Expecting

by Shannon Freeman

Three girls could not be more different. Kaelynn lived with her grandmother, an old lady with a mean streak. Yessenia left an abusive stepfather to live with her boyfriend s mother. Lyric was from a good family. Pretty and popular in school. How did she end up pregnant and at Pathways? They met at the county program. It was more comfortable than attending the town s one high school, isolated and with growing bellies. They could still take regular classes. And hopefully graduate on time. Each girl soon relies on their growing friendship, which will see them through the drama.

From the Great Plains to the borderlands to the Mississippi Delta, rural America is struggling. The population is shrinking. And the economy is shifting away from agriculture. Without a safety net, rural families struggle with depression, drug abuse, alcoholism, and other problems. Gravel Road Rural addresses the contemporary issues affecting rural America in an unflinching way.

115 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2015

Reviews

[Briseidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very excellent. It also has events a lot of people can relate too. As you are reading you can picture everything that is going on. The way the Arthur uses her choice of words is very descriptive.
This is one of the best most great BOOK I HAVE EVER READ.

[Monica Tellez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expecting by Shannon Freeman is such an amazing book and a powerful book. I loved it so much I could connect to it in different ways. I give this book a 10 honestly , its worth reading I guarantee. While I was reading this book all the things the author described, I could picture in my mind, I could feel and see everything the author described, everything the characters did and went through. I did not want to let this book down, I wanted to keep on reading more and more, wish I never finished it. "She stared at the pregnancy test in her hand. If she starred at it long enough, maybe it would show different result. It was the second one she'd taken. She thought the first test was wrong. This stick had just confirmed her greatest fear. She was pregnant. Pregnant! The last thing she ever wanted to be." (Freeman p7) "They sat in the front office of pathways. It was a haven for pregnant girls. Kaelynn, Yessenia, and Lyric were out of element. It was a new environment. Their parents had enrolled them and left. They were there for orientation."(freeman p15). The main characters were kaelynn , Yessenia, and Lyric. It mostly took place in pathways with there teacher Mrs. G. The girls struggle to keep there life's together while being pregnant. Having family and relationship problems is hard and it stresses them but they all find a way to stick together and keep positive. This book teaches me that you shouldn't have kids at a young age, but if you do it's going to be hard and everything will soon get better. Never be afraid to start over with things it's never too late. I recommend this book to teenage girls honestly because a lot of teenager girls are getting pregnant right now and some don't want the baby or girls just in general will like it, it's going to connect with them in different ways and just might help them. It's such an amazing book I think any girl will like it.

[Dafne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about 3 girls that are in high school and all of them got pregnant around the same time. One of the girls name is Kayleen, she likes to go out with her friends and smoke/ drink. The second girl name is Yesenia she also liked to smoke but has a boyfriend called Dante. The third girls name is Lyric and she's all about partying , she found this guy at a party/club and ever since she fell in love with him. She was trying not to have any sexual relationship with him but things got out of control and she ended up pregnant. Expecting would be for someone that likes drama will like this book.


Since the book , Expecting is about teen girls getting pregnant and i truly believe girls would like/ be interested in it more than guys since guys don't really experience or touch that topic like girls. Getting into drama is technically a girls thing and they can relate more to it since one point in their life's they will become a mom and this can help them in the long run. “ Excuse me ,” the girl said noticing that lyric wasn't moving. “ Do you know her , Trenton?” Trenton is lyric's ex boyfriend. “ Nah, I don't know that girl ,” he said with a cockiness. This is showing that he didn't care about her or his baby. He completely lied to the girl he was with, by saying he didn't know who lyric was. Guys like him just look for something once they find it they just leave the girl behind suffering. Expecting is a really good book in my opinion I'll recommend this to girls instead of guys because as a girl you will understand it better and would feel more interested to the book. I rate this book a 4out a 5 because Shannon Freeman did such a great job sorting out how the girls were doing during their pregnancy and how they managed to get through it with or without their partner.

[Maria Carrillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh GOD!! Let me tell ya'll about this book!! It is one of the best book i have read in a while!! It talks about three teenage girls who are druggies and loved to party until they got pregnant and A LOT OF DRAMA goes on through their pregnancy! its a GREAT BOOK i really suggest ya'll to read it!! Mrs.Freeman Your a great writter

[Tamorria Wiltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expecting was all about how three high school girls that got pregnant, Kaelynn, Lyric and Yessenia. Kaelynn was a country gal. Lyric was the good pretty girl. And Yessenia was the wild one. They all met at Pathways, a program for pregnant teens.

I absolutely love this book, it was so good. It had crazy twist which made it so interesting!

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for preteen and teenage girls! :)

[Donna Burtwistle-Popplewell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good novel for reluctant readers--characters are well written and the storyline easy to follow.

[Maddie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good, but it’s way too short. I read it in about an hour. The three girls were starting their second trimester to all of a sudden the book is over. What were their struggles for the second half of the pregnancy? How did they choose the baby names? Did they go back to their old high schools for their last year of school? It felt like it should be book one of a two book series.

[CJ || MyBookLoveObsession · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf

[Trixie Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very real.

[Janasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expecting is a very relatable book for teenage girls now at days. It tells about three girls, who face different situations when they become pregnant at a very young age. And how many teenage girls have to single parent because they don't have any family support except from the government. But it also shows you no matter what you go through you can always over come it and you don't have to give up. Overall, this was a very good book .

[Theron Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read about teen pregnancy. Being a teen father, it gave me an interesting look into the mind of a teen mom and made me think about my actions back then. The only reason I didn't rate it higher was because it was sorely lacking in character development. Other than that, a good read.