I had been slightly mislead about this book: it's not just about a girl pretending to be pregnant for school, it's about stereotypes and what society expects from certain people and how we are forced to live up to those stereotypes and expectations.

And it's good.

While I may not agree with all of Gaby Rodriguez's opinions (she's pro-life, for example), she still seems like a pretty cool person and I enjoyed reading the book. I'm very impressed by how serious and determined she went about with the project: she didn't just slap on a fakebelly, but carefully planned the whole thing out and executed it really well. I mean, that in itself is impressive for someone so young.

The actual pregnany project was of course interesting as well, and my one complaint about the book would be that it was too short. I felt as if there should be more to tell about the time when she pretended to be pregnant, but maybe she had her reasons for keeping it relatively short.

The last part of the book is more self-biographical, detailing what happened when her story blew up all over the media. While it doesn't have much to do with the actual project, it was very interesting to read that nonetheless.

Some parts of the book are pretty heart-breaking (her relationship with her dad, the infant death, her mom's life story), but it's a very good and positive book all in all. ( )

Gaby Rodriguez is the youngest of 7 siblings, all of whom had their first child before they were 20 years old. Her mother and grandmother were also teen parents. She watched as each of them were given different treatment and wondered if those stereotypes of young parents was what fueled some of their behaviors later in life like addiction, low paying jobs, and not finishing high school. When her high school creates a senior project, she decides to fake a pregnancy and document how her interactions changed from adults and peers from when she was "straight A, shy but kind" to "Another teen mom".

What I Loved:

Gaby did her homework for this! She includes research and data that goes beyond her personal experience. Knowing she had help on the book, this project still required creativity and foresight that investigative journalism and social experiments need. These are hard for adults to pull off well, but she knew what she was doing well enough to create an impact in her community. She does a great job at integrating her personal story with the data that was available to her at the time. She also is great at talking about the consequences of her project and how she had to deal with them.

What I Missed:

I wish there was more direct input from the people who supported her. Granted this was her project, but she did have help. I wish there was more conversation around race, which is a big distinction of teen pregnancies as well as her being a member of a minority group. ( )

This school project, turned memoir, chronicles Gaby Rodriguez’s faked pregnancy as she seeks to uncover the stereotypes and low expectations others have of her as the child of a teen mother. Acknowledgments.

This was a really good book. I am glad she did what she did and showed some of the students in her school what they were doing. I was sorry to read how hateful some people were about it, but there are always going to be hateful people in the world. ( )

Very good book. It really makes you think about stereotypes and what you assume will happen to people based on circumstances. Very brave girl that had a huge impact on so many people. ( )