Hanging on to Max

Hanging on to Max

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82  ·  rating details  ·  848 ratings  ·  155 reviews
Sam's girlfriend is pregnant -- but Sam is keeping the baby. Sam should be planning for college and trying out for the football team with this best friend, Andy. Instead he's up to his ears in diapers and formula, caring for his baby son, Max. Will Sam now have to make a gut-wrenching decision about Max's future -- and his own? A poignant and humorous look at an old proble
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Library Binding, 142 pages
Published May 15th 2002 by Roaring Brook Press (first published January 28th 2001)
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Community Reviews

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Cynthia
Hanging on to Max is a book in which Sam has to take care of Max and go to school at the same time. When Britanny(Max's Mom) and Sam were dating, they always had a good time. But then one day they went to far and had sex. That Tuesday, she tells Sam she's pregnant. Sam doesnt know what to do! He used to be this teenage boy who hung out with Andy (his friend) and focused is school. But now all of that will be over.

On the day Max is born, nobody sees him come in. When he goes in, he sees Britanny...more
Jubilee Aba
I CHOSE HANGING ON TO MAX BY MARGARET BECHARD BECAUSE IT WAS A BOOK THAT MY AUNT RECOMMENDED ME TO READ WHEN SHE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND I NEVER DID. FINALLY WHEN I FOUND IT IN MY ROOM I DECIDED TO READ IT AND TO SAY THE TRUTH IT BEEN VERY INSPIRING BOOK. HANGING ON TO MAX IS A VERY INSPIRATIONAL STORY BETWEEN YOUNG TEENAGERS THAT MAKE MISTAKES THAT WE DO TODAY. HAVING A BOYFRIEND, GETTING PREGNANT AT A YOUNG AGE, ETC. THIS STORY IS ABOUT A YOUNG 17 YEARS OLD TEEN WHO HAS SEX AT A VERY YOUNG AGE...more
Ali Anderson
Task 6:
November 17 2011
Margaret Bechard
1-204
Task:Describe your favorite character from the text in detail using two or more cited quotations
TASK:
My favorite character in this book is probably Claire Bailey. She is not the main character but she is still one that I really liked to read about. Claire is my favorite character because she is a girl who has taken a tough situation of being a single teenager mom, and doing the best with it. She is very smart and outgoing, you can tell that she's like...more
Ali Anderson
November 15 2011
Margaret Bechard
1-204
Task: What do you like about this text? Explain your response.

Task: I like this text because it's different than most books, for one most books are teenage pregnancy it talks about the girl and her life with the baby but in this book it talks about Sam who is the dad of the baby. Its cute how it shows how much a dad really cares about his baby and how he can sacrifice his whole life to be with his child! Also this story goes back Into the past of Sam a lot...more
Laura
Hanging on to Max is a novel about a teen father named Sam who is trying to raise an infant son and juggle high school and financial worries. Sam decided to be the parent of Max when the mother wanted to put Max up for adoption. Sam finds himself missing the normal part of teenage years. He lives alone with his son and his father (who seems very unhelpful). Sam meets other teens who are also raising babies and begins to feel like things are coming together. But, for the most part, Sam sees the...more
Abygail
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Natashia
November 15 2011
Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard
Page: 1-204

Task: What do you like about this text?

Task: I really enjoyed reading “Hanging on to max” by Margaret bechand because it is very different than most books. Usually, when a book is about teens with babies, it involves girls and their babies but this book was relativily different. It was about a teenage boy taking care of his baby. Its really interesting how it shows the love a teenage dad has for his baby and how many sacrifices h...more
Kenya Liggons
Seventeen year old high school student Sam is struggling with parenting his son Max. He is trying to balance out fatherhood and high school. Max was put up for adopition by his own mother. Before Sam was left with his baby boy Max, He and his girlfriend Brittany engaged in some sexual activity and a couple of days later, she announced she is pregnant.As the book goes on, You will later see that Sam gave up Max up for adoption. At the end of the book, you see a sudden twist in the book. The book...more
Jenna
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P.M.
17 year old Sam Pettigrew is starting his senior year in high school at an alternative school. He is counting the days until graduation so he can start a construction job to pay his father back for all the bills incurred by his son Max's birth. His former girlfriend has moved to Idaho and Sam has all the trials of raising a baby by himself. At the alternative school, he reconnects with Claire who he has admired from afar for years. Now that she herself has a new baby, they start doing things tog...more
Bingyao1
This book caught my eye in the library because 'Max' (the name of my son) was in the title. And having been a stay-at home dad with Max, I was interested by the premise. This is an understated, but moving story about a bright high school senior named Sam who decides to raise his son after his girlfriend gets pregnant. Relocating to an alternative school, surrounded by mostly teen moms and well-meaning teachers, he is adamant in doing the right thing. And for Sam the right thing to do is take car...more
Waad Mukhtar
Hanging on to Max is a novel about a senior in Highschool ( Sam) who decides to take custody of his son after the mother ( Brittany) decides she can't handle being a mother. Sam struggles with becoming a father and adjusting to a new school with other teenage parents and losing his friends. Sam is a typical teenager who is concerned about his senior year, football, his friends and his girlfriend. Sam tries his best to take good care of his baby ( Max). Sam gives up sports and his friends. The on...more
Shannon
Sep 23, 2010 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone that liks book about thing that could happen to teens
Recommended to Shannon by: The book shelf
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Fin
This was a really good book about a father in his senior year who was taking care of his son. The scene where Max cuts his hand was so sad, but I really liked the book. It shows that becoming a teenage parent is something that could happen to (almost) anyone.
Lyn M (readinghearts)
This was an incredibly short book recommended to me by my son's best friend from high school. I needed a young adult book with a baby as the main character (or as one of them) for a challenge, so I went to her for advice. She knows that I like the idea of a teenage boy keeping his baby, so she recommended this book. I have to say, at just over 200 pages, it was one of the quickest reads I have ever done. In fact, it only took me about 3 hours to read start to finish.

The premise of the book is t...more
Allison
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Veronica
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Karen Wu
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Dana JH
Hanging on to max was definetly realistic, and I liked how it was from the dads point of view. It was intresting how everyone favored the mothers, or at least symphisided with them, yet when Sam came alone everyone assumed that he was doing everything wrong. I do think that its a good example of what teenage parenthood is, extreamly difficult, yet not unmanageable. Sam was Lovable, as was max. (:D) The story was great and the ending was oh so sad, yet agin realistic. The read was super fast. I r...more
Michele Velthuizen
Interest level: 8th +
Reading level: medium
Genre: realistic fiction, teen pregnancy, fatherhood, adoption, trial by fire

We have several fiction books on teen pregnancy in the library, but they usually deal with girls who get pregnant and how they cope with their difficult situation. "Hanging on to Max", however, deals with a boy called Sam who struggles with teen fatherhood. Sam was determined to keep Max, his child, when his girlfriend decided to give up their baby for adoption.

This story is a...more
Ombeline
Il traite d'un sujet que l'on retrouve très peu dans la littérature jeunesse, pourtant c'est un fait d'actualité. Les parents adolescent.

Un jeune ado se retrouve père du jour au lendemain. C'est donc son histoire. On retrouve en parallèle ça vie actuelle de père et son ancienne vie d'enfant et d'adolescent normal. On découvre avec lui toutes les difficultés d'élever un bébé quand on est soit même pas encore adulte.

J'ai apprécier ce livre, on s'attache rapidement aux personnages, il se lit rapi...more
Angela Mondragon
Picked this one up in the Young Adult section of the library, and finished it in the same day. Heartwrenching, really, this kid's struggle to do everything: be dad to little Max alone, graduate from high school, and still be a kid his own age with his peers, not to mention thinking about the future. The writing is strong, puts you right in the head of a teenage boy named Sam, but I did feel the ending was a bit abrupt, only a couple of hit-you-in-the-face pages of wow, really, is he going to do...more
Damera Blincoe
To say that I really liked this book would be an understatement. The story is about Sam, a 17 year old boy, who has decided to keep his son after his high school girlfriend decides she wants to give him up for adoption. I wish that so many of today's youth would read this book so that they will see that there are choices that you can make in life that don't involve you being self-centered but make you think about a life other than your own. A must read for teens who have decided to become sexual...more
Julie Leung
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Donna Zakem
I picked up a copy of "Hanging on to Max" while at the library. The cover art is what caught my eye and sparked my interest. It tells the story of a single teenaged father, who only wants to do what is best for his son, Max, whom he has sole custody of. Sam, the teen-aged father, attends an "alternative" high school with other parents, not unlike himself, but who are mostly mothers. Sam learns in the end that the decision that is best or right for him, may not necessarily be the easiest!!! A rea...more
Jordin
Well, this story was really good- pretty good, until about the last three chapters. (view spoiler)[I mean, isn't this book called HANGING on to Max? Why in the world did he just give him up? Because he was too freaked about being called a "little family" when at the Taco Bell with Claire? I totally felt for that girl at the end. I understood why she was upset with him. And believe me, I 100% support adoptions. I really do, but in this particular story I thought Max was a truly good dad for being...more
Angie Lisle
My expectations for this book were higher.

In the beginning, the book held up - I liked the formatting and thought I would get more background story. The author skimmed through the details; characters are poorly developed. We don't see much of sex - it's mentioned, but it's always just a statement with few details - but we also don't see much about the birthing process and we only catch glimpses of what it's really like to have a kid. The author dwelled on the negative; when she did bother to ge...more
Stephen
Nov 26, 2011 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: any teens considering sex
I read this book in 2005 and recalled liking it a lot at the time but I couldn't recall how the story turned out so I just re-read it.

I think that the book should be required reading for teens. It would be MUCH more effective than half the "abstinance plus" programs advocated in some schools today.

Sam Pettigrew is a high-school senior who's trying to finish school and raise a son at the same time. The child's mother reconsiders her decision to keep their baby and wants to put the baby up for a...more
Lakshmy
Max, a book by Margaret Bechard is about a young boy that already has a son...he's the best student. His name is Sam’s and he believes that senior year should be a breeze. Parties, football game, pep rallies... and, oh yeah-a baby. This book is great for people the want to know about how a boy by himself can take care of his baby and go to school... Sam's biggest problem is his lack of support: Brittany has left town to start over, and Sam's widowed father, angry over Sam's decision, refuses to...more
Kaitlyn
May 23, 2012 Kaitlyn rated it 2 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who wants an easy read
I'd give Hanging on to Max one and a half stars, if possible. The book was relatively well-written, but in my opinion, not original, as many novels about teenage pregnancy end in adoption, although statistically, only 1% of all teen aged parents actually make that decision. I thought that Sam came across more as a selfish teenager than a young father concerned about the well-being of his son, and the ending didn't really do much for me. I didn't feel that the reactions of both Sam and his former...more
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Margaret Bechard is the author of five novels for younger readers, and one other young adult novel, IF IT DOESN'T KILL YOU, which SLJ praised for its "healthy dose of humor." She lives in Tigard, Oregon, with her family.
More about Margaret Bechard...
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