This book was an incredibly graphic depiction of a young girl named Devon who does the unthinkable - she gives birth in her bathroom and disposes of the baby in her apartment dumpster. Even more shocking is that Devon denies knowing she was ever pregnant! She is a straight-A honors student who has the potential to take her soccer playing skills to an Olympic level. So why would such a bright young girl do something so unthinkably awful?
That is the question that author Amy Efaw keeps everyone guessing at throughout the entire book as you follow Devon into the juvenile court system as she relives what has happened over the past 9 months. I hit the entire range of emotions on this one - sadness, shock, frustration, disgust, but primarily anger.
I won't ruin anything for anyone, but only in the last pages did I really understand why it got nominated for the Gateway. The story weaves together beautifully in the end and the reader gets a fuller picture of what may have led Devon to commit such a heinous, reprehensible act.
Apparently the phenomenon of home births and abandonment is an all too real and common problem - and a growing one in the young adult population. It is said that an average of one baby PER DAY is abandoned or thrown in a dumpster in the United States. So yes, a story like this is incredibly relevant to a young adult audience and isn't just out there for shock value.
Shocking, vivid, intricate and incredibly thought-provoking. Efaw did her research on this one for sure. Well done.
No comments:
Post a Comment