Books About Teen Parents
Reviews by Ms. Belben
Updated December 2006

Bechard, Margaret. Hanging On to Max. (Fiction—YA) ©2002
Sam is a high school senior struggling to meet the demands of high school and fatherhood.  After his ex-girlfriend, Brittany, announced that she would be giving up their infant son for adoption, Sam can't let the baby go, and so decides to take on the task of raising the baby himself.

His first year is full of challenges. He attends an alternative school, where he meets other teen parents (all girls) and befriends Claire, who used to attend his regular high school with him and struggles with the complications that result from two teen parents dating each other. In addition, his relationship with his father is strained--though he knows his dad cares for Max, his dad is reluctant to get very involved in the boy's upbringing. Sam also impresses his math teacher, who convinces him to take the SAT and consider a college education--a plan which is in direct opposition to the agreement he has made with his father to finish high school and get a job to support Max.

Although this is a short book, I absolutely loved it and closed the cover in tears. Sam is a likeable, realistic character--full of compassion, but also torn between being a kid and having fun and being a responsible parent. The plot unfolds smoothly, with carefully time flashbacks gradually revealing Sam and Brittany's story as well as Sam's own story about his mother's death years earlier. 

Hobbs, Valerie. Letting Go of Bobby James, or How I Found My Self of Steam.
© 2004. (Fiction/Young Adult)

It’s hard to imagine being married at 16 in this day and age, but in some places, it’s the expectation and the only hope of escape for young women without any financial resources or hopes for the future. It’s also the only way for some girls to gain a sense of self-worth and get assurance that they are loved.

Jody finds herself married to Bobby James for only a short time before his abusiveness motivates her to run away. On a road trip in a small southern town, she hides in a gas station bathroom until Bobby James leaves, and then she begins trying to piece together a new life.

She begins by getting a job waitressing at Thelma’s Diner, where she befriends Effaline, a pregnant teen who frequents the restaurant, and the two of them form a tentative, but ultimately beneficial, friendship that helps both of them gain confidence. If you like Joan Bauer’s novels and enjoyed Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts, Valerie Hobbs’ latest novel will also appeal to you.

McLaughlin, Emma, and Kraus, Nicola. The Nanny Diaries. ©2002 Fiction.
You may already have heard about the infamous pair of nannies who have written a sort of tell-all novel about their experiences caring for the offspring of the rich and famous. Currently, their fictitious account of the nanny-ing life (based heavily on their real-life experiences), THE NANNY DIARIES, is hurtling up the bestseller lists. If you haven't already caught the buzz, let me recommend a great, fun summer read.

The novel's narrator, Nanny, is hired to take care of Grayer, the four-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. X, a wealthy New York City couple who are too busy with their own lives to spend any time with their boy, preferring to leave notes for Nanny about the finicky particulars of their child's care while they organize affairs (Mr. X) and luncheons (Mrs. X) and spend minimal time with each other or with Grayer. Mrs. X is far more concerned about getting Grayer into the "right" preschool than she is about whether or not he is happy, and Mr. X is busier carrying on with one of his colleagues than he is getting to know his son.

As she manages Grayer's life and activities, Nanny finds herself becoming more and more frustrated with his wealthy, self-centered parents and drawing closer and closer to Grayer, who is desperate for attention and love and growing closer to her daily as his parents lose interest in him (except as a sort of cute little pet). She also finds herself struggling to finish her thesis while keeping up with Mrs. X's demands on her time, dealing with a studio-apartment-roommate with an unappealing boyfriend, and trying to attract the attention of an attractive Harvard student who lives in the X's building.

Although it would have been easy to portray Grayer as a whiny, spoiled brat, and Nanny as a harried caretaker bent on revenge, the authors mangage to avoid slipping into this trap, and create instead a loveable charge and a concerned, compassionate caretaker. The love story, as well as the faltering relationship between Mr. and Mrs. X add some suspense to the story. Overall, an entertaining read.

Wolff, Virginia Euwer. Make Lemonade. (Fiction/YA).

Fifteen-year-old LaVaughn accepts a part-time job caring for the two children of another teen.  Jolly, mother of Jilly and Jeremy, is desperate for help feeding.clothing, and raising her two small children, and she’s lucky to have found a babysitter like LaVaughn, who is able to help her juggle the demands of single parenting on a small budget. 

LaVaughn is the narrator of this story, and she describes in realistic details how challenging it can be to help Jolly with her parenting, since Jolly has had no stable home life of her own and has few resources to draw upon as she tries to teach her children life’s basics.

Together, the two teens forge an interesting connection, in which they take the worst—life’s lemons—and try to make the best—lemonade—out of it. LaVaughn is able to pursue her schoolwork despite the demands of caring for Jolly’s kids, and with the help of a supportive mother and understanding teachers, it looks like she might made some progress toward her goal of attending college.  And Jolly might actually learn something from LaVaughn about the value of education and make some positive changes in her own life.

A realistic, gritty, and often touching story about parenting, friendship, and overcoming obstacles.

Wolff, Virginia Euwer.  True Believer. (Fiction/YA).

In this sequel to Make Lemonade, fifteen-year-old LaVaughn is no longer babysitting for her friend Jolly, who is now attending alternative high school, but she is facing new challenges.  Her mother is dating Lester, a man who doesn’t come anywhere near replacing her father, and she has a crush on her neighbor, Jody, a swimmer who moved away from the projects when they were young children but has since returned. 

In addition, LaVaughn is attending school and working towards a college education, something made easier with help from her teacher and classmates in a special class designed to help students improve their grammar, and with it, their attitudes about achieving their goals.  Her childhood best friends, Myrtle and Annie, have become active participants in a conservative religious group that encourages abstinence, but also advises its members to cut off their ties with non-Christian friends. Although they try to get LaVaughn to join them, Annie and Myrtle’s new beliefs conflict with LaVaughn’s, and she faces losing them rather than sacrifice her ideals.

Despite her obvious interest in Jody and her growing attraction to him, he doesn’t respond the way LaVaughn hopes, and although he agrees to attend a school dance with her, the evening doesn’t work out the way LaVaughn had hoped, and she soon learns something about Jody that almost sends her way off course in terms of achieving her goals. Her interest in him also keeps her from seeing that her lab partner, Patrick, is increasingly interested in dating her, and she often says things to him that hurt his feelings and may cost her his friendship.

As she recovers from heartbreak, however, LaVaughn learns much about herself and is finally able to forgive Jody for what she saw as his betrayal of her, and establish a friendship with him, and make amends with Patrick, as well. And though she doesn’t join Myrtle and Annie, she is able to make peace with them.