A heartbreaking, compelling and timely story for older readers about teen pregnancy, family trouble and unlikely friendships, set in 1960.
When Laura meets a French exchange student, Leon, she is flattered by his interest in her. She's never had any sort of boyfriend before.
One night, Leon walks Laura home - and her life will never be the same again.
Things start to change for Laura - first her moods, and then her body. Laura isn't prepared for what she learns next - and doesn't even know how it could have happened.
When her family learns her secret, they are horrified. Sent away to save them from shame, Laura meets girls just like herself, whose families have given up on them - and they become a family for each other at the most difficult time in all their lives.
An emotional and moving tale for fans of Dear Nobody and Juno.
Not suitable for younger readers.
Jacqueline's teenage books are strange creatures. The language and style don't change at all from her younger ones. Even the characters are familiar. This is not a complaint; I'm just making a comment on her writing style.
Laura is a JW Heroine in the Mousy mould. Like most of the Mousies, she has a much bossier friend - but unlike almost every JW Heroine, she is not a fantastic artist! She colours, but she doesn't draw. That skill is given to a minor character instead. Laura has the usual occasional flashes of righteous anger, but mostly she is quiet and introverted.
Of course, the things she goes through would turn anyone inverted. It's strange to think that, relatively speaking, Mother and Baby Homes aren't that far behind us. If Laura were a real person she'd almost certainly still be alive right now. It's also notable that, as such places go, this one is reasonably nice; although they do force all the babies into adoption, they treat the girls as people who have made mistakes, not as wanton women who are already beyond redemption.
As the blurb says, this is definitely a book for older children. Be prepared for questions along the lines of "But it didn't really happen, did it? Not really really?" And sadly, we'll have to say yes. It did.
Great read, well written.
Baby Love publishes on the 17th of March, 2022. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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