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hayleybeale's review
3.0
Important topic - what did teen girls do in the 1950's when they became pregnant - but I didn't find the telling particularly engaging.
michalice's review
2.0
I got In Trouble from Netgalley and it was one of my first accepted books. I have had In Trouble for a while and have only just got around to reading it.
The book follows two friends, Jamie and Elaine, as they try to get through a mutual problem. They have their ups and downs like any other friendship does, but in the end things end up ok for them.
The book also hints at family and some slight religion and a mention of rape.
I thought In Trouble was a quick but well written read, and it gave me a glimpse into what life in the 1950s-1960s was like.
The book follows two friends, Jamie and Elaine, as they try to get through a mutual problem. They have their ups and downs like any other friendship does, but in the end things end up ok for them.
The book also hints at family and some slight religion and a mention of rape.
I thought In Trouble was a quick but well written read, and it gave me a glimpse into what life in the 1950s-1960s was like.
tamdot's review
4.0
Tackling serious topics can be tricky for a young adult novel. Writers can easily fall into a trap of presenting one side of a debate thinly cloaked in character and plot devices. The novel can become a parody of the Afterschool Special and focus on its message rather than its story.
In Trouble by Ellen Levine is not one of those books. Although teen pregnancy is at the center of her story, Levine’s characters drive the story. The 1950s New York setting helps remove issues surrounding teen pregnancy from a modern reader’s world, but Jamie Morse, Levine’s 16-year-old protagonist, could easily eat lunch in any high school cafeteria today.
Spoilers ahead.
Readers meet Jamie during a phone call with her best friend, Elaine. Elaine needs Jamie’s help to sneak off for a weekend with her college boyfriend. Jamie’s views of teen sex are colored by her recent date-rape experience. As if that weren’t enough for Jamie to deal with, her father will be returning home from 11 months in prison. He was sentenced for contempt of Congress as part of the McCarthy hearings.
The McCarthy connection could serve as a novel on its own that may not belong in In Trouble. The conviction speaks to how Jamie’s father thinks and what his family supports means in the larger context of the novel, and it serves to flesh out Paul, Jamie’s would-be boyfriend and editor of their school’s newspaper. Those aspects could have been developed differently.
When Elaine discovers she’s pregnant, Jamie contacts an older cousin for information about abortions. Soon, her entire family is involved, although Jamie, like her father, refuses to name names beyond assuring her family she is not the pregnant girl.
A less talented writer would use the family discussions as a focus for the novel’s debate, presenting one (or several) sides of the argument. Because Levine has a gift for breathing life into even minor characters, the family discussions are natural. No character stands out as a straw man.
Jamie’s aunt reveals a long-ago abortion to Jamie in confidence. And In Trouble picks up a slight lecturing tone as Aunt Shelia tells Jamie that pregnancy doesn’t happen only to loose girls and premarital sex does not make Jamie’s friend a slut. The sentiment is echoed in Levine’s afterword, which also adds historical context for the book.
Elaine holds strong to her belief that her suddenly absent boyfriend will marry her and they’ll raise the baby together, but eventually her secret becomes apparent to her parents. Elaine is sent to a Catholic home for unwed mothers, a decision Jamie finds hard to understand.
Jamie’s difficulty intensifies when she discovers the rape has led to her own pregnancy. Since she never told her family about the attack, she feels she cannot tell them about the pregnancy. She tells Paul, who goes with her to a doctor for a pregnancy test. The two pretend to be married in order to receive the test.
After a failed attempt to get an abortion — the unlicensed abortionist discovers Jamie isn’t 18 — Jamie ends up telling her parents. Jamie’s family is the polar opposite of Elaine’s, and her parents help her get an abortion. Shortly after the procedure, Jamie learns Elaine was forced to give her baby up for adoption.
The book ends somewhat abruptly. Elaine and Jamie’s friendship is irrevocably changed by their different decisions. Jamie’s relationships with Paul and her father are at the beginning of something new or something to be mended. Levine doesn’t continue with Jamie’s reactions to the abortion, which works for the novel. Jamie’s reactions aren’t something to come and go in the space of a few weeks. Levine told the story she wanted to tell and leaves the next pieces to the reader’s imagination.
The publisher lists the interest level as ages 12 to 18. In Trouble may not be appropriate for the younger part of that age group who may not be ready for discussions the book is sure to engender. Jamie and Elaine represent different answers to teen pregnancy, although the novel comes down more on the pro-choice side of the abortion debate because Jamie tells the story. If Elaine narrated In Trouble, the book may have come down more on the pro-life side. Levine’s afterword details her own perspective on the debate.
More than being a pro-choice or pro-life book, In Trouble’s main message is one of support for and from family and friends. The characters behave like real teenagers of any time would, and the story flows naturally.
In Trouble by Ellen Levine is not one of those books. Although teen pregnancy is at the center of her story, Levine’s characters drive the story. The 1950s New York setting helps remove issues surrounding teen pregnancy from a modern reader’s world, but Jamie Morse, Levine’s 16-year-old protagonist, could easily eat lunch in any high school cafeteria today.
Spoilers ahead.
Readers meet Jamie during a phone call with her best friend, Elaine. Elaine needs Jamie’s help to sneak off for a weekend with her college boyfriend. Jamie’s views of teen sex are colored by her recent date-rape experience. As if that weren’t enough for Jamie to deal with, her father will be returning home from 11 months in prison. He was sentenced for contempt of Congress as part of the McCarthy hearings.
The McCarthy connection could serve as a novel on its own that may not belong in In Trouble. The conviction speaks to how Jamie’s father thinks and what his family supports means in the larger context of the novel, and it serves to flesh out Paul, Jamie’s would-be boyfriend and editor of their school’s newspaper. Those aspects could have been developed differently.
When Elaine discovers she’s pregnant, Jamie contacts an older cousin for information about abortions. Soon, her entire family is involved, although Jamie, like her father, refuses to name names beyond assuring her family she is not the pregnant girl.
A less talented writer would use the family discussions as a focus for the novel’s debate, presenting one (or several) sides of the argument. Because Levine has a gift for breathing life into even minor characters, the family discussions are natural. No character stands out as a straw man.
Jamie’s aunt reveals a long-ago abortion to Jamie in confidence. And In Trouble picks up a slight lecturing tone as Aunt Shelia tells Jamie that pregnancy doesn’t happen only to loose girls and premarital sex does not make Jamie’s friend a slut. The sentiment is echoed in Levine’s afterword, which also adds historical context for the book.
Elaine holds strong to her belief that her suddenly absent boyfriend will marry her and they’ll raise the baby together, but eventually her secret becomes apparent to her parents. Elaine is sent to a Catholic home for unwed mothers, a decision Jamie finds hard to understand.
Jamie’s difficulty intensifies when she discovers the rape has led to her own pregnancy. Since she never told her family about the attack, she feels she cannot tell them about the pregnancy. She tells Paul, who goes with her to a doctor for a pregnancy test. The two pretend to be married in order to receive the test.
After a failed attempt to get an abortion — the unlicensed abortionist discovers Jamie isn’t 18 — Jamie ends up telling her parents. Jamie’s family is the polar opposite of Elaine’s, and her parents help her get an abortion. Shortly after the procedure, Jamie learns Elaine was forced to give her baby up for adoption.
The book ends somewhat abruptly. Elaine and Jamie’s friendship is irrevocably changed by their different decisions. Jamie’s relationships with Paul and her father are at the beginning of something new or something to be mended. Levine doesn’t continue with Jamie’s reactions to the abortion, which works for the novel. Jamie’s reactions aren’t something to come and go in the space of a few weeks. Levine told the story she wanted to tell and leaves the next pieces to the reader’s imagination.
The publisher lists the interest level as ages 12 to 18. In Trouble may not be appropriate for the younger part of that age group who may not be ready for discussions the book is sure to engender. Jamie and Elaine represent different answers to teen pregnancy, although the novel comes down more on the pro-choice side of the abortion debate because Jamie tells the story. If Elaine narrated In Trouble, the book may have come down more on the pro-life side. Levine’s afterword details her own perspective on the debate.
More than being a pro-choice or pro-life book, In Trouble’s main message is one of support for and from family and friends. The characters behave like real teenagers of any time would, and the story flows naturally.
heyjudy's review
3.0
~3/5
This book was just depressing.
It’s set in the 1950’s-1960’s, about two teen girls, and what happens when they get pregnant. The author did a lot of research, and it’s definitely true that it was very hard at that time, with little options and a lot of shame on the girls for it.
While I wasn’t terribly impressed with the writing or the characterization, I do think that the subject was handled realistically.
It just depresses me.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
This book was just depressing.
It’s set in the 1950’s-1960’s, about two teen girls, and what happens when they get pregnant. The author did a lot of research, and it’s definitely true that it was very hard at that time, with little options and a lot of shame on the girls for it.
While I wasn’t terribly impressed with the writing or the characterization, I do think that the subject was handled realistically.
It just depresses me.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
kelleemoye's review
3.0
In Trouble explores the options that a young lady had in the 1950s when it came to being "in trouble." Today our options include abortion, adoption and keeping the baby, but in the 1950s abortion was illegal, keeping the baby was a stigma, so adoption was the option most accepted; however, this was not always the best option for everyone. In the book, Jaime's best friend Elaine figures out that she is pregnant and Jaime tries to help Elaine with her situation thus showing the reader the different options.
In Trouble also gives us a clear look of how the 1950s were by having Jaime's father be a political criminal being charged with communism. He has just been released from prison and throughout the book you learn more and more about his "crime" and punishment.
In Trouble was overall a good book. It grabbed me from the beginning and kept me reading; however, I felt that maybe the book was trying to do too much at one time. For example, randomly the narrative would switch to a script to show that Jaime was viewing her life as a movie. I found myself being distracted by these and would have rather the narrative stay as prose. It also seemed to have so many topics throughout- abortion, adoption, communism, movies, rape, journalism, love... Too much to focus on (though all done realistically and interestingly).
In Trouble also gives us a clear look of how the 1950s were by having Jaime's father be a political criminal being charged with communism. He has just been released from prison and throughout the book you learn more and more about his "crime" and punishment.
In Trouble was overall a good book. It grabbed me from the beginning and kept me reading; however, I felt that maybe the book was trying to do too much at one time. For example, randomly the narrative would switch to a script to show that Jaime was viewing her life as a movie. I found myself being distracted by these and would have rather the narrative stay as prose. It also seemed to have so many topics throughout- abortion, adoption, communism, movies, rape, journalism, love... Too much to focus on (though all done realistically and interestingly).
cmeade312's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
heykellyjensen's review
1.0
1.5.
There was no character development, and what felt like it would be the plot turned out to be a device to get to the plot which was so contrived it was painful to read.
Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2011/09/in-trouble-by-ellen-levine.html
There was no character development, and what felt like it would be the plot turned out to be a device to get to the plot which was so contrived it was painful to read.
Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2011/09/in-trouble-by-ellen-levine.html
meilin's review
2.0
I did finish this book, but overall I didn't enjoy as much as I thought I would.
The book takes place in the mid 1950's where Elvis is the craze and sex before marriage is looked down upon. The book centers around two girls, Jamie and Elaine. Jamie has a large Jewish dominant family and father who was arrested for being a member of the Communist Party. Elaine has overprotective parents watching her every move while dating a boy in college who's pressuring her to have sex. When Elaine gets pregnant, she remains hopelessly in love with her boyfriend who is ignoring her at all cost and a hopeless dream of a family with him. Jamie ignores her cousin at all cost after the incident, until it happens.
Spoilers
I enjoyed the plot and setting of book. I haven't read many books dealing with teen pregnancy and abortions. It's now glamorized with shows such as Teen Mom and Sixteen and Pregnant. I didn't realize back then how looked down upon it was. It was interesting to see how the characters faced the decision of keeping an unwanted pregnancy or not.
However, it was predictable what would happen. Jamie with her understanding family does anything to help her regardless of what happened and eventually get an abortion for her. Okay. The people that were around Jamie either knew that she was pregnant and tried to help as much as possible or didn't look down on her. Paul and Georgina were with her at doctor's check ups. Okay. On the other hand,Elaine has overprotective parents and wanted to shroud the pregnancy as much as possible. In the end she doesn't get to keep her baby or a happy family with Neil. Yup.
The writing wasn't great at all. Once she got a decent start, it stopped with a Run! It stopped the flow of reading and was hard to keep going continuously. I felt when reading how awkward some sentences sounded and didn't connect. Anyone can have words to make a book, but to make a story you need more. It wasn't able to make a story, just tell.
The characters were pretty much one dimensional. Elaine was the only one stereotypical in my opinion. She was a girl hopelessly in love and holding onto sweet nothings from her boyfriend. She was so hopelessly in love, she believed he'd come back, he'd love her, he'd have a family with her. HA, NOPE. Jamie was a strong character, but didn't have much life in her either. She was there for her best friend, she didn't want to have a baby for it would interrupt her future, and she was realistic of what would happen. Jamie's dad was adjusting to everyday life after jail and a political prisoner. Interesting, but not in depth. Then I felt as if the other characters were just there or filler to the story. They wouldn't be enjoyable or memorable characters.
I honestly felt like this story was a dystopian in my mind for some odd reason. I think it's because nowadays it's so common to have sex before marriage and teen pregnancies aren't always looked down upon know, but again glamorized by television. It just didn't click with me how bad it was back then to be a teen and pregnant. It didn't make it deep enough for me to realize how bad it was then. The Doctor Who episode, Are You My Mommy, (can't remember the title) made a deeper realization to me than this book. It did seem bizarre how secret it was, by sending the teen mom away to give birth or the almost black market abortion clinics.
I just didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought. Meh.
The book takes place in the mid 1950's where Elvis is the craze and sex before marriage is looked down upon. The book centers around two girls, Jamie and Elaine. Jamie has a large Jewish dominant family and father who was arrested for being a member of the Communist Party. Elaine has overprotective parents watching her every move while dating a boy in college who's pressuring her to have sex. When Elaine gets pregnant, she remains hopelessly in love with her boyfriend who is ignoring her at all cost and a hopeless dream of a family with him. Jamie ignores her cousin at all cost after the incident, until it happens.
Spoilers
I enjoyed the plot and setting of book. I haven't read many books dealing with teen pregnancy and abortions. It's now glamorized with shows such as Teen Mom and Sixteen and Pregnant. I didn't realize back then how looked down upon it was. It was interesting to see how the characters faced the decision of keeping an unwanted pregnancy or not.
However, it was predictable what would happen. Jamie with her understanding family does anything to help her regardless of what happened and eventually get an abortion for her. Okay. The people that were around Jamie either knew that she was pregnant and tried to help as much as possible or didn't look down on her. Paul and Georgina were with her at doctor's check ups. Okay. On the other hand,Elaine has overprotective parents and wanted to shroud the pregnancy as much as possible. In the end she doesn't get to keep her baby or a happy family with Neil. Yup.
The writing wasn't great at all. Once she got a decent start, it stopped with a Run! It stopped the flow of reading and was hard to keep going continuously. I felt when reading how awkward some sentences sounded and didn't connect. Anyone can have words to make a book, but to make a story you need more. It wasn't able to make a story, just tell.
The characters were pretty much one dimensional. Elaine was the only one stereotypical in my opinion. She was a girl hopelessly in love and holding onto sweet nothings from her boyfriend. She was so hopelessly in love, she believed he'd come back, he'd love her, he'd have a family with her. HA, NOPE. Jamie was a strong character, but didn't have much life in her either. She was there for her best friend, she didn't want to have a baby for it would interrupt her future, and she was realistic of what would happen. Jamie's dad was adjusting to everyday life after jail and a political prisoner. Interesting, but not in depth. Then I felt as if the other characters were just there or filler to the story. They wouldn't be enjoyable or memorable characters.
I honestly felt like this story was a dystopian in my mind for some odd reason. I think it's because nowadays it's so common to have sex before marriage and teen pregnancies aren't always looked down upon know, but again glamorized by television. It just didn't click with me how bad it was back then to be a teen and pregnant. It didn't make it deep enough for me to realize how bad it was then. The Doctor Who episode, Are You My Mommy, (can't remember the title) made a deeper realization to me than this book. It did seem bizarre how secret it was, by sending the teen mom away to give birth or the almost black market abortion clinics.
I just didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought. Meh.
galaxies's review
2.0
I went into reading In Trouble with low expectations. I saw the ratings and read the reviews on Goodreads and they didn’t have me all too hopeful for the book. I wanted In Trouble to be a good book, to deliver the message it intended to bring to the reader. But although I can appreciate what Levine was trying to do, in the end she failed for me.
In Trouble is about two best friends, Jamie and Elaine. Everything is peachy until Elaine contacts Jamie, they meet up and Elaine tells her best friend that she is pregnant. Neither of them knows what to do so Jamie tries to find ways for Elaine to get an abortion and Elaine struggles to find out what she really wants.
What I liked about the book:
There is not all that much. I liked some of the characters, Jamie (even though I often wanted to shake her), most members of her family and Paul.
It was a quick read, easy to breeze through, despite the writing.
What I didn’t like:
The writing. It was clunky and messy. It jerks the reader around, tears him out of one scene and stuffs him into the next without any flow or notice. I was often thrown off, because I didn’t know what was going on all of a sudden. There is barely any transition between scenes and it makes for an unpleasant reading experience.
There are letters incorporated into the story but one couldn’t always tell if it actually was a letter since some of them were written in cursive font and others were not. I would’ve liked to see consistent formatting here.
The “movie-going-on-in-Jamie’s-head”-scenes. They simply didn’t work for me. They felt out of place and didn’t add anything to the story even though they were probably supposed to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. There is one of those scenes in the book, it’s written like a movie script but then suddenly we’re back to the writing of the rest of the book but still written in a different font when we’re then thrown back in movie script style. Either the formatting has to emphasize that part or everything has to be written in the same style.
Elaine. I found her a completely unsympathetic character. I don’t have the patience for naïve and love blind characters. She hangs onto her boyfriend in such vigour, it made me want to skim over her scenes.
I think In Trouble would’ve worked better as some kind of biography. Levine’s writing in the Author’s note was much more pleasant to read than the rest of the book and I wish she would have adapted it for the story.
Disclaimer: An ARC of this book has been provided by Netgalley and the publisher for reviewing purposes.
In Trouble is about two best friends, Jamie and Elaine. Everything is peachy until Elaine contacts Jamie, they meet up and Elaine tells her best friend that she is pregnant. Neither of them knows what to do so Jamie tries to find ways for Elaine to get an abortion and Elaine struggles to find out what she really wants.
What I liked about the book:
There is not all that much. I liked some of the characters, Jamie (even though I often wanted to shake her), most members of her family and Paul.
It was a quick read, easy to breeze through, despite the writing.
What I didn’t like:
The writing. It was clunky and messy. It jerks the reader around, tears him out of one scene and stuffs him into the next without any flow or notice. I was often thrown off, because I didn’t know what was going on all of a sudden. There is barely any transition between scenes and it makes for an unpleasant reading experience.
There are letters incorporated into the story but one couldn’t always tell if it actually was a letter since some of them were written in cursive font and others were not. I would’ve liked to see consistent formatting here.
The “movie-going-on-in-Jamie’s-head”-scenes. They simply didn’t work for me. They felt out of place and didn’t add anything to the story even though they were probably supposed to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. There is one of those scenes in the book, it’s written like a movie script but then suddenly we’re back to the writing of the rest of the book but still written in a different font when we’re then thrown back in movie script style. Either the formatting has to emphasize that part or everything has to be written in the same style.
Elaine. I found her a completely unsympathetic character. I don’t have the patience for naïve and love blind characters. She hangs onto her boyfriend in such vigour, it made me want to skim over her scenes.
I think In Trouble would’ve worked better as some kind of biography. Levine’s writing in the Author’s note was much more pleasant to read than the rest of the book and I wish she would have adapted it for the story.
Disclaimer: An ARC of this book has been provided by Netgalley and the publisher for reviewing purposes.
dtaylorbooks's review
4.0
Carolrhoda Lab does it again with another gripping story that I get to gush about. Although I will say this is probably my least favorite out of the CL books I've read. I still think very highly of it but I do feel it was lacking something that the other CL books had, mainly depth.
The situation that Jamie and Elaine go through is terrifying. Hell, it's terrifying now, let alone 60 years ago where you were either biblically virginal or a whore, irrespective of what happened to you to get into that "in trouble" position. Elaine's problem was really front and center and while it pulled me in, it also pushed me away from Jamie a bit, and it was her story. So a bit of a flaw in the story-telling. You could really feel for Elaine through Jamie. You could feel her impossible situation but at the same time you could feel Jamie's helplessness when it came to helping her friend. Elaine was a bit lost when it came to the other half of the problem and I know I got frustrated right along with Jamie when Elaine just couldn't see the forest for the trees.
And then things start opening up about Jamie. The little flashes seen throughout the story come to light and things start to click into place. That horror that was projected onto Elaine comes right back around to Jamie. Her situation's different, though. Jamie had more support and options. But here's where I think the story starts to fizzle, when it really gets into Jamie's problem.
Jamie attempts to terminate her problem on her own which results in some terrible moments in the story and I will say I had some tears but the story reached a point where it just zoomed by and before I knew it it was over. It left me wanting more and I think considering the situation of the plot, it would have rendered that. Instead there's a fade to black moment, some skimming and the end of the story. It's Jamie's story but as a reader I was never privy to Jamie coming to terms with her decisions. She made them, yes, but any repercussions she had were skipped over. I think the story could have been so much more had those issues been drawn out more.
IN TROUBLE really is a good story and a quick read but I think it's quickness does more against it than for it. That depth that I think is required for such a topic is absent and the focus is really on the wrong person. And then the story ends far too abruptly to have any real resolution. But it's still good. I liked what I was reading. I could connect with Jamie and I felt everything she did. But overall IN TROUBLE lingered on story elements that should have been shorter and dashed by moments that should have been more drawn out. I ended up feeling a little robbed at the end. I wanted more, especially for the topic. Yes, it sucked what women had to go through back then when they got "in trouble" and it's because of that that I don't feel it should have been glossed over when it got to be Jamie's turn.
Still, I'd recommend to read IN TROUBLE. Just keep in mind going in that for the topic, the story doesn't go very deep.
The situation that Jamie and Elaine go through is terrifying. Hell, it's terrifying now, let alone 60 years ago where you were either biblically virginal or a whore, irrespective of what happened to you to get into that "in trouble" position. Elaine's problem was really front and center and while it pulled me in, it also pushed me away from Jamie a bit, and it was her story. So a bit of a flaw in the story-telling. You could really feel for Elaine through Jamie. You could feel her impossible situation but at the same time you could feel Jamie's helplessness when it came to helping her friend. Elaine was a bit lost when it came to the other half of the problem and I know I got frustrated right along with Jamie when Elaine just couldn't see the forest for the trees.
And then things start opening up about Jamie. The little flashes seen throughout the story come to light and things start to click into place. That horror that was projected onto Elaine comes right back around to Jamie. Her situation's different, though. Jamie had more support and options. But here's where I think the story starts to fizzle, when it really gets into Jamie's problem.
Jamie attempts to terminate her problem on her own which results in some terrible moments in the story and I will say I had some tears but the story reached a point where it just zoomed by and before I knew it it was over. It left me wanting more and I think considering the situation of the plot, it would have rendered that. Instead there's a fade to black moment, some skimming and the end of the story. It's Jamie's story but as a reader I was never privy to Jamie coming to terms with her decisions. She made them, yes, but any repercussions she had were skipped over. I think the story could have been so much more had those issues been drawn out more.
IN TROUBLE really is a good story and a quick read but I think it's quickness does more against it than for it. That depth that I think is required for such a topic is absent and the focus is really on the wrong person. And then the story ends far too abruptly to have any real resolution. But it's still good. I liked what I was reading. I could connect with Jamie and I felt everything she did. But overall IN TROUBLE lingered on story elements that should have been shorter and dashed by moments that should have been more drawn out. I ended up feeling a little robbed at the end. I wanted more, especially for the topic. Yes, it sucked what women had to go through back then when they got "in trouble" and it's because of that that I don't feel it should have been glossed over when it got to be Jamie's turn.
Still, I'd recommend to read IN TROUBLE. Just keep in mind going in that for the topic, the story doesn't go very deep.