Book Review- Trouble by Non Pratt

Title:  Trouble

 Author:  Non Pratt

Series:  N/A

Published:  6 March 2014 by Walker

Length:364 pages

Source: publisher

Other info: this is Non’s debut novel.

Summary : A boy. A girl. A bump. Trouble.Hannah’s smart and funny ... she’s also fifteen and pregnant. Aaron is new at school and doesn’t want to attract attention. So why does he offer to be the pretend dad to Hannah’s unborn baby? Growing up can be trouble but that’s how you find out what really matters.

Review: Hannah is fifteen and pregnant. And she won't tell anyone who the father is. Aaron is the new boy at school whose father is a teacher. Aaron offers to pretend to be the father. Hannah agrees. Trouble ensues.

I read this because everyone was saying how good it is. I am very glad I followed everyone's advice.

I would very much like to congratulate the cover designers. It's eyecatching, instantly tells you what  Trouble is about, and doesn't make it seem off-putting at all.

Hannah is very frank throughout her narration, while Aaron is a bit more secretive. I liked the contrast between the two styles, and I think Non did very well at differentiating the two. She also gets teenage thought processes, priorities and ideas really well.

I loved the characters so much. Neville, the old man that Aaron visits. especially-he doesn't seem very nice to start with, but as you learn more about him, you feel emotionally connected to him. All the characters are real, likable, and stick with you. Watching Aaron and Hannah  develop is really nice, and the diverse supporting characters make a great cast.

When we found out who the father is, I was just “Woah. Yeah, I can see why you'd want to keep that hidden. This makes the story infinitely more interesting.” The plot comes along really well, and I loved reading it.

I find it odd that the teachers don't have much involvement, what with Hannah being fifteen and pregnant at school. Jim (YaYeahYeah)said  it's because Non doesn't want to come across as judgy, which I totally get and totally love the lack of preachy message, but it just took away a little bit of realism from an otherwise really believable story-I'm fairly sure that if anyone at my school got pregnant, everyone would be freaking out. It's also weird reading this when I did- I am in the year that will be coming up to GCSEs. It's scary to read this. Not bad scary, but good.

I loved reading all the sideplots other than the main one about teenage pregnancy, which, instead of just supporting it, were each equally good.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a wonderfully real contemporary.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author twitter |