Hooked
Catherine Greenman
Delacorte
288 pages
Girl meets boy. Girl starts dating boy. Girl falls in love with boy. Girl has sex with boy . . . Girl gets pregnant? If you’re Thea Galehouse, that’s about how it goes.
Thea is in high school in New York where she meets boy next door Will. Will is not your typical heartthrob. He’s kind of goofy and he has a lazy eye, and although he is pretty popular, he opens up to Thea right away. Even after Will graduates high school and goes to college, the two stay together. Their relationship is on track, until Thea forgets to take her pill and winds up pregnant.
Thea is faced with a tough decision, and she vacillates between two options. She and will decide to give it their best shot and raise the baby together. It’s only once their son is born that they discover that the foundation of their love is not unshakable.
Hooked was exceptionally realistic. It seemed like Greenman really knew how Will and Thea would feel in such a situation. Their indecision throughout the book was genuine, and I came to love Thea for the strength she displayed as she faced tougher and tougher decisions. Thea was more mature than most girls her age, whereas Will was probably more in line with the typical immaturity you would find in a boy that age. He obviously cared about Thea and their son, but at the same time it wasn’t enough for him to give up his youth. I empathized with him while at the same time being angry with him.
I’ve said it a million times before, but I always read YA fiction that deals with teen pregnancy. It’s just an issue that resonates with me, so I have a cache of books on this topic. So while I thought Hooked was meaningful, I wasn’t sure it stacked up to some of the other books I’ve read. Nothing really stood out and made it seem especially worthy. So while I wouldn’t turn this one down, I also wouldn’t rush out to buy it.
Other Reviews:
I purchased an e-copy of this book for my kindle.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: book review, YA fiction |
ReviewsbyLola's Blog 
I really want to read this one. I read Pregnant Pause, and thought it was very realistic as well. Great review! I’m hoping to get this one soon.
Pregnant Pause is new to me so I will have to check it out.
I think this one sounds rather interesting, and very lifelike as well. I haven’t read a lot of books on this subject, but think that it’s something that I would like to explore a little further. I can imagine that the plight of these two teens is much like what happens so many times in reality. Great review today!
Well, I appreciate your advice and honesty! I don’t really avoid this topic, but it also makes me a little twitchy with my daughter going to high school next year. Lord help me. Plus, when it comes to a pregnancy story, how can you beat Juno?
My stepdaughter is in sixth grade right now so it’s getting to that point to her. I am torn between educating her or letting her keep her innocence a little longer. I try to keep an open dialogue with her but the topic of sex is very embarrassing to her at the moment!
Well, even if the book isn’t exceptional, I like the fact that it’s realistic.
Thanks for such an honest review. I don’t think this is a book I’ll add to my tbr list.
Have you read The First Part Last by Angela Johnson? It deals with the same subject matter. It’s a great book.
Yes, I read that one a year or two ago. I love books that are from the teen father’s viewpoint!
I have to admit that I never read books which deal with this issue. I think I would get too frustrated.
Perhaps you are just the person to write the definitive essay on Books about Teen Pregnancy.
Thank you for the review.
Thanks for the balanced review. Seems like you have a bit of a specialty in YA teen pregnancy!