Don't Think Twice

by Ruth Pennebaker

At age 17, the last place Anne pictured herself was a home for unwed mothers. But it's 1967, and she is expected to quietly have her baby and give it up for adoption. Trying to forget where she is, and the memory of her unrequited love for the baby's father, Anne's determined not to feel anything at all. But as her time in the home passes, Anne gains a new awareness of herself. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

Genres: Young Adult, Teen, Fiction, Realistic Fiction

262 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 1996

About the author

Wife of James W. Pennebaker

Reviews

[Diana Townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a time in the United States when teen girls would get pregnant and sent to a home where they would then be convinced to give their babies up for adoption so they could go home and lead normal lives without anyone knowing they were even pregnant most times. Where are these babies? Why was shame and disgrace more important than keeping your grandchild in the family. No, it's not about endorsing teen pregnancy, but it's about family. Forced adoptions and forced abortions are so traumatizing and so painful but it was a reality. This book has a voice that just tugs at you from the first page. These girls are pregnant even thought their stories are different, their pain is the same. They cannot keep their babies and how do you explain that to a teen or in some cases, a child who is a mother? You grow the baby, living each day trying not to love him/her... I don't know. It's a beautiful book about a very real time in history.

[Alexis Maurer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't think twice is a book about a teenage girl named Anne. She was in a relationship with her boyfriend, Jake, at the time, when her unplanned pregnancy occurred. However, she and Jake soon broke up and Anne was left to keep Jake from knowing about her being pregnant and sharing the news with her parents. Since Anne's family becomes very upset about the pregnancy, Anne is placed in a home out-of-state for unwed mothers until she gives birth, puts her baby up for adoption, and must come home and forget that it ever happened. Throughout Anne's journey of teenage pregnancy, she realizes the importance and effects of relationships among herself and others through good and bad times can become weak. She also realizes that choices must be carefully considered in every situation and that a mistake may affect the rest of your life. Read to find out how a simple mistake can change a person in both good and bad ways.

I thought this book was pretty good because it was interesting to see how Anne was able to cope with her decisions and learn from them instead of breaking down and letting her self esteem vanish. I also liked how the characters were interesting and made me laugh with their very diverse attitudes and personalities. However, I didn't like that whenever Anne received a note from her family, she left it unread. This made me really mad because I wanted to know what Anne's family had to say to her.

I would recommend this book to people who like books about coming of age, family, and teenage drama.

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow... this was a great book. I have a strong interest in teen pregnancy, and have read other novels regarding the topic, so I was especially interested in reading this one because I haven't read one before that takes place in an unwed mothers home. Let me start by saying that everything I was worried this book was going to be turned out to be untrue. There is a theory that the modern media is glamorizing teen pregnancy, thus increasing the problem. When I read that this book was funny, I became concerned that this was contributing to that. It wasn't. Yes, the book was funny, but it also did a very fine job discussing most of the hardships that come along with teen pregnancy. I could really feel for the characters and had a good sense of what they were going through. Most of the characters choose to give their babies up for adoption, and I never realized how hard that would be to do until I read this book. Speaking of the characters, they were amazing too. The main character's attitude was what made most of the book funny. Some of her comments were so funny I laughed loudly enough other people probably could hear me. But believe me, she was far from being a flat character. She was a character that had many layers to her, and you eventually got to see all of them, but you got to see them slowly and gradually. Plus, all of her layers just come together so naturally, she's really a believable character. The other characters are good, too. The only thing this book needs improvement on is sometimes it would go into flashbacks of her pre-pregnancy life, and on occasion they seemed to be a little long, when I just wanted to get back to what was happening in the present. Also, the flashbacks would also get into heavy into detail a lot, and sometimes they started to feel unnecessary. Overall, though, this book was hard for me to put down. A common book review cliche, I know, but it's true. I love reading, but sometimes I still have a hard time motivating myself to read. Not with this book. I read it whenever I had a free second. I finished it off in about three days, which is a big deal to me because it usually takes me a few months to actually finish a book. Read this book.

[Melano Durmishidze · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Don't Think Twice" by Ruth Pennebaker was enjoyable to read. The book was about teen pregnancy and unwed mothers. It was so interesting as I saw a lot facts like that around me and couldn't even imagine myself at that place. The books main character, Annie Harper, is not very popular at school and at home isn't that great either. Her parents constantly tell her to be more like her sister. Everything changed when she met Jake, she loved the attention from a popular boy which resulted in that they were sexually active. After that, Jake broke up with her before and he didn't even know she was pregnant. Her parents weren't supportive at all, and they sent her to live at an unwed mothers home ran by Mrs.Landing. Place was full of girls with the same problems. Annie found hard to talk to any of the girls or attend the meetings at first, but by the end she was close with several of the girls.

The book is told through the first person point of view of Annie Harper.Her character is faced with a major life changing event and not being able to be around her family. Annie's character is very sarcastic and negative but I feel bad for her and can't say that it was totally her fault.

Timing in the book, "Don't Think Twice" , is 1960’s. It takes place in Texas. The setting is important to the story because teen pregnancies weren't as common as it is today. It was more unacceptable and that's why she was sent away from her family.

The main theme in "Don't Think Twice" is teen pregnancy, struggles with finding out about pregnancy at a very early age, telling family and breaking up with boyfriend. I think the main theme is so close to today's lives...

I would recommend this book to adults. "Don't Think Twice" is more for girls I think as it is about pregnancy. It may not be very interesting for boys but the life lesson of poor choices is expressed really well.

[Alicia Samson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked "Don't Think Twice" by Ruth Pennebaker, because it was about teen pregnancy and unwed mothers.Teen pregnancy hits close to home for me. In this book Annie Harper is not very popular at school and at home isn't that great either. Her parents constantly tell her to be more like her sister. Annie was always the odd ball and book nerd until she met Jake. She immediately loved the attention from a popular boy and shortly after they were sexually active. Jake broke up with her before she found out she was pregnant. Her parents were so upset with her they sent her to live at an unwed mothers home ran by Mrs.Landing. There were many others girls there. Annie refused to talk to any of the girls or attend the meetings at first, but by the end she was close with several of the girls.

The book is told through the first person point of view of Annie Harper.Her character is faced with a major life changing event and not being able to be around her family. Annie's character is very sarcastic and negative.

"Don't Think Twice" takes place in Texas around 1960. The setting is important to the story because she gets sent away when her family learns that she's pregnant. The time period is significant because teen pregnancies weren't as common.

The main theme in "Don't Think Twice" is teen pregnancy. Annie struggles with finding out she's pregnant, Jake breaking up with her, and being shipped away from her family just to give up her baby.

I would recommend this book to young adults and adults. "Don't Think Twice" does not have graphic details about her conceiving the baby like most teen pregnancy books. I think males and females would like this book even though its about teen pregnancy.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't like the ending.

[Valari · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is my third time rereading this book. It is heartwrenching and sad. But overall I really enjoyed it.

[Mahogany]

I picked up this book because the front cover has a picture of a young pregnant girl. This stood out to me because teen pregnancy is so prevalent in our society today. In this book, the main character was a young girl named Anne Parker. She became pregnant at seventeen years old and was sent to a special program which housed unwed mothers. She was exposed to many different lifestyles of people in her same situation. After giving birth to her baby, she had to make many life changing decisions. She learned so many things about what was important in life, about the own weaknesses and her own strength.
I recommend this book to teenage men and women and also the mothers and fathers of teenagers. This book can help with explaining the consequences of teenagers having sex before they are able to take on the responsibility. It can also give comfort to teenage girls who might be in the same situation to let them know they are not alone. It can help parents of teenagers to understand how temptation is and how important it is to be open with your child.
Overall, this was an outstanding book. It covered an important issue that many Americans are faced with but it did so in a way that gave a face to the pregnant teen mom. It was impossible to not have compassion for Anne. The dilemma’s she face are the same issues the average teenage girl face that could lead to pregnancy before it is a good time. I could relate to the main character and to the perspective of her parents. I enjoyed reading “Don’t Think Twice”.

[Deja Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book catch me within the first two pages. The book is set up like a journal of young Anne Harper. This book takes place in the late 60's. Anne is sent to a home for unwed pregnant girls. She immediately stalks about how much she hates the home and how she thinks she is better or different than everyone else at the home. Anne is seventeen when she first arrives. We are quickly introduced to Anne's room mate named Cheryl. Cheryl is very religious and it confused Anne on why she was in a home for pregnant girls who were't married. We are introduced to Harriet(who's also very religious),Gracie, who was twelve and raped by her father, Nancy, who dropped out of college to go to the home,LaNelle, who is extremely poor, and characters that come and go. The first major thing to happen, was LaNelle gave birth and the baby died. LaNelle was heartbroken. She named the baby Laurie before she died. Laurie died because her lungs were not developed. LaNelle buried her baby back in her home town and she visit the grave every Sunday. The Next major event to happen was when Nancy invited Cheryl and Anne to her room for a party. Everyone got drunk. Even little twelve year old Gracie. The third major event is when Anne gives birth to her baby. Anne gives birth to a baby girl.She really wants to keep her baby, but she signs the adoption papers. The overall book was really good. I would recommend it to anyone above the age of 14.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book Don't Think Twice by Ruth Pennebaker is about an unknown character who gets pregnant; she is in a home for pregnant teenagers. The girls in the home are watched by Mrs. Landing.
This book is about a 17 year old girl that gets pregnant and her parents send her to a home for pregnant teenagers. She is there with a bunch of other teen moms... The thing is that no one there is keeping their baby.
The main parts of the book are my character unknown is thinking more about her baby each day. She's starting to really get attached.
This book is for teenagers; I recommend it because the book Don't Think Twice reflects on a girl who was so good at everything and then one day she made a mistake, and ended up pregnant. Her life as she knew it felt so misleading. like she didn't have anymore value towards herself. She feels like she let Pamela (her sister) and her dad down but she gave her mom what she always wanted. This book makes you think and feel her emotions, especially if some one in your family is or was pregnant and thinking about adoption. It is an amazing book!

[Celina Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

While reading this book i felt like i could connect to it although i haven't gone through what she has. This book was very deeply written and the main character, Anne, explained her feeling well. The plot of the book was great because it was always exciting. Towards the end Anne had changed her feeling about her unborn baby until close to due date. Anne, like all the other unwed mothers at the home she lives at, made the decision to give they're baby's up for adoptions. In Anne's case she was angry at her baby. She was waiting to give birth and forget it ever happened. Once she opened up and talked about her feelings she changed her min, but not completely. Anne changed her mind to comfort herself and release her anger. I loved reading this book because its about something a lot of teen girls have to go thorough,.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

17 year old Anne should be celebrating her senior year in high school. Instead, she’s spending most of first semester far from her Texas hometown in a home for unwed mothers, contemplating the mess she’s made of her life. This novel frankly examines girls and the reasons they have sex. It is frank, but not explicit. The novel is somewhat positive, since the protagonist grows and learns from her experience. Setting the novel in the 60’s allows the author to treat abortion as an option only tangentially, so the novel won’t force contemporary teens to face the problems brought on by teen sex as directly as such a novel should. The frankness about sex is appropriate only for more mature high school readers.

[Kryssel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is a little... late, but I've noticed that there wasn't enough reviews so why not?
This story is set in the 1960's, and is centered around a pregnant seventeen year old girl named Anne Harper. Anne lives in a group home with other unwed mothers in Texas where she learns to be herself before giving up her baby for adoption.
Personally, I loved Anne. She has a sarcastic sense of humour, and is pessimistic.
As the story progresses, Anne starts to grow and learn.
The ending was pretty good. It was... somewhat a happy ending. Sad, but in a way I guess happy.
There's some mentions of sex here which is appropriate for high schoolers or maybe middle schoolers but it's nothing explicit.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my gosh, I read this ages and ages ago--when I was 12 or 13 and I LOVED it. It's kind of a typical teen pregnancy story but I really liked Anne as a character. She's sarcastic and funny and so are the girls in the home she's staying in. How random to find it on a Goodreads list today!

[Ronnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I may have been dumb enough to get pregnant, but I was good in English."

Pretty sure I picked this up because of the titular Dylan lyric; in any case, I didn't know what it was about and definitely not that it was written for adolescent girls until I read that description on Goodreads, which, yes, made me feel a little odd for liking it so much. The thing is, though, Pennebaker's creation of Anne Harper, a pregnant and unmarried teenager in 1967, is an achievement. Her voice as she narrates her experiences and impressions in a home for unwed mothers during the final four months of her pregnancy is moving, acerbic, funny, heart-wrenching, and, more than anything, just strong throughout. Even though she pretty much daily has thoughts of working on developing a new personality, Anne is someone who knows herself. "That's what I am: sneaky and passive-aggressive," she says. "But at least I know it. I'm very well acquainted with all my faults." The loneliness and turmoil of someone her age and in her predicament and in that era all ring true, and her wit is a constant: "I'm back to thinking about the convent idea. I wonder if they'll raise a fuss when they find out I don't believe in God." The change in Anne that Pennebaker orchestrates from the first to last page is heartening, and while I was hoping for more in the final page or two, the five or six pages prior to those really got me. Very memorable, even for a reader who's an old guy.

First line:
"Sometimes little things depress me."

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a teenager back in the late 90s. My mother was a teen when she fell pregnant with me. In order to better understand the stigma that surrounds being a teen mom, I sought this particular book out, as it is based on an unwed teen who experiences the stigma attached to such a predicament.

It was incredible to feel what these characters experienced. It was gut-wrenching to learn just how deep the stigma and guilt ran in the women who were forced into a decision they themselves weren't always in agreement with.

Beautiful story that will lead you down a road full of a variety of emotions.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book back when I was in 9th grade and it is one of those books that has really stuck with me. The whole premise is pretty dark in my opinion. What they did to unwed mothers back in the day is pretty horrifying. The stories of the different girls were very realistic. Gracie's story was obviously sad but Cheryl's has stuck with me the most. Her story really struck a nerve and I could really picture it happening, even in this day and age. I admire Anne's actions when she has her baby. Of the books I read in high school, this is one of the better ones. I would recommend this book.

[BritSov · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is heartbreaking and raw with some lighthearted humour to break up the trauma. Feels like a very realistic look at what women went through as a result of an unplanned pregnancy in the 60’s, when girls were hidden away in shame at homes for unwed mothers. I’ve read this book several times and I still can’t read the end without crying.

[Sasha Neitzke]

Don't Think Twice was an okay book about a teenage girl named Anne who gets pregnant by her teenage boyfriend. Her relationship with her boyfriend wasn't very good he started only hanging out with her to get one thing from her and that's how she got pregnant. Anne ends up going to a girl home with a lot of other girls who are in the same situation as her. She learns a lot of stories at this home and meets a lot of different types of girls, and mostly all of them annoy her. They are allowed to write letters home and do other activities at the home, and also have group meetings to talk about home they are doing or how they feel.

[Josalyn Wilmot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot at the beginning and it was one that i couldn't put down. I liked this book because it was from the point of a teen mom and how she had to put her old life behind her and learn to deal with being pregnant. I also liked this book because it showed that no matter what happens in your life you always have a place that will take you in. The only thing I didnt like about it was the fact of how it ended.

[Kewpie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 1967 in a Home for Wayward Mothers, we learn about what it was like to be a pregnant teenager in the mid 1960s. All of the girls are waiting to give birth and give their babies up for adoption. They come from all walks of life and have many different reasons and things that led them to the center. The story is realistic, without being too accepting or too preachy.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dont Think Twice is a dark book with a comedic twist. Ruth Pannebaker has a great voice. She makes the character of Anne Harper seem so real. Her story makes you laugh, cry, and gasp by the way she explains her sad stoy with sarcasim. Its also good for teenage girls to read this book because it shows you shouldnt take your young life away by getting pregnant.

[Hurricane_ReD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I looked for this book and was only able to find it because I remember what it was about and I remembered what the cover looked like. That will give you an idea of the impression this book had on me when I first read it at age 13.

[Elizabeth Lund]

Complex characters and believable emotions. Definitely worthwhile. I did see some missed opportunities for drama in the plot (letters she doesn't read, religion, Harriet's story) and the time period could have been realized more fully.

[Hannah Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Anne's evolution, but I was disappointed in how the ending came about. After all Anne had learned, and she didn't decide to change her decisions? That was sad to me. Writing was hilarious, though!

[Janki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for teens who face a lot of social pressure or know someone who is pregnant as a teen.

[elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent novel about a teen's experience in a home for pregnant teens; set in 1967 (the year I was born).

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good. It was a fast read. I finished it in less then 24 hours.

[Kehyonah Graves]

This book was good because i think it showed the good and bad outcomes putting a baby up for adoption can have on you and your life. It showed a good level of both when

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Juno-ish! Love it!