Trouble by Non Pratt

In this dazzling debut novel, a pregnant teen learns the meaning of friendship—from the boy who pretends to be her baby’s father.

When the entire high school finds out that Hannah Shepard is pregnant via her ex-best friend, she has a full-on meltdown in her backyard. The one witness (besides the rest of the world): Aaron Tyler, a transfer student and the only boy who doesn’t seem to want to get into Hannah’s pants. Confused and scared, Hannah needs someone to be on her side. Wishing to make up for his own past mistakes, Aaron does the unthinkable and offers to pretend to be the father of Hannah’s unborn baby. Even more unbelievable, Hannah hears herself saying “yes.”

Told in alternating perspectives between Hannah and Aaron, Trouble is the story of two teenagers helping each other to move forward in the wake of tragedy and devastating choices. As you read about their year of loss, regret, and hope, you’ll remember your first, real best friend—and how they were like a first love. 

I'm going to start by saying this book was amazing. Simply amazing. In fact, I might just stop the review right here and leave it at that! But I won't, because I have lots of wonderful things to say about this book.

Being a teenager is pretty hard, being 15 and pregnant is way worse. Hannah is having a bit of a rough time of it, struggling with school work, arguing with her mother, and gaining a reputation at school for putting out. Non has captured the very essence of being a teenager, from the difficulties of communicating with parents to feeling like the world is collapsing at one small thing going wrong. When Hannah realises she's pregnant, things go from bad to worse. Meanwhile, Aaron is the new boy at school and has a few secrets of his own. Feeling the strong need to do something worthwhile, Aaron offers to be Hannah's baby daddy. 

Told from alternate perspectives, we hear things from both Hannah and Aaron, seeing how they deal with everything going on. What I especially loved about these two were how real they sounded. They were both typical teens and the authenticity of their narrative was so spot on, sometimes I looked up and was shocked to find myself in the real world! 

Everything about this book was incredible to read. Both protagonists were such complex characters that each page held a new secret about their lives and I couldn't wait to find out more. The way Non portrayed not only British teen life but also their sex lives as done exceptionally well; it was just a part of growing up, discovering yourself and nothing shameful, as long as you protected yourself. And finally the friendship between our protagonists; it was all about being able to lean on someone when you needed it, nothing untoward, just honesty and support. A great book and a truly great example of UKYA.

Published 6th March 2014 by Walker Books.