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Hanging on to Max
Bechard, Margaret.
Teen Fiction BECHARD
From Publishers' Weekly:
Sam, a 17-year-old unwed father, is the candid, unusually likable narrator of Bechard's (If It Doesn't Kill You) involving novel. A senior at an alternative high school that offers day care, Sam struggles to juggle his responsibilities as a parent and student. He and 11-month-old Max live with Sam's largely uncommunicative widowed father, who has agreed to support them until Sam graduates high school and takes a construction job. Sam finds much-needed companionship when Claire, whom he has quietly admired for years, shows up at his school with a baby of her own. Flashbacks effectively fill in the missing pieces of the story, recalling the evolution of Sam's relationship with Brittany, Max's mother; Claire's presence in his eight-grade English class; his mother's last days fighting cancer; a memorable childhood fishing expedition with his parents; his first glimpse of the newborn Max; and his resolve to keep the baby when Brittany decides to give him up for adoption. The teen's conflicted perceptions of his role as father, friend and son, as well as his future aspirations, are intermittently droll and wrenching. While the story has been told before, it comes across as unfailingly real; and even the surprise ending conforms to the lifelike atmosphere. Ages 12-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
Parenting a baby is hard, hard work. It is even harder work for Sam, age 17 and the custodial parent of infant Max. Sam traded his former life as a regular guy with a girlfriend who will have sex with him for diapers, feeding schedules, and an alternative school program for teen parents. Why It Is for Us: The book does not shy away from the confusing reality of parenting. New parents (and experienced ones, too) will recognize Sam's panic as he stumbles sleep-deprived through school and attempts to recall all the details of what to do to be a good parent. "Get Max to sleep by 9:00"-what if he won't go down until 11:00? The final few chapters, where Sam must debate whether to give up his son for adoption, are heartrending. [Originally published by Roaring Brook in 2002.] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Bechard, Margaret.
Teen Fiction BECHARD
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From Publishers' Weekly:
Sam, a 17-year-old unwed father, is the candid, unusually likable narrator of Bechard's (If It Doesn't Kill You) involving novel. A senior at an alternative high school that offers day care, Sam struggles to juggle his responsibilities as a parent and student. He and 11-month-old Max live with Sam's largely uncommunicative widowed father, who has agreed to support them until Sam graduates high school and takes a construction job. Sam finds much-needed companionship when Claire, whom he has quietly admired for years, shows up at his school with a baby of her own. Flashbacks effectively fill in the missing pieces of the story, recalling the evolution of Sam's relationship with Brittany, Max's mother; Claire's presence in his eight-grade English class; his mother's last days fighting cancer; a memorable childhood fishing expedition with his parents; his first glimpse of the newborn Max; and his resolve to keep the baby when Brittany decides to give him up for adoption. The teen's conflicted perceptions of his role as father, friend and son, as well as his future aspirations, are intermittently droll and wrenching. While the story has been told before, it comes across as unfailingly real; and even the surprise ending conforms to the lifelike atmosphere. Ages 12-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
Parenting a baby is hard, hard work. It is even harder work for Sam, age 17 and the custodial parent of infant Max. Sam traded his former life as a regular guy with a girlfriend who will have sex with him for diapers, feeding schedules, and an alternative school program for teen parents. Why It Is for Us: The book does not shy away from the confusing reality of parenting. New parents (and experienced ones, too) will recognize Sam's panic as he stumbles sleep-deprived through school and attempts to recall all the details of what to do to be a good parent. "Get Max to sleep by 9:00"-what if he won't go down until 11:00? The final few chapters, where Sam must debate whether to give up his son for adoption, are heartrending. [Originally published by Roaring Brook in 2002.] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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