A review by bethanymiller415
Every Little Thing in the World by Nina de Gramont
3.0
Sydney knows that she should have asked Tommy to wear a condom, but she didn’t want to seem like a prude. Six weeks and one missed period later, she knows that she made a big mistake. She and her friend Natalia steal her parents’ car so that they can go to a party where Tommy will be. Sydney plans to tell him that she is pregnant, but by the time they arrive Tommy is stumbling drunk and Sydney changes her mind. Just as they’re about to leave the party, a police cruiser pulls up and the girls are busted. Sydney’s mom is fed up with her sneaking around and lying and decides to turn her over to her father for the summer. Sydney’s dad decides that spending some time in nature will do her good, so he sends her to Canada to participate in a canoe trip. Though she’s hardly the outdoorsy type, Natalia decides to come along, and the girls begin an unforgettable adventure. The girls develop friendships and even romances with the other teens on the trip, but through it all, Sydney knows that by the time the trip concludes she needs to make a choice about how to handle her pregnancy. She faces added pressure from Natalia – the one person who shares her secret – who has had a change of heart about helping Sydney obtain an abortion. Ultimately, she realizes this is a decision that she will have to make on her own.
Nina de Gramont deserves credit for writing about teen pregnancy in a frank and honest way. At times the novel borders on melodramatic and the characters are not always completely believable. At different times in the novel Sydney is annoying, selfish, too easily influenced, irresponsible and just plain unlikable, but that is an accurate portrayal of what many teens are like. Sydney’s transformation from spoiled brat to model daughter is a little hard to swallow. However, Sydney’s struggle to decide what to about her pregnancy rings true, and the author clearly illustrates that there are no easy answers for teens in this position. Every Little Thing in the World will appeal to teen girls. Due to content it is probably most appropriate for high school readers.
Nina de Gramont deserves credit for writing about teen pregnancy in a frank and honest way. At times the novel borders on melodramatic and the characters are not always completely believable. At different times in the novel Sydney is annoying, selfish, too easily influenced, irresponsible and just plain unlikable, but that is an accurate portrayal of what many teens are like. Sydney’s transformation from spoiled brat to model daughter is a little hard to swallow. However, Sydney’s struggle to decide what to about her pregnancy rings true, and the author clearly illustrates that there are no easy answers for teens in this position. Every Little Thing in the World will appeal to teen girls. Due to content it is probably most appropriate for high school readers.