I loved this book a lot. Mostly because it didn't do what I kept expecting it to do. There was no "she must give this baby up", no miscarriage, no abortion, no any-other-way-novels-like-this-cop-out. She wasn't required to give up all her dreams, in the end, wasn't punished for having a baby. I approve more than you would believe. Even though I'm adopted, and should be championing that to the hills, I hate when it's the only option for teens in a book or movie.
There was also more depth to Rand than just being a pregnant girl. I believed she was an artist, believed in her fascination with her dead sister. The imagery in the beginning of the book was gorgeous, and her relationship with her boyfriend was so well written that you grieved at the loss of their relationship. I do think for someone who obviously loved her so... uniquely.... that his brusqueness after was exaggerated, but who knows how a scared teenage boy might act.
My one problem was that her friend Delany seemed to fit the "bad girl" archetype, and was never redeemed from that. I am tired of the one-bad-girl-bestie trope in YA. I also wanted to see more redemption for her ex-boyfriend, but I liked the lack of romantic focus so catch-22. Still, everything else felt so unique, from Rand's camping out in the NICU after her baby was born, to the fact that there wasn't an overly-sappy reunion with her parents at the hospital.
Wonderful, in my opinion.
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