Because I love you || which I barely tolerated

Title: Because I love you

Author: Tori Rigby

Genre: YA contemporary

Status: Standalone

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Synopsis:

Eight weeks after sixteen-year-old Andie Hamilton gives her virginity to her best friend, “the stick” says she’s pregnant.

Her friends treat her like she’s carrying the plague, her classmates torture and ridicule her, and the boy she thought loved her doesn’t even care. Afraid to experience the next seven months alone, she turns to her ex-boyfriend, Neil Donaghue, a dark-haired, blue-eyed player. With him, she finds comfort and the support she desperately needs to make the hardest decision of her life: whether or not to keep the baby.

Then a tragic accident leads Andie to discover Neil’s keeping a secret that could dramatically alter their lives, and she’s forced to make a choice. But after hearing her son’s heartbeat for the first time, she doesn’t know how she’ll ever be able to let go.

Note: I received an ARC in return for an honest review. 

Okay, here’s the thing, I don’t usually read books about teenage parents. I’m pretty sure I read a book sometime in my life showing it and I saw an unpopular movie but I’m not too big on the topic. Mostly because I find it really unrelatable living in a country where teen girls are pregnant only when they’re already married (that situation has far decreased now). Today, 95% teenagers are virgins by the time they turn 18; and at least 75% until their wedding nights. That is the situation I live in, and therefore simply couldn’t understand.

Andie is pregnant from her first time, which was with her best friend, and now her world has turned upside down. He refused to acknowledge that he even slept with her, her best friend turned on her and the only person who is kind to her now is the boy she hates.

A lot of moments in the book I felt like her life was like any other normal teenager. I don’t expect that her life did now completely revolve around her pregnancy but she went on dates, homeschooled, and there were plenty of normal scenes and times, which was a bit unsettling if she was so worried about her pregnancy, like she said.

Her mom is pretty accepting and supportive but soon a tragic reason rips her away from Andie. Then her life turns to thinking about making it on her own and temporary guardianship.

She’s attached to her son but many circumstances make her wonder whether giving her child up for adoption would be the right choice.

Neil has had a hard life, and he had loved Andie since third grade because of a kind gesture she doesn’t even remember. He takes this chance to earn her trust back and make her love him. 

Like it’s mentioned in the synopsis, I didn’t notice any big secret of Neil that can destroy them or anything. That’s to bring readers in I suppose but I didn’t think anything was that big.

Overall, I felt like the author tried too much to make the story seem good and also problematic. Andie didn’t have too much problem accepting and moving on that she’s pregnant. But to add some spice into the story, the problems with her mom was added in to create heartache and sadness (which I didn’t really feel that much).

An okay book and I would say pick it up if it interests you. For me, it wasn’t that great but I’m sure with books like these, opinions differ person-to-person.

Releases May 17, 2016