A bittersweet Northern Irish romance that takes a new look at teen pregnancy, the magic and mess of first relationships, and a young woman's right to choose her own future.
Beneath the New Year's Eve fireworks, shy science-nerd Mel and slacker songwriter Sid get pregnant on their first date. Any sixteen-year-olds would expect trouble – but this is Northern Ireland 2018, where abortion is still illegal. Mel's religious parents insist she must keep the baby, whilst Sid's feminist mum pushes for a termination. Mel and Sid are determined to do this together, but they soon discover that pregnancy is totally different for boys and girls. When their relationship starts to fall apart under all the pressure, Mel finds herself feeling alone with the impossible dilemma of the Little Bang growing inside her.
I remember the abortion debates in 2018, the campaigns and the tricks both sides used. Although this is set in the North, the situation and Mel's religious brother in law means that the whole campaign is front and centre in Mel and Sid's thoughts and in the narrative, and it's interesting to see the whole things from an outsider's perspective.
For the record, I am pro-choice, and this isn't the first book I've read this year with the same basic premise. The other was American though, and it's interesting to read one set so much closer to home. I did wonder as I was reading how many people would be hearing it with Derry accents, after the success of that show!
I love stories that cover Issues this clearly - it's a fine line, talking about something this controversial without preaching about it - I think that books like these are how we help teenagers figure out what they believe in, and I'm looking forward to seeing it in the store.
Little Bang publishes on the 4th of January, 2024. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment