stories into multiple novels as far as I’m concerned. I did like the narratation overall, but it’s definitely a sticking point.

I love how this book represents so many cultures, family dynamics, economic status, and traumas. The multi pov across the two generations allows any listener to be able to connect to this story. There is truly something for everyone! It is listed as a YA audiobook but please check your trigger warnings. This was an excellent listen!

This was a great story that I read over the summer. I loved the parental stories being matched up to the kids in the book. I think time line swapping can be marvelous when it is done as Magoon has here.

This was a DNF for me. But I hope others loved it. It was just not my vibe and hard for me to get into.

If there is an aspect of the teen experience that is inexorably tied up in sex and gender issues, it's prom. And if there is an issue of sex and gender, it is addressed in this book. With such a grand scope, of course, no single issue gets addressed in any serious depth. Characters are similarly limited in depth and development. The messaging is rather bluntly conveyed. What it lacks in subtlety, though, it makes up for in it's honest conversation. While this book isn't likely to be a favorite, it is a great starting point for discussion.

"Prom Babies" is a compelling multi-generational novel that begins with Mina, Penny, and Sheryl facing unexpected pregnancies on prom night in 2005. Eighteen years later, their children—Blossom, Amber, and Cole—are seniors preparing for their own prom night. The story explores themes of consent, gender norms, and personal identity, illustrating how one pivotal event can shape lives over generations.

I enjoyed reading Prom Babies - it was definitely an interesting and unique story and the narrators for the audiobook - Andy Garcia, Imani Jade Powers, Krysta Gonzales, Matt Bridges, Victoria Connelly and Yinka Ladeinde, were unique for each character.

I found it interesting that the author chose to write in the current day for prom 2024, which meant that the parents were in their senior year in 2005. That was the year of my senior prom as well, and the I found I could relate to those three in both the 2005 and 2024 timeline. That could have been me trying to make that tough decision, but it also feel like me talking to my niece (who’s 16) now in 2024.

It was a little difficult at first for me to keep the names sorted, especially since I was listening to the audiobook, the individual narrators for each character did help a little.

While this is solidly YA fiction, it doesn’t have that typical YA feel and can easily be read and enjoyed by NA and older.

Thank you to Turn the Page Tours for the #gifted copy and to Spotify Audiobooks for the advanced audiobook version.

I loved the amount of narrators. Everyone had a unique voice so it was an immersive listen. The dual timeline was great, I loved seeing how the girls from the past changed from their experience. I loved the different lessons learned in this book and it included different representation. I liked how Blossom, Amber, and Cole could have open conversations with their parents. It was a quick listen.

Thank you @spotify @keklamagoon for the gifted copy.

Kekla Magoon's latest book visits the all-too-common issue of teen pregnancy. Three girls all become pregnant the night of their senior prom in 2005. Magoon tells the story of those three babies, preparing for their own senior prom in 2024. A cast of narrators, Imani Jade Powers, Yinka Ladeinde, Krysta Gonzales, Victoria Connolly, Matt Bridges, and Andy Garcia, believably voices the characters.

The book revisits 2005 and then the present, reflecting on the years in between. The three teens from 2005 banded together for support, even though they weren't close friends in high school. Mina, Penny, and Sheryl even shared a house and child care before coming into their own as adults. Their children all tussle with big issues at prom time. Gender identity, the social norms and mores of their community, virginity, actual identity, and other topics demand the attention of their children, Blossom, Amber, and Cole.

Teens will love this one, especially those who are already fans of Magoon. Recommended for young adults and those who work with them.

Note: I received an advance audio copy through NetGalley.

I was provided this ALC for a TLC Book Tours Instagram feature tour. No review required.
Thank you TLC tours and Spotify for the gifted copy and for including me on this tour

This multi generational novel about six teenagers is epic. This book challenges, social norms, familiar, structural norms, and gives the reader a first-hand view into what it is like to be a teenager today and 18 years ago. Magoon laces her characters with relatability and boldness, that we all wish we had. I would love to see this adapted into a TV show or at least a miniseries. I will use excerpts from this book to contribute to a unit where students will answer the question “ where do our identities come from?”

This book may have just ignited a love of audiobooks. I thought the alternating timelines and six POVs would be overwhelming but I sunk into these characters, feeling and resonating with each one of them. This book deals with some heavy topics including sexual assault, abortion, consent, and the struggles of LGBTQA+ but is done with care.

I don’t have a lot of experience with audio books but I did love the individual narrators for each of the POVs.

My 5-star rating is well-deserved. I look forward to reading more of the author’s books.

Reading books with this type of representation, 25 years after having my daughter at 16, I am blown away by the accuracies of how real the experiences were documented. Being a teenage mother is never something that should be glamorized because you're dealing with individuals that believe they must have everything figured out in weeks. You learn as time goes by that parenting is a day-to-day process because even the best laid out plans go awry.

The author Kekla Magoon does a great job in showing how pregnancies with teenagers are often never planned, are the consequences of ineffective birth control and safety, and from terrible sexual assaults and rapes. Learning to move away from the shame and judgment that your family and/or society spews becomes a skilled act.

Through community and support, young girls and women can manage their pregnancies no matter if they choose birthing and keeping the baby, birthing and giving the baby up for adoption, and choosing to terminate the pregnancy altogether. These choices are not easy at all to make, especially when they will follow you the rest of your life. However, it is the beauty of choice that allows young girls and women the freedom to choose their own path.

I really enjoyed the Spotify audiobook and the narrators do a good job in distinguishing between the two different plot lines and characters during each one. The characters were brought to life in dynamic ways.

I think this audiobook is one that young adults should read/listen to because it is helpful, resourceful, and endearing. It requires a special kind of bravery to push past adversity and scorn of others when kindness and generosity cost them nothing at all.

Thank you to @spotify and @tlcbooktours for the gifted ALC. #keklamagoon #spotifyaudiobooks #PromBabies #YA

Prom Babies chronicles the experiences of three young women who conceive on the night of their prom in 2005, and the subsequent connection they form as a result of this shared circumstance. The story employs a non-linear narrative structure, alternating between two time periods: the past and eighteen years later. In the latter period, the three individuals who were born as a result of prom encounters are preparing for their own prom. The prevalence of individuals adopting distinct coping mechanisms to navigate their own histories and challenges is seen in both historical periods. Will Cole discover the truth about his biological father? Will Sheryl discover a suitable abode to claim as her own? Will pregnancy be a concern at this prom now that the Roe v Wade ruling has been overturned? Kekla Magoon crafts Prom Babies with a fervent commitment to activism, enlightening teenagers about contemporary issues, all the while guaranteeing a satisfying and uplifting conclusion to the novel.

My sole complaint was that the narrators did not accurately resemble the characters. The voices seemed somewhat disconnected.

This audiobook was so good and I was kind of surprised at how much I did like it. I think this is a great story to read/listen and discuss with teens as they deal with high school issues and pressures. It deals with some real life things. It shows that the issues teens face can be a repeated cycle if not discussed. I would personally suggest that parents read it first and then read and discuss with their teens so they are prepared for the discussion and possible questions from teens.

I especially loved how we went from past to present showing how the now parents had the same issues and how they decide to handle the situations with their now teens. Some handled it perfectly and some not so much. I loved how the story also shows different family dynamics with each teens. Such a great book!

I DNF’d this one pretty early on. Although I liked the narration, the storyline is just too “young” for me. I am sure this would speak to a younger audience though.

Thank you anyway to Spotify for the #gifted audiobook and Netgalley, Henry Holt and Co, and the author.

Unfortunately I felt like this was the book version of an after school special. It took an important subject and made it corny with how unnatural the dialog was.

A Tale for the Times! This story has two layers because it is multigenerational. The aforementioned layering lends readers the luxury of witnessing how the present, actions and logic, is informed by the past for some of the characters. This was a very thought-provoking story that handled a gamut of heavy topics in a relatively light manner. I would love to see this adapted into a Netflix series. I only subtracted a star because I would love to see a sequel; and, more character development.

There were a lot of good parts to this book but also several things that didn’t work well for me. The idea for this book was intriguing, and the way that so many issues were brought up and discussed was really good. On the other hand, there were so many characters, but none of them felt like they were fully developed characters that really grabbed the reader’s emotions. Additionally, I listened to the audiobook version, and while the narrators were great, the storyline was hard to follow. It took me almost half of the book to figure out which characters went with which timeline. All that being said, my favorite part of the book was the ending, and I would recommend the print version of this instead of the audio.

The book is told from two alternating timelines. It follows three teens in 2005 and their subsequent children in 2024 on prom night. Some heavy themes dealt with in the book include teen pregnancy, abortion, birth control, foster care, sexual assault, substance abuse, LGBTQA+ struggles, gender expectations, the politics of consent and adoption.

I listened to this book on audio. Each of the six characters got their own narrator. And let me tell you, these narrators hit it out of the park. They really made the story for me, not only bringing it alive, but making the characters stand out from one another.

I enjoyed this book immensely and give it 3.5 stars. There were some unresolved aspects to the plot.

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Kekla Magoon, Spotify Audiobooks and NetGalley. Thank you.