Good Reads - Teens & Pregnancy

Good Reads

Teens & Parenting

Fiction \ Nonfiction

FICTION

The following books can be found in the Fiction collection, shelved by the first three letters of the author's last name, e.g., F BAR.

Annie's baby : the diary of Anonymous, a pregnant teenager.

The day-by-day account of an unnamed, pregnant, teenaged girl.

Baldwin, James. IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK.

Tish and Fonny are a black couple doing their best trying to make it in New York. Fonny is always at odds with his family and is sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit. Meanwhile, Tish is pregnant which is the last thing they need as teenagers right now. Fortunately, Tish's family offers support, and the young couple find comfort in the love they have for each other.

Bechard, Margaret. Hanging on to Max.

When his girlfriend decides to give their baby away, seventeen-year-old Sam is determined to keep him and raise him alone.

Bell, William. Death wind.

Allie, failing school and fearing she is pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, decides there is no way she can face her always fighting parents and decides to run away, but she gets a different perspective on her life and future when a tornado hits, destroying her home and injuring her mother.

Carlson, Melody. It's my life, by Caitlin O'Connor : a novel.

Sixteen-year-old Caitlin struggles with her feelings about her best friend's pregnancy, boys who tempt her to break her vow not to date, non-Christian friends, and what God may be calling her to do with her life.

Childress, Alice. RAINBOW JORDAN.

Rainey is the product of a teen pregnancy: her mother never had time to do the things teenagers normally did, and often leaves her at home without supervision.

Eyerly, Jeanette. HE'S MY BABY NOW.

This is the story of a 16-year-old boy who learns that the baby he thought he paid to have aborted has just been born.

Frost, Helen. Keesha's house.

Seven teens facing such problems as pregnancy, closeted homosexuality, and abuse each describe in poetic forms what caused them to leave home and where they found home again.

Head, Ann. MR. AND MRS. BO JO JONES.

July and her boyfriend, Bo Jo, are typical high school students with a lot going for them. When July becomes pregnant (after their first time), their dreams are shattered and their lives are necessarily rerouted.

Hart, Karen. Butterflies in May.

High school senior Ali Parker's life suddenly changes when she discovers that she is pregnant, and is now faced with the dilemma of responsibility and choice.

Herrick, Steven. A place like this.

Sixteen-year-old Jack hits the road with Annabel where they find fifty acres of unpicked apples and a farmer who'll let them live in his shed.

Hrdlitschka, Shelley. Dancing naked : a novel.

16-year-old Kia learns she is pregnant. She must then confront not only her own fears but also the feelings of her parents and her friends from her church youth group. Throughout the book, the teen matures and begins to understand that giving birth and raising a baby are two different things.

Inclan, Jessica Barksdale. Her daughter's eyes.

Seventeen-year-old Kate, feeling alone in the wake of her mother's death and her father's preoccupation with his new girlfriend, prepares, with the help of her younger sister, to give birth to her baby in secret.

Johnson, Angela. The first part last.

Bobby's carefree teenage life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for his adored baby daughter.

Letts, Billie. Where the heart is.

The story of a down-on-her-luck southern teen who, after gaining 15 minutes of fame for giving birth to "The Wal-Mart Baby" begins to put her life back together with the help of the kind, quirky strangers who become her surrogate family.

Luna, Louisa. Brave new girl.

Fourteen-year-old Doreen is trying to cope with her troubled relationship with her parents and the disappearance of her older brother, relying on her only links to the real world, her best friend Ted and her love of music, to get her through her teenage years.

McDonald, Janet Spellbound

Raven, a teenage mother and high school dropout living in a housing project, decides, with the help and sometime interference of her best friend Aisha, to study for a spelling bee which could lead to a college preparatory program and four-year scholarship.

Miller, Mary Beth. Aimee : a novel.

This novel explores the aftermath of a teen suicide in the words of the dead girl's best friend. It seems that everyone, even her own parents, believes that Zoe helped her best friend, Aimee, commit suicide. Zoe is paralyzed by loneliness, guilt, and anger at everyone's suppression of the truth.

Myers, Walter Dean. Sweet illusions.

A story about teenage pregnancy involving Harry, Jennifer, and eleven other characters, in which the reader can write the conclusion of each chapter.

Peck, Richard. DON'T LOOK AND IT WON'T HURT.

When Ellen becomes pregnant at 17, her parents make her leave home to have the baby. This novel is about her struggle to make the decision of whether or not to keep the baby or give it up for adoption. He sister, Carole, shows up and tries to help her through this difficult time.

Plummer, Louise. A dance for three.

When fifteen-year-old Hannah becomes pregnant and her rich, popular boyfriend claims he is not responsible, she is forced to face some hard facts about her life.

Reynolds, Marilyn. Detour for Emily.

Emmy, whose future had once looked so bright, struggles to overcome the isolation and depression brought about by being a teen mother who gets little support from her family or the father of her child.

Rodowsky, Colby. LUCY PEALE

Lucy is the 17-year-old daughter of a fundamentalist preacher who's in a big mess - she's pregnant and she doesn't even love the boy who's halfway responsible. When her father demands that she repent for her sin in front of the entire congregation, Lucy decides that it is time to leave her family and start her life on her own. Lucy finds that she misses the comfort of home but is encouraged by a new friend who offers his help to her.

Ryland, Cynthia. A KINDNESS.

Chip is very close to his mother, a single mom he calls Anne. When Anne becomes pregnant and will not disclose the identity of the father, their relationship is destroyed.

Stevens, Marcus. Useful girl : a novel.

After her mother's death, Erin Douglass finds purpose in her life by working with a young Native American boy to protect the burial site of a Cheyenne girl whose one hundred-year-old remains were discovered in Erin's community.

Velásquez, Gloria. Teen angel.

When fifteen-year-old Celia Chavez becomes pregnant, she receives help from her friends, family, and a psychiatrist who recently had a miscarriage.

Wild, Margaret. One night.

In this novel written in free verse and narrated by alternating characters, a teenaged girl decides to have her baby and care for it on her own after a "one night stand" results in pregnancy.

Zindel, Paul. MY DARLING, MY HAMBURGER.

This story probes the thoughts of two teen couples, Liz and Seth, and Maggie and Dennis, and the lessons they learn about love and sex in the final year before graduation.

NONFICTION

B ANG
Angelou, Maya. Gather together in my name.

Rita, a 17-year-old black girl, takes responsibility for her own life after the birth of her illegitimate son. By traveling around the country and working odd jobs, Rita is able to support her son and herself. This somewhat autobiographical novel is Ms Angelou's account of how difficult it is to raise a son when mom is just a teenager herself.

305.235 GIR
Barnes, Jessica. GirlSource : a book by and for young women about relationships, rights, futures, bodies, minds, and souls.

Offers teenage girls advice on dealing with the many issues they face, including stress, depression, menstruation, sex, pregnancy, rape, drugs, school, friendships, dating, and discrimination.

306.7 BOD
Bode, Janet and Blue Spruce, Ida Marx. Kids still having kids : talking about teen pregnancy.

Presents interviews with teenage mothers and provides information about adoption, parenting, abortion, and foster care.

306.7 POG
Pogany, Susan Browning, 1947. SexSmart : 501 reasons to hold off on sex.

Provides straightforward answers to questions teens have about sex, relationships, dating, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases.

306.70835 TEE
Wells, Ken R. Teenage sexuality. [2006].

306.874 HEL
Heller, Tania. Pregnant! what can I do? : a guide for teenagers.

Offers advice and guidance to pregnant teenagers, explaining the options of adoption, parenting, and abortion, with interviews in which teens share their experiences, and discussion of the role of the father, pregnancy prevention, and a list of resources.

306.874 TEE
Teenage pregnancy. [2003].

362.7 LIN
Lindsay, Jeanne Warren and Monserrat, Catherine Paschal. Adoption awareness: a guide for teachers, counselors, nurses, and caring others.

A guide for anyone wishing to support the adoption alternative in crisis pregnancy.

362.74 TEE
Ojeda, Auriana. Teens at risk : opposing viewpoints. [2003].

Looks at issues dealing with teenagers such as teen crime, teen pregnancy, and media violence.

813 SIX
McCafferty, Megan. Sixteen : stories about that sweet and bitter birthday.

Contains a collection of short stories by a number of different authors about being sixteen and addresses issues from getting a driver's license to dealing with teen pregnancy.