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Overview
«“Readers . . . will always feel like they are in the experienced hands of a master storyteller.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Nobody gets away with telling sixteen-year-old Eleanor Crowe what to do. But as a pregnant teen, her options are limited: move to Kenya with her missionary parents or marry the baby’s father and work at his family’s summer camp for overweight kids. She chooses marriage. A camp tragedy prompts a series of events that overwhelms Elly with difficult choices. Somehow, she must leverage her usual stubbornness to ensure a future for herself and her baby. A fascinating character study.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Nolan presents a sensitive look at the difficulties of teen pregnancy. . .Drawing in both reluctant and avid readers, this novel is an uplifting page-turner with a great deal of heart."—School Library Journal, starred review"Readers will love Eleanor's openness and admire her strength in dealing with hard choices and unexpected disasters."—Publishers Weekly "As revealed in her first-person narration, Elly is passionate, smart-mouthed, rebellious and completely endearing. Secondary characters are similarly well-crafted, refusing to fit into stereotypes. Readers may feel like laughing, crying and grinding their teeth in frustration, but they will always feel like they are in the experienced hands of a master storyteller."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review "National Book Award finalist Nolan has written a multilayered character study of Elly, a young woman angry at the adults in her life but enormously resourceful and capable of love. The issues she faces—teen pregnancy, immature boyfriends, bewildered and angry parents, whether to keep the baby, and even the problems of overweight campers—all have their origins in grief and control. How Elly plows through this complex morass both before and after the baby arrives makes for not only a strong story but a subtle object lesson as well."—Booklist
"The combination of camp story and problem novel give the book high appeal, and the characters are complex and sympathetic, particularly Elly as she works through her issues and grapples believably with the forced onset of adulthood."-Bulletin
Publishers Weekly
Two of 16-year-old Eleanor Crowe's biggest foibles, being stubborn and taking risks, turn out to be benefits in this funny and tragic tale of a pregnant teen. When Eleanor's parents find out she's going to have a baby, they give her two choices: go to Kenya with them to do missionary work or move in with her "dried-up, laced-up" married older sister in California. Both scenarios require putting her child up for adoption. Acting characteristically rebellious, Eleanor instead opts to marry her boyfriend, Lam, a high school senior, and to work at his parents' camp for overweight children. As a substitute counselor and dance teacher for a group of "bratty" girls, Eleanor discovers new skills and dreams that help her work through the traumatic events that unfold. Readers will love Eleanor's openness and admire her strength in dealing with hard choices and unexpected disasters. Although some may be surprised by Eleanor's final decision regarding her child, Nolan (Crazy) clearly expresses her protagonist's line of reasoning. Eleanor's determination to hurdle inevitable obstacles and never give up on her dreams is moving and true to her nature. Ages 14–up. (Sept.)Children's Literature -
Eleanor Crowe is sixteen and pregnant. National Book Award winner Han Nolan endows Elly with an impressive number of obstacles to cope with: her boyfriend Lam drinks, parties, and gets stoned; her religious parents are furious and soon fly back to Kenya for their work with orphans; her self-righteous sister in California wants the baby; and Elly herself is rebellious, having just given up smoking, boozing, and drugs following two stints in juvenile detention. What options does she have? Just one, really: Marry Lam and spend the summer at his parents' primitive camp for overweight kids, working as a counselor-in-training and waiting for the baby's birth. While Lam continues being an irresponsible adolescent, Elly gradually begins to find herself as a dance teacher, resident cabin counselor, and confidante to one lonely girl. She makes friends with several counselors, and becomes especially close to seductive musician Ziggy, who seems to offer her a lifeline to keeping her baby and finding a decent future. As Elly realizes her marriage to Lam is a dead end, one thing after another starts to go wrong. Since she has avoided seeing a doctor (laying the groundwork for a surprise after the birth), Elly is frightened when told she will need a cesarean section. Although her parents, sister, and Ziggy rally round for the birth, one by one they desert Elly, leaving her with heart-rending choices pulling her between common sense and her desperate dreams. After such agony, the answer to her future seems contrived. Nevertheless, Nolan's characters are well-drawn—Elly is sharp, stubborn, and determined—and emotions run deep. Readers will certainly understand that impulsive actions can have devastating consequences. Reviewer: Barbara L. TalcroftVOYA -
The summer she is sixteen, Eleanor Crowe finds herself pregnant, married, and counseling overweight kids at sleep-away camp. This is not shaping up to be a boring summer. She had a choice—she could have moved back to Kenya with her missionary parents, who seem to place the education of Kenyan orphans above Ellie's needs. Instead, Ellie is living with Lam, the father-to-be, who refuses to sober up and face his responsibility. Forced into marriage by both sets of parents, Ellie and Lam must decide whether to keep their child and stay married or put the baby up for adoption and divorce. Though readers meet Ellie in dire circumstances, her optimism and true love of her unborn child make for a heartening read. Nolan's choice of first-person perspective means readers get a prime view of Ellie's psyche, sharing in her fears and dreams for her baby's future—and her own. Ellie's headstrong personality means she charmingly makes friends of unlikely acquaintances. True to her style, Nolan populated her novel with a host of interesting characters and an unexpected, satisfying conclusion. The grit of Ellie's situation and the range of choices she faces makes this a good book group choice. Reviewer: Anna FooteALAN Review -
Eleanor Crowe is a very stubborn and rebellious 16-year-old girl who has been in and out of trouble. Now she's pregnant. After announcing her pregnancy, Eleanor feels as though her world is crashing down around her, and everyone is slowly turning their backs on her when she needs them the most. Her parents are frustrated with her and have left for Kenya, her in-laws are not her biggest fans, her husband is not very supportive, and she's not even sure if she wants to be married. On top of it all, she is stuck working at a camp for overweight children for the summer. This story chronicles Eleanor's journey as she wrestles with the decision of whether or not she should keep her baby. Han tells an insightful and compelling story about self-discovery, growth, and what it is like to be 16 and pregnant. Reviewer: La'Toya WadeSchool Library Journal
Gr 9 Up—Sixteen years old and seven months pregnant, Eleanor can't rely on anyone but herself. Hastily married to her irresponsible boyfriend and feeling abandoned by parents who chose missionary work in Kenya over helping her, she's faced with a summer working at a camp for overweight youth owned by her unsympathetic in-laws, and everyone has his or her own idea about what she should do with the baby. Nolan presents a sensitive look at the difficulties of teen pregnancy, from an unstable marriage to physical discomforts, and, most of all, the frustration of being at the mercy of adults and having very little agency as a minor. While the adults are almost too insensitive and uncaring to be fully believable, the teen characters are realistic and multifaceted. Tenacious, impulsive, and often naive, Eleanor has very relatable flaws that make her sympathetic, and her spirited first-person narration brings welcome levity to a plot that could otherwise become overwhelmingly depressing. As she rises to the challenges of her situation and sorts through complicated emotions to discover what she wants for herself and her baby, her struggles will strike a chord with readers who admire characters who persevere in the face of nearly insurmountable obstacles. Drawing in both reluctant and avid readers, this novel is an uplifting page-turner with a great deal of heart.—Allison Tran, Mission Viejo Library, CAKirkus Reviews
Sixteen-year-old Elly is pregnant. Add a well-meaning but hopeless boyfriend, angry parents and a summer holed away in the backwoods of Maine playing camp counselor to a bunch of overweight kids, and having a baby becomes only one of her problems.
Determined to decide her own future, Elly refuses to return to Kenya with her missionary parents. Unfortunately her only other options are living with her self-righteous sister in California or getting married to Lam, the baby's father. Soon Elly is not only seven months pregnant, but a newlywed. If she can survive working for her MIL (mother-in-law), keep her husband sober and figure out how to make a difference with the young campers she leads, she might make it to her due date. Her biggest problem is that she has no idea what to do once the baby arrives. As revealed in her first-person narration, Elly is passionate, smart-mouthed, rebellious and completely endearing. Secondary characters are similarly well-crafted, refusing to fit into stereotypes. Readers may feel like laughing, crying and grinding their teeth in frustration, but they will always feel like they are in the experienced hands of a master storyteller.
Nolan proves once again that she can take a familiar story to surprising new heights. (Fiction. 14 & up)