Plan A

A pregnant 16-year-old in an ultraconservative town reckons with contemporary affairs surrounding abortions and bodily autonomy in this timely novel by Caletti (The Epic Story of Every Living Thing). When high school junior Ivy learns that she’s pregnant, she knows she wants to get an abortion, but the procedure is illegal after six weeks in Texas. With her mother’s support, Ivy and her steadfast boyfriend Lorenzo prepare to road-trip to Oregon, where her grandmother lives, for the operation. Before she leaves, however, a classmate discovers her secret, and soon, the whole community knows of Ivy’s plan. Lorenzo decides to make the trip an around-the-world adventure, planning stops in cities such as Rome, Tex.; Lima, Okla.; and Moscow, Kan., to visit friends and relatives along the way. Through them, Ivy learns about other people’s experiences with abortion. The cruelty that Ivy is subjected to by her community is sometimes difficult to read, but her surety of her right to choose never wavers. Through Ivy’s frank first-person narration, Caletti offers a matter-of-fact exploration of abortion and its use cases, interweaving myriad perspectives on pregnancy and body agency with a deft and nonjudgmental approach. Main characters read as white. Ages 14–up. (Oct.)