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moxiegirlzriot's review against another edition
5.0
Hilarious and refreshingly real. From womb goblins to Romani culture to all things LGBT (can I get an amen for including trans, ace, and demi for once?) this story made me smile, rage, and literally laugh out loud multiple times.
bookwormbetz's review against another edition
3.0
I really did enjoy this book. It was a light-hearted read about a teenage girl getting pregnant. Her mother, grandmother, and her best friend are her biggest supporters. As I mentioned, I enjoyed this book. However, at times, the language was very, very cringey; especially dialogue from the mother or grandmother, who are adults, who do NOT use such cringey language. For example, the mother would say "Oh crapsicles" or "turdlet." Honestly, when I read "crapsicles" for the third or fourth time within 4 chapters, I wanted to stop reading. I just HATED the word. We all know no teen of this modern time, 2020, uses that term. Overall, the book was alright.
eliza_jeanxo's review against another edition
2.0
It was cute, I loved that everyone was supportive and helpful. The main character is definitely quirky and this was very YA but it’s been on my shelf for years and I wanted to read it.
jtaylor_11's review against another edition
1.0
My opinion may be a little bias since this book is kinda old but, it was just hard to read. I ended up DNFing this book because I couldn't get into it. As a teen myself, I thought it would be something nice to read about, but it just ended up being a cringy mess.
raeanne's review against another edition
5.0
"Young women are often naive. Trusting everything will be fine without realizing you have to work for fine. We make our own fine." She paused. "Frankly, I find it amazing our species continues. We're all idiots." - Mormor, the Swedish Grandmother/Great Grandmother
"Funny enough, inaction has bigger consequences than taking action a lot of the time." - Mom, the turd, soon to be grandma.
I just realized they have a very Gilmore Girls kind of dynamic but not as annoying and over the top.
I am so, so glad this book exists! Young moms deserve happy supportive stories. It's not "unrealistic" and fuck anyone who thinks so. These kinds of stories occur, should be told, and maybe it'll happen more often with books like Belly Up around.
I did have to pause reading it because I was more like the girls in the support group than Sara. The feels/. My baby is now almost 12. I still can't believe it sometimes.
Mixed children of single white women face a unique set of problems. They deserve so much better than the appropriating bullshit like the Kardashian klan. This has rep for my daughter that just brings tears to my eyes. I can't wait to share it with her when she's a teen!
There's a queer Jewish wifey best friend and a Romani demi gentleman that just make me deliriously happy. There's the passage about colonialism and colorism in the Latinx and Hispanic communities. An asshole dad that gets put in his place. An understanding tough teacher and school.
"Funny enough, inaction has bigger consequences than taking action a lot of the time." - Mom, the turd, soon to be grandma.
I just realized they have a very Gilmore Girls kind of dynamic but not as annoying and over the top.
I am so, so glad this book exists! Young moms deserve happy supportive stories. It's not "unrealistic" and fuck anyone who thinks so. These kinds of stories occur, should be told, and maybe it'll happen more often with books like Belly Up around.
I did have to pause reading it because I was more like the girls in the support group than Sara. The feels/. My baby is now almost 12. I still can't believe it sometimes.
Mixed children of single white women face a unique set of problems. They deserve so much better than the appropriating bullshit like the Kardashian klan. This has rep for my daughter that just brings tears to my eyes. I can't wait to share it with her when she's a teen!
There's a queer Jewish wifey best friend and a Romani demi gentleman that just make me deliriously happy. There's the passage about colonialism and colorism in the Latinx and Hispanic communities. An asshole dad that gets put in his place. An understanding tough teacher and school.
sydney_09's review against another edition
4.0
This book is quirky and the family is quirky. It broaches on a subject many can relate too. I like how the author embraced the awkwardness of humans both teens and adults alike.
ashwolff's review against another edition
2.0
The synopsis tells us this is a hook about. a “queer” teen who ends up pregnant.
What I liked about this book. The character of Leaf was a nice person. That’s about it.
This is a hard review to write, because I felt mislead by the synopsis. We’re led to believe our main character is a “queer” teen who ends up pregnant. I may just be old school, but I disagree. There is literally only one line in the book, where when she is attempting to fit in with a lesbian and a trans girl, she says “she think she might be bi”. Other than that, she only has relationships,/sleeps with THREE cisgender male characters. Only talks about being attracted or sleeping with those three male characters. I also felt like the fact that every character had specific labels was waaaaaay too much. Lesbian. Grey aromantic asexual, Demi sexual, possibly bi,.....it just felt forced. I’m glad this book exists for that person who needs this specific amount of representation, but it’s not me.
Also, because of the non stop snarkiest of our MC, I felt like we never even got to know her, even though we were in her head the entire time. No one is that snarky 24/7. While the author may have been going for a Juno meets Gilmore Girls vibe, it didn’t work for me.
ARC provided by Netgalley in return for a review
What I liked about this book. The character of Leaf was a nice person. That’s about it.
This is a hard review to write, because I felt mislead by the synopsis. We’re led to believe our main character is a “queer” teen who ends up pregnant. I may just be old school, but I disagree. There is literally only one line in the book, where when she is attempting to fit in with a lesbian and a trans girl, she says “she think she might be bi”. Other than that, she only has relationships,/sleeps with THREE cisgender male characters. Only talks about being attracted or sleeping with those three male characters. I also felt like the fact that every character had specific labels was waaaaaay too much. Lesbian. Grey aromantic asexual, Demi sexual, possibly bi,.....it just felt forced. I’m glad this book exists for that person who needs this specific amount of representation, but it’s not me.
Also, because of the non stop snarkiest of our MC, I felt like we never even got to know her, even though we were in her head the entire time. No one is that snarky 24/7. While the author may have been going for a Juno meets Gilmore Girls vibe, it didn’t work for me.
ARC provided by Netgalley in return for a review
girlreading's review against another edition
5.0
4.75* From the lovable characters and multiple brilliantly explored relationship dynamics to the humour and writing style to the exploration of teen pregnancy and the wonderfully diverse representation throughout, I truly adored everything about this book.
(Leaf has completely stolen my heart and is officially up there amongst the best YA boyfriends!)
The only minor downfall for me was the use of language in conversations between Sara and Devi, which came across somewhat cringey and unrealistic (but maybe I'm officially old and this is how teens really do talk these days? Who knows?) and personally and found it quite distracting at times. That being said, that is literally the only thing I didn't absolutely love about this book because everything else? I absolutely loved.
I would also highly recommend the audiobook, which was superbly narrated.
(Leaf has completely stolen my heart and is officially up there amongst the best YA boyfriends!)
The only minor downfall for me was the use of language in conversations between Sara and Devi, which came across somewhat cringey and unrealistic (but maybe I'm officially old and this is how teens really do talk these days? Who knows?) and personally and found it quite distracting at times. That being said, that is literally the only thing I didn't absolutely love about this book because everything else? I absolutely loved.
I would also highly recommend the audiobook, which was superbly narrated.
raisingself's review against another edition
3.0
Lighthearted, progressive, YA reproductive fiction about a quirky smart (possibly queer) Latina girl that uses a reckless one-night stand to get over her ex. Our main protagonist, 17-year-old Serendipity Rodriguez, is worried about everything except pregnancy until it’s far too late for the morning after pill. Belly Up is a dash of Juno, a dash of Gilmore Girls, and dash of your most common Tumblr threads on race, sexuality and gender identity. It’s also an interesting take on blended families and teenage romance.
The book is pretty diverse in terms of character and gender identity representation. My favorite character is a Romani demi-sexual teenaged boy that quickly becomes a viable and healthy romantic interest for Serendipity but to make him fit into the perfect guy box, Leaf is whittled away to the point of being over simplistic. There were also some clear missed opportunities in the story telling, specifically around the portrayal of the grandmother’s pseudo-abuse and emotional manipulation and how the narrative frames Serendipity’s educational options in some ways to focus more on a budding romance and complacency. I wanted more in terms of passion and ingenuity from such an academically intelligent and high potential chick. This is a book a reader will either thoroughly enjoy or find completely annoying.
* This book was received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. *
The book is pretty diverse in terms of character and gender identity representation. My favorite character is a Romani demi-sexual teenaged boy that quickly becomes a viable and healthy romantic interest for Serendipity but to make him fit into the perfect guy box, Leaf is whittled away to the point of being over simplistic. There were also some clear missed opportunities in the story telling, specifically around the portrayal of the grandmother’s pseudo-abuse and emotional manipulation and how the narrative frames Serendipity’s educational options in some ways to focus more on a budding romance and complacency. I wanted more in terms of passion and ingenuity from such an academically intelligent and high potential chick. This is a book a reader will either thoroughly enjoy or find completely annoying.
* This book was received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. *
perusinghannah's review against another edition
3.0
(6.2/10) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Content warnings can be found here
Back in 2019, Amazon had a massive Black Friday sale on books. This book is proof that I will buy any hardcover as long as it's under five bucks, considering I am genuinely grossed out by all things pregnancy related and under no circumstances should have bought this. But I did, it fermented on my shelves for literal years, and now we're here. All this to say that my ratings include personal enjoyment, and this one therefore should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Let's start off with the main positive though: my personal revulsion of all things pregnancy aside, it was nice to see a story about teen pregnancy that was, for the most part, a positive experience for the main character. She was loved, accepted, and had a lot of support, which is a pleasant detour from the tone these stories often take.
It also made sure to represent a lot of different cultural backgrounds and LGBTQIA+ demographics, but the way it was done didn't entirely work for me. I found the way this was done so incredibly heavy-handed that it felt like the author was pointing with flashing neon arrows, and instead of the characters organically existing on page, it was done in such a pandering manner that they bordered on caricaturish.
And then, with everything else being so overtly pointed out, there is a grandparent in this that borders on abusive, who's constantly being excused for acting how she does. This is a woman who is emotionally manipulative and throws shoes at people whenever she's so inclined, and the fact that this is mostly used for comedic effect really did not work for me.
All things together evened out to a very mediocre three stars for me, but for reasons pointed out previously, your mileage may vary.
Content warnings can be found here
Back in 2019, Amazon had a massive Black Friday sale on books. This book is proof that I will buy any hardcover as long as it's under five bucks, considering I am genuinely grossed out by all things pregnancy related and under no circumstances should have bought this. But I did, it fermented on my shelves for literal years, and now we're here. All this to say that my ratings include personal enjoyment, and this one therefore should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Let's start off with the main positive though: my personal revulsion of all things pregnancy aside, it was nice to see a story about teen pregnancy that was, for the most part, a positive experience for the main character. She was loved, accepted, and had a lot of support, which is a pleasant detour from the tone these stories often take.
It also made sure to represent a lot of different cultural backgrounds and LGBTQIA+ demographics, but the way it was done didn't entirely work for me. I found the way this was done so incredibly heavy-handed that it felt like the author was pointing with flashing neon arrows, and instead of the characters organically existing on page, it was done in such a pandering manner that they bordered on caricaturish.
And then, with everything else being so overtly pointed out, there is a grandparent in this that borders on abusive, who's constantly being excused for acting how she does. This is a woman who is emotionally manipulative and throws shoes at people whenever she's so inclined, and the fact that this is mostly used for comedic effect really did not work for me.
All things together evened out to a very mediocre three stars for me, but for reasons pointed out previously, your mileage may vary.