Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary:
"It is the last season of high school life for Nadia Turner, a rebellious, grief-stricken, seventeen-year-old beauty. Mourning her own mother's recent suicide, she takes up with the local pastor's son. Luke Sheppard is twenty-one, a former football star whose injury has reduced him to waiting tables at a diner. They are young; it's not serious. But the pregnancy that results from this teen romance—and the subsequent cover-up—will have an impact that goes far beyond their youth. As Nadia hides her secret from everyone, including Aubrey, her God-fearing best friend, the years move quickly. Soon, Nadia, Luke, and Aubrey are full-fledged adults and still living in debt to the choices they made that one seaside summer, caught in a love triangle they must carefully maneuver, and dogged by the constant, nagging question: What if they had chosen differently? The possibilities of the road not taken are a relentless haunt." - Goodreads
Review:
Having read The Vanishing Half before this novel, I found myself a little bit disappointed because I felt like the way she handled the abortion narrative in this novel leaned more towards feelings of regret and sin. Bennett's writing was still so realistic that I felt sucked into the story. It was so easy to feel for each of the characters as they experienced each hardship. I think this was possible because the author placed her audience in each of the main character's minds throughout it. The Mothers presence was interesting and allowed me to see the story in both present and past tense but the way they ended the tail was a little bit odd to me as it seemed more poetic that the book had been.
Verdict:
Brit Bennett's writing is consistently beautiful and has so much depth that I often forgot my discomfort with the focus on abortion. I would recommend this book to those who already understand the nuances of abortions and reproductive health.
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