Book Review: Positively Mine by Christine Duval.

Product details:
Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark.
ebook, 200 pages.
Release date: December 19th 2013.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Ages: New Adult
 Source: Received from publisher for review.

It is four weeks into her freshman year of college, and Laurel’s first test was unexpected. Discovering she’s pregnant isn’t exactly what she had planned for her first semester, and while she intends to tell her emotionally-distant father, being away at school makes it all too easy to hide.

An imperfect heroine plagued by bad choices and isolated during what should be the best time of her life, readers are sure to identify with Laurel as she confronts teen pregnancy, in secret.

Most students start college life with a bang: they party non-stop, eat too much pizza, drink too much beer, and then cram a ton of work into late night study sessions.  It’s all in the name of fun and freedom. For many, college is a first time away from home and parental control and of course from the rules and regulations of high school. That first year of college should be carefree and fun, while also getting all that coursework done. It should be a time without too many worries or responsibilities: a time of finding your feet, meeting new people and trying out new experiences. Laurel’s college experience is different than most. After all, I’m pretty sure that most people when embarking on the college experience don’t have motherhood in mind. But that’s exactly what’s on Laurel’s mind, because just four weeks into the first semester of her freshman term, Laurel finds out she’s pregnant.

This most definitely wasn’t in the plan.

It’s worth thinking about what you would do in the same situation. Where would you turn? Who would you tell? Would you keep the baby? Laurel is just eighteen years old; and these are all things she has to think about. She doesn’t have a support network so to speak of – the people she’s met at college are still just acquaintances and are not people she can really confide in, there is no boyfriend in this picture, her mother is dead, and her relationship with her father is distant at best. Also, Laurel’s father is a something of a high achiever, the type who plans his life meticulously, right down to the last detail, and he’d like the same for his daughter. Filling him in on the details of her very unplanned pregnancy is not a prospect that fills Laurel with joy. So she decides to put that unpleasant task on the backburner.

That’s right; Laurel doesn’t tell anybody about her pregnancy. She decides to let it play out in secret.

Okay, so keeping her pregnancy a secret is probably not Laurel’s best idea – but she’s scared, isolated, worried about what people will think of her.  At the same time she’s never in denial about the situation she finds herself in. In fact, she’s determined to provide the best life she can for her baby and resolves to continue with her college education once the baby is born. In all other aspects of her life, Laurel is responsible, level-headed and mature, but it must be noted that Laurel’s unplanned pregnancy isn’t due to a contraceptive failure; rather a total lack of contraception is to blame. However, Christine Duval doesn’t judge, and Positively Mine isn’t a judgemental book, rather it is factual and aims to inform. I can see it being a good resource for girls who find themselves in Laurel’s position. It might also prove useful for girls who never want to have to face the choices Laurel has to make.

If I have one gripe about Positively Mine, it’s that there’s not enough to it.  This book is a quick read, and it’s made that much quicker by an absorbing storyline and Duval’s engaging style. Still, I guess that wanting more of a story isn’t such a bad thing, right?   Also, while I understand why certain characters fell by the wayside as Laurel’s pregnancy progressed and became her main focus, I would love to have known more about Liz, a party girl who Laurel bonds with in college, but who is prone to dark moods, drinking way too much and hooking up with whatever guy is available, and Mike – a potential love interest for Laurel. I hope these two return in Christine Duval’s next book. Also, after that final page cliffhanger, I’m intrigued to know more about the father of Laurel’s baby. 

Worth reading.