Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan

Veronica is top of her class - and somehow she's found herself gazing in disbelief at a positive pregnancy test. Even worse, her ex-best friend and the high school's legendary malcontent, Bailey, is the only one there to help. In this warm and darkly funny road trip story, Veronica and Bailey drive a thousand miles to an out-of-state abortion clinic - rediscovering their friendship in the process.

Hooked by the premise of a bonding-style road trip and the emotional roller-coaster of seeking an abortion, I was surprised at how much I loved and laughed at this book. Basically, Ronnie discovers she’s pregnant and her dreams of Ivy League university crash and burn, along with her parents’ and friends’ image of perfect Veronica. After her boyfriend tries to propose, spilling that he already suspected she was pregnant, Ronnie needs to go to another state to get an abortion as she is under 18 and can only turn to her ex-best friend Bailey to drive her nearly 1000 miles.

I thought I knew what to expect: tough emotional moments debating an abortion, telling (or not telling) the parents, the boyfriend’s reaction, and cute bonding moments on a cross-state road trip with old friends. Instead, I got a creepy-as-all-hell boyfriend who poked holes in the condom and followed them to try and convince Ronnie to not go through with it; I got Bailey in all of her Gothic, sarcastic, trespassing glory; and I got a ridiculous and hilarious journey involving a stolen car, a strip club, pro-life fanatics and a giant statue of an elephant. To name but a few!

I absolutely adored this, it was funny and insane but also raised great questions about consent, growing up, relationships and responsibilities. Plus forgiveness and the importance of true friendships, as Ronnie and Bailey grow closer after years of separation while Ronnie developed her “perfect” image. The whole story was just brilliantly written, heartfelt with insane laugh-out-loud moments. Highly recommended.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.