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Expecting
What if John McCain had won the American Presidency in 2008, then died a few months later leaving Sarah Palin to become America’s first female president? What if political circumstance led to the repeal of Roe v. Wade, making abortion illegal again in nearly half of America? This is the reality of Sheila Martin’s world. Sheila is a snarky, smart, fifteen-year-old piano prodigy whose main concern in life (besides boys) is her scheme to become an international pop star, just like Lady Gaga. Unfortunately, there are two problems keeping Sheila from realizing her the first is her conservative, controlling mother; the second is that Sheila is pregnant. Sheila is forced to grow up a little faster than she’d like to as she learns that the secrets of the past have a way of haunting the future, that no decision is ever black and white, and that in order to truly love she must first learn to forgive.
262 pages, ebook
First published November 17, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 5, 2012
A wonderful first novel (yes! first novel!), with an ambitious, imaginative premise, that shows Lula Belle is sure to produce more works that leave readers as breathless and reflective as Expecting.
For readers especially who enjoy novels set in a dystopian US, Expecting is one to read. The world is one that sees John McCain elected president over Barack Obama in 2008. McCain dies shortly after taking office, and his VP, Sarah Palin, is now president. By the time we meet the teenage protagonist, Sheila, Palin has pushed the abortion agenda and Roe V. Wade has been reversed. Sheila is pregnant. Though seemingly far-fetched, Belle knows her stuff; the details of the legislative process are legit.
Expecting is a classic example of the monologic epistolary novel (English majors...anyone?): The story is told through a series of journal entries written by Sheila and the form is one Belle should continue to explore. As any first-person novel, we are limited in that we only hear from Sheila, but Belle masterfully shapes the other characters so that we come to know and love them too.
The book's most lengthy influence on me was Sheila. I couldn't stop thinking about her long after I finished the book -- even now I sometimes hear her telling me what she thinks of my jeans or a campaign ad on tv! I look forward to meeting more characters like Sheila from Lula Bella, because there must be more to come.
For readers especially who enjoy novels set in a dystopian US, Expecting is one to read. The world is one that sees John McCain elected president over Barack Obama in 2008. McCain dies shortly after taking office, and his VP, Sarah Palin, is now president. By the time we meet the teenage protagonist, Sheila, Palin has pushed the abortion agenda and Roe V. Wade has been reversed. Sheila is pregnant. Though seemingly far-fetched, Belle knows her stuff; the details of the legislative process are legit.
Expecting is a classic example of the monologic epistolary novel (English majors...anyone?): The story is told through a series of journal entries written by Sheila and the form is one Belle should continue to explore. As any first-person novel, we are limited in that we only hear from Sheila, but Belle masterfully shapes the other characters so that we come to know and love them too.
The book's most lengthy influence on me was Sheila. I couldn't stop thinking about her long after I finished the book -- even now I sometimes hear her telling me what she thinks of my jeans or a campaign ad on tv! I look forward to meeting more characters like Sheila from Lula Bella, because there must be more to come.
June 8, 2012
OKay so I have struggled with an approach to review this book because I don't want to make it controversial politically or pro-choice ect... I am not a very political person so I will just go ahead and admit that all the pages and chatter fiction or not was simply boring to me in those regards and I did find myself skimming those parts but I do understand why some of them needed to be mentioned for the stories sake.
Now on to the rest of the story. Sheila gets raped at the party and is forced by her mother to go thru with the pregnancy because she is against abortion. Sheila is only 14 years old and now preggers with a rape baby as she calls it and miserable because she desperatley wants to have an abortion.
The story is told by Sheila sort of like thru a diary about her day to day progress and how she is feeling towards the rape baby, her mom, and later about other young pregnant girls and stuff.
Once I skimmed the political stuff the overall story was actually pretty good!
Now on to the rest of the story. Sheila gets raped at the party and is forced by her mother to go thru with the pregnancy because she is against abortion. Sheila is only 14 years old and now preggers with a rape baby as she calls it and miserable because she desperatley wants to have an abortion.
The story is told by Sheila sort of like thru a diary about her day to day progress and how she is feeling towards the rape baby, her mom, and later about other young pregnant girls and stuff.
Once I skimmed the political stuff the overall story was actually pretty good!
April 8, 2012
A sobering look at the possible state of the US in a Palin as president world. The story is told in the words of a young girl that finds herself pregnant and forced to have the baby. It was uncanny how Lula Belle seemed to predict some of the issues facing women today in regard to reproductive freedom. I would rate it as a must read for both women and men alike.
April 6, 2012
I loved this book! I laughed, cried, got pissed, and thought deeply on the issues in the book. I've passed it on to my teenage daughter. Expecting is an entertaining catalyst for many very important conversations I need to have with my daughter.
June 14, 2012
Expecting tells the story of Sheila, a 14-year-old girl living in the American Midwest who becomes pregnant as a result of acquaintance rape at a party. Sheila is a smart and talented girl with dreams of becoming a classical pianist, but her ultraconservative, religious mother refuses to sign the consent form that would allow her to get an abortion. Consent is required because Sheila lives in an alternative universe in which McCain-Palin took the White House in 2008, McCain kicked the bucket, and Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann now run our fair country. Sheila writes of the election:
The book is written in journal form, from Sheila’s point of view, and is very funny. Sheila is at times preternaturally intelligent and aware of the world and adults around her, and at times I wished she’d been cast as a 16 year old or some age that more befitted her maturity and insight. Yet her insistence on dressing as Lady Gaga and painting “BORN THIS WAY” on her exposed belly at Halloween speaks to her point in life as a girl straddling the fence between innocence and adulthood. At times, Sheila’s booksmarts were a bit incredulous, but overall, she’s so likeable that you can forgive her and read her as a sort of Sorkinian teen. She reminded me of the smart and sarcastic characters in John Green’s YA novels: she may not always come across as realistic, but she’s a sort of fantasy of what an awesome 14yo would be like, and that can be satisfying.
What I especially appreciated about Belle’s book is that her characters are complex and nothing is ever black or white. For example, although Belle is clearly critical of the anti-abortion policies that force Sheila into premature motherhood, she also has Palin pass a Fair Pay act and institute childcare support for working Moms. While I didn’t always understand why this alternative history construct was necessary to tell what is otherwise a great family story, it was an amusing and interesting exploration of what might have been, and not at all a tale of our doom at the hands of the Republicans.
Likewise, Sheila’s ultraconservative mother, called “Map” (that’s Pam in reverse, a nickname Sheila and her sister use to drive their mother crazy), could have been written as an ogre, as a fool, as a witch. But she is a complex and nuanced character, and part of Sheila’s journey comes from understanding how her Mom came to be the person she did. I definitely remember becoming aware of my parents as actual human beings at that age, and Sheila’s alternation between a visceral and childlike need for her mother’s love and approval, and aggravation and indignance at her hypocrisy and control, feel totally accurate. Map refuses to allow Sheila and abortion, but she holds her daughter’s hand and cheers her on through labor. Sheila’s family is complicated and confusing, but warm and loving. Surrounded by women with rich inner lives and through these relationships, Sheila charts these uncertain waters with something close to grace and humor. At Thanksgiving, she has this to say while sitting at the table with her family, just after her mother has left the room in anger:
"All at once, I feel surrounded by love and the feeling that, for the first time in a long time, everything is going to be all right. If I’m lucky enough to live for a long time like they have, I understand now that the moments in life I regret – being raped and pregnant at fourteen, etcetera – will eventually feel less and less like fresh wounds and become more like the tattoos of experience."
At times, suspending disbelief was hard for me while reading Expecting, but I think I would have very much enjoyed this as a teen and considered Sheila something of a hero (and I’m a very critical reader: I get annoyed with Jerry Spinelli and John Green at times, so other people may be able to embrace this world much more easily than I). It would be a fun book club read.
The book is written in journal form, from Sheila’s point of view, and is very funny. Sheila is at times preternaturally intelligent and aware of the world and adults around her, and at times I wished she’d been cast as a 16 year old or some age that more befitted her maturity and insight. Yet her insistence on dressing as Lady Gaga and painting “BORN THIS WAY” on her exposed belly at Halloween speaks to her point in life as a girl straddling the fence between innocence and adulthood. At times, Sheila’s booksmarts were a bit incredulous, but overall, she’s so likeable that you can forgive her and read her as a sort of Sorkinian teen. She reminded me of the smart and sarcastic characters in John Green’s YA novels: she may not always come across as realistic, but she’s a sort of fantasy of what an awesome 14yo would be like, and that can be satisfying.
What I especially appreciated about Belle’s book is that her characters are complex and nothing is ever black or white. For example, although Belle is clearly critical of the anti-abortion policies that force Sheila into premature motherhood, she also has Palin pass a Fair Pay act and institute childcare support for working Moms. While I didn’t always understand why this alternative history construct was necessary to tell what is otherwise a great family story, it was an amusing and interesting exploration of what might have been, and not at all a tale of our doom at the hands of the Republicans.
Likewise, Sheila’s ultraconservative mother, called “Map” (that’s Pam in reverse, a nickname Sheila and her sister use to drive their mother crazy), could have been written as an ogre, as a fool, as a witch. But she is a complex and nuanced character, and part of Sheila’s journey comes from understanding how her Mom came to be the person she did. I definitely remember becoming aware of my parents as actual human beings at that age, and Sheila’s alternation between a visceral and childlike need for her mother’s love and approval, and aggravation and indignance at her hypocrisy and control, feel totally accurate. Map refuses to allow Sheila and abortion, but she holds her daughter’s hand and cheers her on through labor. Sheila’s family is complicated and confusing, but warm and loving. Surrounded by women with rich inner lives and through these relationships, Sheila charts these uncertain waters with something close to grace and humor. At Thanksgiving, she has this to say while sitting at the table with her family, just after her mother has left the room in anger:
"All at once, I feel surrounded by love and the feeling that, for the first time in a long time, everything is going to be all right. If I’m lucky enough to live for a long time like they have, I understand now that the moments in life I regret – being raped and pregnant at fourteen, etcetera – will eventually feel less and less like fresh wounds and become more like the tattoos of experience."
At times, suspending disbelief was hard for me while reading Expecting, but I think I would have very much enjoyed this as a teen and considered Sheila something of a hero (and I’m a very critical reader: I get annoyed with Jerry Spinelli and John Green at times, so other people may be able to embrace this world much more easily than I). It would be a fun book club read.
March 26, 2012
First off, I really wish Goodreads would institute half stars as an option, because I'd rather give this 2.5, but I'm choosing to add on a half star for solid effort. :)
It took me a little while to swallow this book's main premise -- that McCain was elected president in 2008 and then died shortly after taking office, leaving Palin as president. It's not so much because the explanation for McCain's win is completely implausible (or because the aftermath of Palin's presidency is necessarily all that off-base IMO), as much as the fact that I think alternate history is easier to accept when it isn't quite so recent. :) (I was also left wondering if the book would have been stronger if the author had used created characters instead of familiar politicians. In the end, I could see arguments both ways on that aspect.)
The strongest aspect to this book by far, and what carried me through it above all else, was the voice of Sheila, the first-person narrator. The strength and realism of her voice was on par with any of the big publishers' YA fiction I've read recently. Her sarcasm often hid a lot of fear, frustration, and anger, and her emotional arc rang true.
That said, the adult characters, especially, didn't fare so well in their dialogue. The dialogue felt clunky sometimes (if I remember correctly, a character actually uses the word "whereby" in conversation), and there was an annoying tendency for the story to suddenly grind to a halt while some adult gave a long paragraph (or more) of lecturing/historical backstory, in a way that felt very unrealistic, as if sections of text had been cut and pasted from an essay or a debate summary. (I started skimming those sections.) Besides that aspect, though, the characters were interesting and varied, without falling into the trap of being cardboard cutouts for the various political positions (Sheila's mother was probably the most nuanced, which I appreciated, given her large role in the story).
I downloaded the book for free on Amazon, so I was wary of what the editing was going to be like, but aside from a few typos (and some who/whom confusion), the text was pretty clean, which is a big plus to me as a reader.
Overall, this isn't the sort of book I'm going to come back and read over and over, and of course it's not going to convince anyone to change sides on the abortion debate, but it was an entertaining and thought-provoking read for a couple hours, and I'd be curious to see where the author goes from here.
It took me a little while to swallow this book's main premise -- that McCain was elected president in 2008 and then died shortly after taking office, leaving Palin as president. It's not so much because the explanation for McCain's win is completely implausible (or because the aftermath of Palin's presidency is necessarily all that off-base IMO), as much as the fact that I think alternate history is easier to accept when it isn't quite so recent. :) (I was also left wondering if the book would have been stronger if the author had used created characters instead of familiar politicians. In the end, I could see arguments both ways on that aspect.)
The strongest aspect to this book by far, and what carried me through it above all else, was the voice of Sheila, the first-person narrator. The strength and realism of her voice was on par with any of the big publishers' YA fiction I've read recently. Her sarcasm often hid a lot of fear, frustration, and anger, and her emotional arc rang true.
That said, the adult characters, especially, didn't fare so well in their dialogue. The dialogue felt clunky sometimes (if I remember correctly, a character actually uses the word "whereby" in conversation), and there was an annoying tendency for the story to suddenly grind to a halt while some adult gave a long paragraph (or more) of lecturing/historical backstory, in a way that felt very unrealistic, as if sections of text had been cut and pasted from an essay or a debate summary. (I started skimming those sections.) Besides that aspect, though, the characters were interesting and varied, without falling into the trap of being cardboard cutouts for the various political positions (Sheila's mother was probably the most nuanced, which I appreciated, given her large role in the story).
I downloaded the book for free on Amazon, so I was wary of what the editing was going to be like, but aside from a few typos (and some who/whom confusion), the text was pretty clean, which is a big plus to me as a reader.
Overall, this isn't the sort of book I'm going to come back and read over and over, and of course it's not going to convince anyone to change sides on the abortion debate, but it was an entertaining and thought-provoking read for a couple hours, and I'd be curious to see where the author goes from here.
April 25, 2012
It was ok. Too much political 'stuff' in it. I suck at reviews. Me and politics dont see eye to eye, which makes it a surprise I read this book. Its a good story line and like others have said, teens should read it. I must admit I skimmed alot when you took the story into politics, but I love the different characters you introduced. You do have a way of pulling the reader along and wanting to know the outcome. I loved the feisty gramma. :)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews