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thattheatrekid's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Interesting premise! I was really interested in the idea of this project but I wish more time in the book was spent on the project itself and not just background and aftermath. I realize this author is young so I won’t be too harsh on the writing, but the trains of thought would definitely wander. I also felt preached at and like the information was dragging at times. Still, I loved the first half and it’s really cool that someone revealed so many societal biases through that project.
pmhandley's review
hopeful
slow-paced
2.75
I was more generous with my rating than I normally am, since the author was a teenager when she did this project and only around 18 when she got her book deal, and by the sound of it she was encouraged to cash in as soon as possible before publishers lost interest. I was not overly impressed with her conclusions, but I know when I was that age I would have been largely ignorant and don't know what my comments on unplanned teen pregnancy would be, outside of the time spent watching Teen Mom/16 and Pregnant with my friends. I want to point out that MOST of the book is not actually about her fake pregnancy. Most of it is her backstory and then the aftermath of the project. It was interesting, certainly, but I definitely was expecting the bulk of the book to be about the actual experience. I was rather disappointed on how little we got about it. Her notes are rather bland, other than some reporting insensitive comments from classmates and teachers. We don't hear much at all about the other actual teen moms barely mentioned in her high school or their experiences. I wasn't sure what we were supposed to take from the big reveal - that people are mean sometimes? That we shouldn't be so judgmental? It was very surface-level. The author seemed to have little concern over actually implementing things to be supportive of teen moms or even preventing teen pregnancy. There is some mention of birth control, but the author leans on warning her friends about having sex over any in-depth discussion of birth control or access to it. The goal of her project was overcoming stereotypes and encouraging other people to do the same, which was very bootstraps-y. It's a stereotype that you'll get pregnant as a teenager - so don't, I believe in you! was kind of it. Little is discussed on better sex ed, on supporting teen parents, things like universal child care, continuing education, etc. Again, I realized this is largely because the author was high school age, and I would not necessarily expect anything that level. But it made me question why this book needed to exist. The author mentions being pro-life, with little elaboration. I don't know if these means personally pro-life or pro-life as a policy she supports. The way she framed abortion statistics was upsetting, saying that 1 in 3 women have an abortion in their lives, but saying it's "misleading" because some are due to medical problems or for pregnancies caused from rape. Do those not count as abortions? Besides this small part, abortion is not discussed or even mentioned as an option to consider. (Again, I have no idea what I would have told you my view on abortion was at 17. I had no real thoughts on it. I think I thought of it vaguely negatively. I certainly would not have known what I was talking about. So I don't want to fault the author too much here.) Anyway, the message seemed to be about willpower to avoid falling into teen pregnancy if it's expected of you, with some emphasis on being kind to teen moms and not stigmatizing them. (The author makes a very valid point on how horrible it is to say someone ruined their life due to an unplanned teen pregnancy.) But the emphasis is ultimately much more on overcoming stereotypes than reducing stigma, going so far as to imply some teens were under the impression teen pregnancy was somehow "glamorous," without any real citation to back that up. It kind of undercuts the part about being kind, because we can't be TOO kind to those teen moms or they'll think it was -gasp- OKAY and they won't feel bad.
muslihah's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
Bit preachy at times and raises some serious ethical questions about the project but it was an interesting read nonetheless.
cmoo053's review
3.0
The Pregnancy Project is the true story of high school senior, Gaby Rodriguez, who faked her own pregnancy for her senior project. Gaby's aim was to look at how people's attitudes and behaviours change as a result. This was a fairly light read, in spite of the subject material, and the writing was pretty basic. Although I didn't find the staple particularly engaging, it is very accessible and probably speaks to the target audience better than it did to me. Gaby's project was certainly a gutsy one, and the book provides some insight into how quick we are to stereotype, and the dangerous impact that can have on people. I thought Gaby's goals, to raise awareness of this, and to overcome the circumstances of her upbringing to honour her family were admirable. Overall, this was a light, easy, interesting read. Worthwhile if you don't have too many expectations beyond an interesting story.
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