Unexpecting (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781250780942)

Juno meets Heartstopper in Jen Bailey's Unexpecting, a poignant and emotional story about found family, what it means to be a parent, and falling in love.

Benjamin Morrison is about to start junior year of high school and while his family is challenging, he is pretty content with his life, with his two best friends, and being a part of the robotics club. Until an experiment at science camp has completely unexpected consequences.

He is going to be a father. Something his mother was not expecting after he came out as gay and she certainly wasn't expecting that he would want to raise the baby as a single father. But together they come up with a plan to prepare Ben for fatherhood and fight for his rights.

The weight of Ben's decision presses down on him. He's always tired, his grades fall, and tension rises between his mom and stepfather. He's letting down his friends in the robotics club whose future hinges on his expertise. If it wasn't for his renewed friendship (and maybe more) with a boy from his past, he wouldn't be able to face the daily ridicule at school or the crumbling relationship with his best friends.

With every new challenge, every new sacrifice he has to make, Ben questions his choice. He's lived with a void in his heart where a father's presence should have been, and the fear of putting his own child through that keeps him clinging to his decision. When the baby might be in danger, Ben's faced with a heart-wrenching realization: sometimes being a parent means making the hard choices even if they are the choices you don't want to make...

Author: Jen Bailey
ISBN-10: 1250780942
ISBN-13: 9781250780942
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Language: English
Published: 08/22/2023
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.81lbs
Size: 8.51h x 5.79w x 1.08d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2023
Publishers Weekly 06/26/2023
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2023 pg. 69