And Baby Makes Two Review

Title: And Baby Makes Two 

                                                               

Author: Dyan Sheldon

Release Date:  2^nd October 2000

Publisher: Walker Books

All fifteen-year-old Lana dreams about is getting married and having her own flat and lots of children. It’s her life’s ambition. When she meets Les, she knows right off that he’s the one. And when she gets pregnant without even trying, she reckons that all her dreams are about to come true. Lana doesn’t wonder for a second what might happen next…

Lana is fifteen and sick of having her life ruled by her Mum and her teachers. She can’t wait to leave school and be independent. Meeting Les seems like the answer to all her dreams, he is twenty, has a job and lives in his own house (which he shares with his friends). Their dates consist of McDonald’s lunches but Lana finds herself wanting to move the relationship forward after pressure from her friends. Lana and Les spend the night together and 9 months later Lana gives birth to her daughter, Shinola. While pregnant, Lana has to face the ridicule from her classmates as well as persuading Les and her Mum that having the baby is the best option. Lana can’t imagine anything more perfect than marrying Les, moving in with him and having his baby. However, when Shinola arrives, Lana realises things are much harder than she ever anticipated. Her Mum moves out and Les disappears for weeks on end leaving Lana to get on with looking after Shinola. After financially hard times and being bypassed by her friends, who are out enjoying themselves, Lana discovers that her ideal family life is far from a reality as she is left completely alone.

I really enjoyed this book but couldn’t work out whether it was trying to warn the reader about rushing into growing up. Written as a first person account, it is obvious how naïve Lana really is. Lana lives in a dream world and doesn’t realise the severity of her situation until the end of the book. Even down to Lana’s confusion over getting pregnant, as she believes you can’t get pregnant the first time you have sex, the book deals with a lot of misconceptions surrounding teenage love, pregnancy and sex. Despite Lana’s often stupid actions, the novel is really sophisticated in dealing with the emotions surrounding this complex subject matter.

The ending is a shock which concludes a brilliantly written story and leaves questions unanswered. A must read for any teen who thinks that having a baby is an easy ride but also just a good eye opener for anyone else. The author really manages to get inside the head of a confused and misguided teenage girl.    

4.5 / 5   Cleverly written insight into the thoughts of a love struck teenage girl.