Immaculate

A strange old woman visits 17-year-old Mina one night at the restaurant where she works to deliver a cryptic message that a child will be entering Mina's life. In an attempt to shoo the woman out the door, Mina unwittingly accepts responsibility for the child, and soon she's in the throes of morning sickness, completely perplexed by the fact that she is pregnant. In this modern take on the idea of immaculate conception, debut author Detweiler focuses both on the divine implications of Mina's pregnancy and the trauma of a girl thrown into a difficult and highly unusual situation. Individuals in Mina's life react very differently to Mina's story: her mother believes her without question, while her friend and boyfriend think she is lying. Mina's eventual decision to share her story with the public invites those in disbelief to contemplate the impossible. Meanwhile, Mina reconciles her former life as a regular teenager with a renewed sense of purpose, however mysterious. It's a sincere, romantic, and secular story of birth, young motherhood, and new love. Ages 14%E2%80%93up. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (May)