Belly Up

Seventeen-year-old Serendipity (Sara) hooks up with a cute stranger at a party, partly to spite her cheating ex-boyfriend, and becomes pregnant. When she decides to keep the baby, her plans to attend an Ivy League college turn “to ash,” but fortunately she has a strong support group in her sarcastic, offbeat mom and her “quasi-dysfunctional,” shoe-hurling Swedish grandmother, both of whom experienced unplanned pregnancies in their youths; her feisty best friend, Devi; and her devoted new boyfriend, Leaf, whose culinary skills rival Sara’s grandmother’s. Reminiscent of the film Juno in spirit and humor, this optimistic novel gives a detailed summary of Sara’s bodily changes as well as her emotional ups and downs, which range from the joy she feels upon hearing her baby’s heartbeat, to anger when news of her pregnancy is leaked at school, to the traumatic ordeal of finding and confronting the baby’s father. Although the happily-ever-after ending is somewhat romanticized, snappy dialogue and memorable characters by Darrow (Dead Little Mean Girl) make for an endearing, laugh-out-loud read. Ages 12–up. Agent: Miriam Kriss, Irene Goodman Agency. [em](Apr.) [/em]