At What Cost

Jessie
Andersen
ISBN Number: 
978-1621350477
Genre: 
Young Adult

Maggie Reynolds's first day of her junior year in high school was not what she had expected. She had slept in late and her stomach gnawed at her. Arriving at school, however, she sees her boyfriend Justin Davis, making her feel much better. She is so lucky to be going out with the most popular boy in school!
As the weeks pass by, she continues to feel nauseous. Her best friend notices and convinces her to take a pregnancy test. Positive! Oh no, she is too young to have a baby and her plans do NOT include motherhood! Maggie can’t tell her parents and ruin their perfect family image. When she finally gets  the nerve to tell Justin, he is angry and refuses to talk to her for days. Finally he meets with her and agrees to help pay for an abortion. Her parents are so upset by the news they don’t know what to say, but Maggie feels it is her decision and one she must make on her own.
Jessie Andersen truly touches to the heart of what it feels like to be a pregnant teenager. The author deftly tackles the issues that are so important at that age; looks, popularity, school, boyfriend and parents. Her detailed description of the abortion clinic is scary and she paints the medical staff at the clinic a bit too sterile and the staff at the obstetrician’s office a little too saccharine. Still Andersen captures the family’s reaction to the news realistically while propelling the story to an ending that leaves the reader pulling for the young heroine!
Rose Mary Espinoza