Screwed

by Laurie Plissner

Flattered by the attentions of Nick, the cutest guy in school, seventeen-year-old Grace Warren, captain of the math team, lets down her guard and gets pregnant the night she loses her virginity. Hopeful that Nick will drop to one knee and propose when she breaks the baby news to him, Grace is heartbroken - Nick wants nothing to do with her. Her best friend, Jennifer, thinks she should get an abortion, but Grace is certain that her morally upright parents will insist that she keep the baby. After she comes clean to her super-religious, strait-laced parents, they surprise her by insisting that she terminate the pregnancy to avoid humiliating the family. But when she sees the fetus on the ultrasound, she decides she can't get rid of it. Deciding to save the tiny life growing inside of her, Grace must face the consequences of being that girl - the good girl who got knocked up.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Coming Of Age, Young Adult Contemporary

304 pages, Hardcover

First published April 18, 2013

About the author

Laurie Plissner, author of Louder Than Words, is a Princeton- and UCLA-educated litigator. She gave up the courtroom for life as a full-time mom, although she could not overrule her love of literature. She lives with her husband and two teenagers. This is her first novel.

Reviews

[Lisbeth Avery {Domus Libri} · Rating 1 out of 5]

MINI REVIEW

For some reason, I'm really big on books about teens seriously screwing up. I don't know why but I really like to read about teens making dumbass decisions. So when I saw SCREWED on NetGalley, I was pretty happy. Sadly, it didn't work out for me.

SCREWED was about Grace, the daughter of two religious extremists, who screws up (no pun intended) and gets pregnant. She makes some really dumb choices (like thinking the guy she had sex with would actually care) and gets kicked out by her parents.

Well, this is all good and well until what happens after she gets kicked out. This book was supposed be harsh and real but instead, it ended up laughable. Grace gets kicked out and her neighbor, who turns out to be a freaking millionaire, takes her in.



There is an incredibly small chance that a nice millionaire lives on your street and would take you in. If I got kicked out, an extremely rich person who happens to have a really hot nephew certainly wouldn’t take me in. I would have much rather had Grace living on her own, adjusting to the real world.

I can hear the people crying, "but that would make for a boring story!" Yeah, my only answer to that is, I don't think it can get any more boring than what it was.

SCREWED isn't a bad book, it's a really stupid and boring book. I want to emphasis this fact. I don't think that SCREWED is a horrible book. It's a bad book, yes, but it's not a horrible book. It was just really boring because absolutely nothing happened. There wasn't any drama or action that made me really connect with the plot or the characters.

The main character was so lifeless. Her only personality trait was how utterly annoying she was sometimes. The love interest kept calling her "brave" but really, she didn't do anything brave. She had sex, she got pregnant, she got kicked out, and a millionaire took her in. Like Grace's friend said, she was living better now then she did when she lived with her parents.

The parents of the girl were complete stereotypes of that religious evil parents. That's all they are. It would have felt sort of anti-religion if it weren't for the fact that I know there are people like that. People who'd kick their kids out to protect the parent's image.

Plotwise, this book didn't bring anything new to the table. It was a very bland rehash of numerous other books. CRANK was another fairly standard book but it had soul to it. The characters had personality and the prose conveyed FEELINGS, something that Plissner just couldn't do.

SCREWED definitely screwed me over (oh my god, these jokes are never going to get old). I thought it could be something really new but it wasn't. I cannot recommend this book to anyone.

[Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Initial reaction: No, just no. If you're looking for a book that properly deals with teenage pregnancy and the options available for teens as well as treating the matter with sensitivity and coming to terms, I'd recommend Me, Him, Them, & It by a long shot over this book. This book just completely mishandled the issue and milked it for drama. It was a terrible read.

Full review:

I think the one good thing that I can say coming out of this read was that this was quick to go through, because I wasn't really invested in the journey taken by the characters in any capacity. I've only read less than a handful of novels that focused on teen pregnancy specifically (usually in the stories I've read, they were either a specific focus or a side story on the part of one of the characters), but among the ones I've read, this was probably the worst. It takes a story of a young woman (Grace Warren) and glorifies her pregnancy for the sake of the drama. It does not contain an ounce of realism. Granted, it shows Grace first discovering that she's pregnant after seven positive tests, a frantic call to her best friend, her parents pretty much shaming her and kicking her out of the house (only to be picked up by the wealthy neighbor - saving grace, anyone?), and shows her following a relationship with a guy while debating on whether to carry her pregancy to term. It was one of the most irresponsible, unrealistic, insufferable portrayals of this subject matter that I've ever read.

I didn't like any of the characters in this book at all. Grace, the main character, is so dull you can't see any kind of apt reflection in her as a teen pregnant mother, the parents are purported to be strict Christians who shame their daughter (I think the mother even calls the daughter a "skank", and don't even get me started on the father). Yet the same parents are forcing her to have an abortion and when she says no, they kick her out of the house to "teach her a lesson." Nick, Grace's "baby daddy," really didn't feel like much of a character other than a massive jerk who it was hard to see why Grace went with him in the first place. I loathed Jennifer, Grace's best friend. Jennifer's voice was so annoying and the attempts at sexual humor on her part just made me rage more than anything else. Charlie was a Gary Stu...enough said.

This really wasn't worth the time and I wish I had the time I had back from reading it, especially considering it is nowhere near the gritty read promised from the book's cover, nor is it realistic or sensitive to apply to teens who become mothers at a young age and face a myriad of difficult decisions along the way.

Overall score: 0.5/5

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher F+W/Adams Media.

[Dear Faye]

I'm sorry, but this book isn't for me. It's not taking itself seriously, especially with such a complex subject matter (teen pregnancy). The character gets pregnant and in the first 5 pages she gets asked, "Was the other head a turtleneck or a crewneck?" WHAT THE FLYING FUCK? And trust me, there are more of that kind nonsense stuff in the book.

Example:

How amazing it would be to discover that kind of nirvana with a guy who thought of her as more than a place to park his junk for 5 minutes.

It was nearly impossible to imagine how a little limp of flesh covered with tiny bumps could be that powerful.

;_________________;

LOL. Just LOL. And WTF, too.

This puts stereotypes to the extreme. Math wiz has only one friend, labelled a "nerd", seen as an outcast, get called a "nobody", a dunce in social ways... I mean, seriously? If you're brilliant, I think that comes with fricking common sense. And oh, because they're such brainiacs, they call vagina an "encyclopaedia" and a dick a "Volkswagen".

OMG... I can't even.

I'm sorry, but I just want it all to stop. This was really written terribly. The 3rd person POV is all over the place, too. We get the impression we see it from Grace's perspective, and here comes a paragraph or two with another person's thoughts. Um... that's really inconsistent, yo.

So, yeah, I'm not even rating it. I only got as far as 19%. I already know she gets disowned by her parents, and she gets adopted by the millionaire next door... wow. It's not only ridiculous, it's also delusional. How convenient. *rolls eyes*

[Abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt sorry for Grace in this, as her parents were awful to her. It was so, so bad that they kicked her and wanted nothing to do with her because she didn't want an abortion.
At the same time, I do think she was luckier than most in the same position as her. To have your rich neighbour come over just as your parents were kicking you out, and offering somewhere to live, and then paying for medical care and tuition, she didn't come out of it too badly.

This wasn't a bad read, I just didn't think it was a good view on teenage pregnancy.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to +W/Adams Media, Merit Press and Netgalley.)
16-year-old Grace made a mistake, and now she’s going to pay for it. After sleeping with Nick (the school Casanova) in the back of his truck, she’s pregnant, and she doesn’t know what to do about it.

After telling her parents and getting kicked out of their house, Grace finds herself living with her wealthy, elderly, childless neighbour, who supports Grace during her pregnancy.
What does being pregnant mean for Grace though? Will her parents ever speak to her again? And what does the future hold for Grace?


This was an enjoyable read, but Grace was incredibly lucky to find herself in such a good position after her parents kicked her out.

Grace was a normal teen who through a lack of judgment ended up pregnant, and it was really sad the way she was treated by the people who were supposed to love her. I couldn’t believe how hypocritical and mean her parents were to her, and I felt so sorry for what Grace had to go through to do what she thought was right.
Grace’s parents really were a disgrace. How they could push her to have an abortion, after all their teachings on abortion being murder, just because they didn’t want her to mar their reputation was awful, and I was glad that Grace stood up to them and called them on their double standard.
What Grace did wasn’t easy, but she did what she felt she could live with, which was sensible as well as admiral.

As for the storyline in this book, although I enjoyed it, I couldn’t help but think that it was maybe a little too rosy. If only every pregnant teen could walk across the street and find an elderly millionaire with no children of her own to take her in and pay for her medical care and college tuition, then the world would be a much easier place to be. While Grace did have big problems with her parents, she would have had bigger problems had Helen not come along to bail her out. I don’t remember any of the girls on ‘Teen Mom’ falling on their feet the way Grace did, and I’m sure they would have liked that! This part of the storyline did leave a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth, and made parts of the story difficult to swallow. Being a pregnant teen is not about having a rich old lady gift you with a limitless platinum credit card, and getting an all-expenses paid trip to Dartmouth.

The ending to this story was also pretty rosy, and while I was happy that Grace’s life was so fabulous, I again felt that Grace’s story wasn’t that of your average pregnant teen mom, which did spoil this book for me really. Grace came out of this story having given a child to a childless couple, having found love, and having gained an extremely wealthy grandmother-type figure, and a free trip to college! It almost made me want to get pregnant and give the child up for adoption!
Will Grace ever regret giving her child up? It seems not. Will the child’s father ever accept responsibility for the child? No, he got away scot-free. Are there at least some safe-sex messages in this book? Yes and no – we’re told that condoms aren’t 100% affective, it’s much better for the girl to get an implanted contraceptive, and that sex without a condom feels much better! Needless to say, that while this was a nice story, my child will not be reading this book.
Overall; a rosy story about teen pregnancy.
6.5 out of 10.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn’t hate it, but I thought some of it was highly unrealistic.

Grace is 17 and pregnant. All her life she’s been a good girl. She’s super smart, respects her parents, and does no wrong. Until the one night she lets a popular boy sweet talk her into giving up her virginity in the back of his Jeep.

Even though her parents are super-Christian, they urge her to get an abortion. Apparently concern over their public image trumps their religious beliefs. Grace goes to the appointment, but ultimately can’t go through with it. So what do her parents do?

They kick her out. They pack up all her stuff in trash bags and throw them out on the front porch. Her uber-wealthy neighbor happens upon this little scene and invites Grace to come live with her in her mansion across the street. Oh yeah, and her super cute great-nephew Charlie lives there too! He is smart and rich and immediately falls in love with Grace. He was just too good to be true. And not in a good way. In a completely unbelievable, drove me nuts, kind of way.

Based on the title and the cover, I was anticipating a much darker, disturbing read. This was more like a Disney fairytale!

ARC provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Nara · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the full review (with images) please click here

I personally feel that Screwed seemed to be a very realistic portrayal of what it would be like to be seventeen and pregnant. While the writing was very simplistic (very tell, tell, tell with little show), I found that this actually wasn't a bad style of writing. A fair proportion of the time, it was just the thoughts of the characters being explicitly stated- somewhat like a stream of consciousness, except from many characters' points of view (even those really minor characters which might appear for two pages and then not be talked about again). The majority of this review will be about the characters, so here goes:

The Parents
Jesus Christ, the parents are absolutely horrible. Overly pious, uptight, hypocritical buffoons, and honestly one of the worst literary parents I've read about in Young Adult fiction (short of the physically abusive ones).

The dad was especially horrific. He was sexist and annoying, and was the one who came up with the plan to kick out Grace unless she had the abortion. Basically, he was a bastard and I wish I could throw him into the fires of Mt Doom.

The Neighbours
The "rich, elderly neighbour" who takes in Grace, Mrs T, is freaking awesome. Seriously, I wish I had a kindly neighbour like her! She was very supportive of Grace, and gave her a lot of good advice. She was probably my favourite character in the novel, just because she was so all-round fantabulous.

And Charlie- that kid is amazing. Granted, he was a bit sappy, but he was definitely kind, smart, funny, rich (cue music: Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger). Also that killer combination of dark hair and blue eyes....The relationship between Charlie and Grace was very sweet, building up slowly from friends to best friends to more-than-friends (*wink wink, nudge nudge*). Although I do think it was frustrating at times, since they were so blind to each others' feelings when as the reader they were so freaking obvious, on the whole, I think it was quite realistic.

The Pregnant Kid (+Her Best Friend Who Didn't Really Fit in Any Other Category)
First: Grace's best friend Jennifer. Dayum, that girl was sassy. Her comments were just hilarious, especially because it was like she had no filter whatsoever. I do have to say though, that at the start, she seemed a bit bitchy from not believing Grace about who the father was to callously telling Grace to basically "get rid of it", but I suppose in the end, she turned out to be a supportive (although somewhat judgmental) friend.

Grace- she was just so strong willed. She stuck to her convictions even at the expense of her relationship with her parents (which she obviously valued very highly). She was also strangely forgiving- even with her parents at their absolute worst, even when I was filled with utter rage, it seemed that Grace felt nothing but sadness and despair. While I pity Grace for the events that occurred after the pregnancy (i.e. getting kicked out, being taunted at school), I actually don't feel as much sympathy towards her regarding her getting pregnant. Maybe it's a horrible thing to say, but I feel that it was kind of her own fault.

I think that the title, Screwed, is pretty clever, as she's screwed in the sense that she has no other options left, but she's also literally been screwed (nice one, Laurie). Overall, Screwed was a fun but thought-provoking read that would probably be suited to younger young adult readers.

Have a look at more reviews at my blog: Looking for the Panacea

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book intrigued me from the start. As a high school English teacher with a high risk group of students, not only do I think that this is something that my student's go through, I know that it is. I cannot count on my fingers and toes the number of pregnant students and teen mothers I have in my classroom. It hit very close to home, before I had read a single page. However, I was afraid that this book was going to be a 200 plus page pro-abortion pamphlet and that made me hesitant. I am pleased to say that I was surprised...sort of.

The book highlights the unexpected pregnancy of Grace, a sophomore in high school who falls under the spell of the handsome, athletic, unattainable Nick. One bad decision later and Grace's whole world has changed. I appreciated the realness and detail with which Ms. Plissner handled the pregnancy itself. My own sister went through a pregnancy at sixteen, so I can say with certainty the emotions and thoughts expressed by Grace's character are true to life. It was also refreshing to see that while abortion was suggested, the consequences of that kind of decision were weighed in the balance and the choice to adopt or keep the child were given precedence. When it comes to illustrating the reality of teen pregnancy, the reality of a split-second decision changing one's life, this book hits the nail on the head.

The book did have some aspects that seemed a little out of place. The Pollyanna, rich-lady-across-the-street angle was a bit contrived and rather unrealistic. I think I would have more readily believed a story where Grace stayed with her friend or found her way to a shelter before I could bring myself to believe the aforementioned plot device. It made things a bit...too convenient. I didn't care for the frequency of the F-word. I also didn't like that this author kept throwing in phrases like "While she had nothing against abortion..." I really wanted this text to take stand, one way or another. I felt as if I was walking a fine line for most of the book; will she, won't she, should she...and about nine chapters in I was ready for the character to make a choice and stick with it. The fluctuating viewpoints were rather exhausting when coupled with the emotional strain the character was already experiencing. Finally, to take Grace's parents, who are initially described as church-going, Christian individuals, and villainize them in such an uncharacteristic way, was rather off-putting.

Would I suggest this book to my students? Yes and no. This isn't a pleasure read. It isn't a book that you sit down and read to escape reality. This book is full of very real, very scary moments. Pregnancy changes your life, regardless of whether you are an adult or a teenager. This books highlights that reality in some very profound ways. If my students are looking for books that challenge their views on relationships, life, peer pressure and the choices they make, then I would recommend this book. It isn't a perfect piece of writing - but there are enough redeeming qualities within its pages to warrant a read-through, both from teens and adults.

(This book was provided to me via NetGalley in return for an honest review. I hope I've fulfilled the requirement.)

[Just a person · Rating 4 out of 5]

It could never happen to me. It is the famous last words. I mean, it is like cancer, teenage pregnancy. You know people it has happened to, and with head knowledge, you know it can happen to you. But at that age, we think we are invincible really, and I remember thinking that it would never actually happen to me. That is on the first page of this book. This shouldn't have happened to *me.*
And I think that is why books like these are important, to show that it can and does happen. No matter how smart, no matter if you are a virgin, and sometimes even if you use birth control.
And yes, if you haven't noticed from my reading patterns, I am obsessed with books like these. The issue books are right up my alley.
This is the 2nd book in a row that is written in 3rd person, but this one is done better than the other. I got lost in Grace's head, and when it switched to Jennifer it jarred me for a second, and then I was into her line of thought.
One issue I had though was that Grace's parents are involved, but extreme. They lectured her for getting a B and said they would be wasting money if she went to a second tier school. And that is just the beginning. The way that they pushed her around, tried to make decisions for her and force them on her, and were generally mean people, did not sit well with me at all. As a parent to two girls, I can imagine that it's a huge shock, but no amount of shock justifies how they treated her.
The neighbor Helen though, is an amazing addition to the plot. She is a survivor of the concentration camps, so she knows suffering but she had chosen to do good things as a result. She wanted to help others, and every interaction with Grace really just shines. She helps to balance the negativity and bad treatment from Grace's parents and really just laces hope and kindness into the story.
Charlie, Helen's nephew, is awesome. He is kind, gentle and patient. He doesn't judge her and is a great friend, and along with Jennifer, helps keep Grace sane. I loved his character, he is everything a guy should be, and I def have a book crush.
The ending is perfect for the book and left me with this feeling of hope and peace, that Grace had learned so much and developed so much as a character. She made the best decisions for her, and was working on loving herself so that her other relationships would fall into place. While not everything was 100% neatly tied up, it was the best ending for the book, and it held hope and promise showed the most likely course for the characters.

Bottom Line: Screwed tugs at your heart, and examines teenage pregnancy with a fresh voice.

[Trish at Between My Lines · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meet Grace, the good-student, perfect-daughter who does everything her parents wanted her to do until the night she became pregnant. Her conservative, over zealous religious parents do a quick turnaround on their anti-abortion stance and demand she has an abortion. Grace stands firm and is determined to make her own choices for her baby.

This book caught my interest straight away, it was dealing with the reality of teenage pregnancy and that's a subject I think should be covered in YA/NA books. It's also a very emotional subject for me, one I was ready to get immersed in and I fully expected to love this book.

There were things I did like about this book, namely the letters that Grace wrote to her unborn baby, simple and very effective, these short letters captured a lot of feelings. I also loved when Grace planned out presents for her child, her choices were heartfelt, well intentioned and probably one of the few moments of joy she got to experience during her pregnancy.

Unfortunately the things I did like were far outweighed by the things I didn't like. Firstly, the characters were one dimensional, they were either good or bad. No middle ground. No mixing up of good traits and bad traits. In real life people just aren't like this and I don't want people in books to be like this.

Also the main reason I read this was to see an accurate portrayal of a teenage pregnancy. We didn't get that here. Her parents threw her out but luckily in stepped in a fairy godmother with an attractive great nephew. This fairy godmother/kindly neighbour took Grace in, gave her a platinum visa card and paid for college. Great in a fairy tale but not so much in a book that I hoped was dealing with real issues in a realistic, meaningful way.

And of course the great nephew was on hand to provide a love interest, far too convenient and for me it didn't work. The relationship between Grace and Charlie was built up slowly but I never got over how he just conveniently came in to her life. I had issues with a few other things in the plot too, they seemed to happen at the wrong time, for example a scene that took place a few hours after the birth. I don't want to say any more for fear of spoilers but I thought this scene was ill timed and unlikely.

Overall this book was disappointingly predictable. I thought the plot had great promise but for me it never delivered.

Thanks for NetGalley and F+W/Adams Media for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[C.G. Worrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laurie Plissner’s latest YA novel “Screwed” begins with six positive pregnancy tests. Grace Warren is horrified. She’s an honor student, captain of the math team, a smart girl destined for the Ivy Leagues. One bad decision, and a night of fumbling with Nick Salter (the high school dreamboat), has changed the course of her perfect life.

Nick denies involvement and dumps Grace faster than a hot potato. When she confesses to her ultra-religious parents, they pull a hypocritical about-face and demand that she get a speedy hush-hush abortion. When she refuses, they kick her to the curb. Luckily for Grace, her neighbor Helen provides a soft spot to land. There she meets Charlie (Helen’s nephew), a chivalrous young man determined to prove to Grace that not all boys are like Nick.

“Screwed” is one girl’s journey through the treacherous terrain of teen pregnancy and its avalanche of consequences. Plissner has chosen the omniscient narrator unlimited point-of-view to tell this tale. Therefore, the reader sees the dilemma of teen pregnancy from everyone’s perspective: the humiliated teen mom, her protective best friend, the reluctant babydaddy, the scandalized parents, the good-Samaritan neighbor, the neo-natal doctors, the adoption counselor, and Charlie, the boy who loves Grace unconditionally.

Plissner did an excellent job capturing Grace’s sense of isolation (as reflected on the cover) and her struggle to reach a decision she can live with. This story explores the depth--and fragility--of the parent-child bond. I like Plissner’s writing style; the pace is rapid with plenty of humor, internal thought, and reflection. I stayed up late reading because I had to know the final outcome for Grace. The book ends with a powerful “lofty” twist…that’s all I will say.

[Arlena · Rating 4 out of 5]

By: Laurie Plissner
Published By Merit Press
Age Recommended: Teen - YA - Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Book Blog For: GMTA
Review:

"Screwed" by Laurie Plissner was a contemporary YA romance read that was a real touchy subject but well written by this author. We find that this young lady is pregnant in HS that turns into a horrible nightmare for her. Grace is shunned not only by the boy that had gotten her pregnant her but also her 'god fearing parents.' Grace's parents demanded that she get an abortion and all hell breaks out when she refuses to do so. Then as the story goes on a neighbor who Grace did not really know gives her a place to live. This person evens offers her 'support that her parents did not give to her.' Now, to get more of this story and how this author will bring it all out to the reader you must pick up "Screwed" to see for yourself. Thank God for friends like Charlie and Jennifer that were their for Grace. This was some courageous young lady that had in the end been blessed with some wonderful friends and to know that 'there is always someone out their that's willing to help you.'


'Screwed" is definitely a page turning that once you start reading you will know want to put it down until the very end. This is a read that a lots of teenagers have had to face and I would definitely would recommend to book to all teens to read.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grace is a good student and great daughter. Grace and her friend even made a pact that they would not have sex until college. So it came as a big surprise to Grace’s friend when she announces that she is pregnant.

The guy who got Grace pregnant wants nothing to do with Grace and neither do her parents. In fact her parents kick Grace out of the house. Luckily for Grace her neighbor takes her in. Grace also finds a potential love interest in her neighbor’s great nephew.

Screwed is the type of book that all teens should read. The readers will rally behind Grace and be cheering for her until the end. I know I was doing exactly this. What a courageous young woman Grace was. She had a steep hill to climb with being pregnant and homeless. Yet she found some good friends in her neighbor and her great nephew.

I could not believe what hypocrites Grace’s parents turned out to be. As the saying goes “He who has not committed sin shall cast the first stone”. I can guarantee you that Grace’s parents are not the perfect angels that they would like to think they are. This story had a great message as well. What I took from this book was to stay strong, you can get as many second chances as you need, there is always someone who has your back, and love does exist.

[Czarina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title definitely fits the book because that's what Grace is, screwed. In the first few pages, with the seven positive pregnancy tests, I was shaking my head in disgust and agreeing with Jennifer, Grace's best friend. Grace is a straight-A student that just got played by the school playboy, or as his friends dubbed him, "Pussy Whisperer" (I know, gross), and now she's preggers. The asshole doesn't care, and her religious parents want her to get an abortion. How much more messed up can it be?

The POV was told in third-person but it keeps switching to other characters instead of just telling Grace's POV. It's annoying and confusing at times. Also, when they cuss, it's seems out of place because everything is so neat and preppy, and all of a sudden the f-bomb just comes right out and it just sounds wrong.

All in all, it's a cliche pregnancy novel with stereotypical characters. It was just meh.

[Yasmin Vasquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teen pregnancy is a hard subject to write about. I thought it was well written but it left me with questions like does she make up with her parents?? Basically how her life turns out after she comes back from her survival retreat. I know she gets the guy but what else?

[TheGremlin]

Soon. Very soon.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Taken from my blog, Tapioca Reading.

Received through a First Reads giveaway!

---

I received this in the mail this morning (yay!) when I was lying in bed half-awake and my brother plopped this heavy package down on my chest with an unceremonious "Here" at 10:11. It was a cardboard, fairly big, and sealed-shut envelope, and at first I thought there was some flap I was supposed to open that turned out to be nonexistent. So, summoning whatever strength I possessed at ten in the morning, I ripped open the top of the envelope thing.

And pulled out the book:

*game show music* It was Screwed! Yay!

Anyway, onto the actual review:

From the synopsis, it sounds pretty interesting, right?

It sounds difficult and a touchy subject that will be handled with grace and make you think about teen pregnancy, right?

It sounds like a book that you will finish reading, flipping over the last few pages to the acknowledgments, saying, "Wow," right?

The writing was something that you would not grow fond of. It was told in third person omniscient, and I don't mean just occasional thoughts from other main characters other than Grace--I mean really really omniscient, where you get everyone's thoughts on everything.

Everything.

How I wish I were exaggerating.

To give you an example:

Basically, Grace, pregnant and back at school, is hiding in the bathroom when four girls come in and she hears their conversation about their suspicions that she's pregnant (it's only been a few months and she doesn't show that much yet, until the day the conversation takes place). It's long and boring, so I won't give you the whole thing, but

Awesome Girl B: "If she's got a kid in there, it had to be an immaculate conception. No one but God could be porking Warren."

Awesome Girl C: "Whatever."

Awesome Girl C didn't give a rat's ass what a charter member of the geek squad was up to when she wasn't changing the batteries in her calculator. In her thousand-friend Facebook universe, high school was for looking good, getting hammered, and hooking up, not gossiping about losers who sat in the front of the class with their lips permanently attached to some teacher's ass.

 

You never even see "Awesome Girl C" again for the remainder of the entire book.



 And now itty bitty small useless details like that about EVERY freaking character's life is going to be permanently ingrained into my brain cells!



ARRRGGGGH! I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE ABOUT ALL THESE MINOR CHARACTERS' MADE-UP, SHALLOW, PATHETIC LIVES!



This was the biggest issue I had with the book.



You see, I am very protective of my brain cells, because one, I do not have a very bountiful supply of them, and two, I certainly do not want them being clogged up with useless information when I could be using them for something actually helpful in life that I need, like, say, information to help pass the SATs, or my grandmother's birthday.



I also have pretty good memory, so I remember a lot of things from books, like a lot of minor details.



So of course I get pretty pissed off whenever there's so much going on in a book that I just don't freaking care about but I have to waste up space in my brain's storage to read over anyway.



Every few paragraphs I would get some random person's entire backstory, their opinions on everything, and their reasons for existing and life in general. This took up paragraphs and paragraphs, and sometimes even entire pages. And he/she is never to be seen again!



GAH!



Now I'm stuck with Nick's freaking plans with Amy (which are really gross and not age-appropriate for me, and also took up a whole page to explain--seriously?), Helen's entire life story (which I couldn't care less about, sorry Helen), "Awesome Girl C"'s philosophy on high school...



I'll spare you all the other grueling, minor details.



I just don't understand why Laurie Plissner would do this at all. Why? Why, Miss Plissner, why would you do this to yourself and to readers everywhere?



Was she trying to prove her world was very thoroughly developed? Did she want to show off that she had beautiful character development? Did she want to brag about how three-dimensional all her characters were?



Well it didn't work.



It slowed down and dragged all the progress of the story so much, especially when after a simple sentence like "I like your hat" (just deal with me here, I'm not going to go back looking inside that book), you would get the person who commented on said hat's entire backstory and ALL their reasons for saying that one simple sentence.



I could deal with it the first 80% of the book, but after:

Another thing about the writing was that it was very bland and just...bleh. I'm not even sure why. But despite all this "character depth" on everyone, you never really feel like you're there in the story, you don't get inside Grace's head much, you just...don't care.

The writing just drones on and on and on. It would be a chore to read, except it just never stops or starts, just goes on, so I kept reading and reading. It wasn't compelling, just...I guess I really had nothing better to do than read this for five hours. The prose wasn't terrible, or outstanding, just...

Sigh.

Trust me on this, the writing in here is so freaky in its "boring readability," but not enough that you would want to torture yourself reading it.

Grace as a main character I could stand, but near the end she started annoying me with her weird motives and messing with Charlie's mind, and that weird thing after, well, she gives birth.

I wish the fate of her baby had turned out differently (even though I guess it's for the best), and that's about all I can tell you on that without giving away too much.

The whole plot, if you can call it that, is pretty cliché and predictable, so much that I'm not sure there was even a plot or a point to the 300 pages this book takes up.

Everyone kept calling Grace "special," seriously, for no reason, and after a while without even an infamous explanation for it, that annoyed me, too.

There were two weird scenes between Grace and Charlie I'd rather not tell you about because they're kind of creepy. (Also, Charlie, by the way, is a really bland, "good boy" love interest, who's really stereotypical, except for the fact that he's Jewish. Really, think of "preppy good boy" and you've got Charlie. His motives were sweet, I guess, but his love for Grace wasn't really that believable, especially since they'd only known each other for a little over six months.)

I wouldn't recommend this book.

You're probably wondering why the heck I gave this book a 2.3 rating then.

See, sometimes at the beginning of a few chapters there would be a letter from Grace to her baby. I thought these were really adorable and so sweet, and they showed how much Grace cared about her baby, and I even started looking forward to them after the first one. Sadly, they were stopped almost as soon as they began :'(

And the ending was really cliché, but it was a sweet cliché, and I like those. I base a lot of books on how their endings make me feel, so if you can stick in a sappy romantic scene that's pretty much another added star rating from me.

Yep, bottom line, don't read this book unless you really hate yourself.



But thank you so much to the publisher for sending this book to me! (I think. Or maybe I should thank the person who listed the giveaway on Goodreads? I'm really not sure who to thank...) 

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

-Read in advance of publication, thanks to NetGalley-

Screwed is somewhere between an ABC Family teen drama and a Sarah Dessen novel.

The summary sounded okay: good-girl Grace gets pregnant on her first encounter of the male kind, and her parents, in a juvenile fit of hypocrisy, kick her out of the house when she won't have an abortion to save their reputations at church and around town.

Grace is an okay character. She's extremely bright, well-behaved and studious, and when the situation calls for it, she has guts.
Nick, the babydaddy, is a very flat character, but I think this was intentional, as he mostly plays the role of sperm donor.
Jennifer, the best friend, is one of the best characters in the book, and she is the one I relate to the most. She hides behind sarcasm whenever she's uncomfortable, and, for a bookish virgin, she has a shockingly crass vocabulary. I think the book would have benefitted from more Jennifer. She was absent for extended periods for no apparent reason, and that doesn't make sense to me, given her relationship to Grace and Grace's need for support.
Charlie is a fairly good character, except for when we are privileged to his thoughts and motivations, courtesy of the 3rd person omniscient narrative, which I will discuss in a moment.
Helen is probably the best character, but she has a couple moments where she sounds like a therapist. The author was aware of this, but instead of fixing it, she had the characters comment on it, and she moved on. That's an okay tactic as a writer, but I didn't think that her dialog was good enough to warrant it; I believe the book would have been improved by changing these lines instead.

Additionally, I strongly believe that this book would have been improved by sticking to third person limited perspective, or even first person.

My biggest issue with this book was the 3rd person omniscient narrative. It sounded something like this:
"I'm pregnant," muttered Grace, her cheeks glowing from humiliation. She would have to get used to the shame if she were going to carry around the evidence on her belly for nine months, but that didn't make it any easier to confess at the moment.
"Aunt Helen told me," Charlie replied. Based on that news, he had pictured someone a little more rough around the edges. Grace looked sweet and innocent, like she could have been twelve, but he could already see how beautiful she was, even with her red-rimmed eyes. He didn't want to push his luck, but he definitely wanted to get to know this girl better.

For one thing, I hated how repetitive the narrative got. We would hear one thing from Grace and then exactly the same thing from Charlie, but neither of them would say it aloud and it would keep coming up. Additionally, just the rhythm of the narrative was repetitive, because EVERY spoken line was alternated with explanatory text like this. It was exhausting. Show, don't tell.

Secondly, it gave away all the secrets. There was very little suspense in the Grace/Charlie relationship because, even though neither of them would commit to saying it aloud, we kept reading it over and over as it went through their heads. We didn't need to hear what Nick was thinking when Grace came to tell him the news, because we aren't supposed to like Nick anyway. For that matter, most of the things going through the boys' heads were stereotypical and kind of offensive.

Speaking of the horny boys (and, btw, if the word "horny" offends you, you should definitely steer clear of this book. It has some strong language!), I really don't understand why the boys think that a girl moaning during a kiss is an invitation to grab the girl's chest. Whatever happened to letting the girl lead, or ASKING for heaven's sake? Furthermore, I don't think there is anything sinful about being attracted to a pregnant woman. There were lots of references to things like that, or the fact that Grace looks so young and still guys like her, and this made me uncomfortable. She's a 17-year-old woman, not a baby, and she's not married to the babydaddy; it's okay to be attracted to her. Pregnant women hook up all the time, and thank goodness for it. I don't know what the author was trying to say with that.

And another thing: there was an implication that Grace couldn't get scholarships with her parents' high income. This is completely false! Yes, the Ivy League does forego merit scholarships, etc. in favor of meeting 100% of demonstrated need (which chafes my hide, as I had to finance a $120k education at a private, non-League school), but there are still other scholarships. With Grace's grades and test scores, I would be shocked if she weren't National Merit Scholar material. There are also privately funded scholarships of all kinds. Speaking of which, did anyone else think that Grace's common app essay was the type of thing that would get someone of her academic caliber admitted to Ivy League schools? I think that was self-defeating on the author's part... probably better to summarize it for the readers rather than commit yourself to what should be an excellent example of an essay.
Additionally, her counselor probably should have recommend that Grace apply to a school that would give other scholarships, if she believed that the places Grace applied wouldn't be able to meet her need. The fact is that Grace did apply to some schools that supply merit (and other) scholarships. What the counselor *did* suggest should have been a passing mention as a last resort only.

About 2/3 of the way through the book, I knew the review was not going to be good, but for the sake of the review, I did finish it. I was glad of the ending, but it was pretty clichéd.


That said, I'm sure there are some young readers out there who would enjoy this book. I personally did not. It could be improved with a lot of re-writing.

[Char ღ Denae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contrary to other reviews, I really enjoyed this book. Maybe 'enjoy' isn't the word I'm looking for as it contains a lot of sadness and frustration. Sure, it's not a perfect story, if I had written it, I may have changed a few things, but it kept me enthralled and I read it in one day. I felt anger, disappointment, despair, sadness, hope and finally, satisfaction. No spoilers here. All I'm going to say is that I really liked Grace, and I also liked how she went from a bewildered, timid child, to a woman who had the confidence to know that, although she'd made a mistake, she was stronger than she thought and learned from that mistake.

[zapkode · Rating 5 out of 5]

{Contains Spoilers}

{My Thoughts} – The perfect description of Grace is best left to the one her best friend Jennifer says near the end of the book. “You were every parent’s wet dream…up until the moment you weren’t. You’re beautiful, you’re a ------- genius, you have perfect manners, excellent taste in shoes, and you help old people cross the street. Until you blacked out and let Private Prick plant his flag in your brave new world, you were like the Hope Diamond.” This is a description she uses when trying to tell Grace that she is more then she thinks she is and that what her parents think about her is truly not important that this point in her life.

The thing is that it does matter what your family and your parents think about you in situations like this. Grace was 17 and pregnant. She used protection, she had sex, and then a baby was made. It’s not that she was trying to make a baby, which I am aware many teenagers do, but she was just trying to be like all the other kids in her school. She was hyped up on that fact that a good looking guy liked her, that someone was paying attention to someone like her – a geek, a girl more interested in grades and staying a virgin, then going out partying and dating.

The boy that got her virginity would be Nick and in all aspects of the book he stays true to himself, his attitude doesn’t change and he still thinks he is better then his errors. Although, I don’t consider him getting a girl pregnant much of an error since he had been sleeping around so much, its amazing it only happened once and there weren’t other mini-Nicks out there. Enough about him though, I didn’t care for him one bit.

Grace gets pregnant at 17. She has the baby shortly before her 18th birthday. I can relate. I got pregnant at 16 and had my son a few months after my 17th birthday. Grace suffered through school for as long as she could handle it and then did home schooling. I went to an alternative school until after my baby was born. I attempted to do afternoon classes at the High School, but like Grace I couldn’t handle all the rude comments. I couldn’t handle the way people acted. I dropped the afternoon High School program and stuck with the alternative school.

Grace’s babydaddy Nick was a loss cause. He made it clear he didn’t want anything to do with the baby. Her parents threw her out of the house, she was told abortion was her only option. Her mother even tried to make her get one, but she couldn’t go through with it. My boyfriend at the time was very active in the pregnancy, I ended up living with him and his parents because my mom threw me out once she found out I was pregnant. There is a lot more to it, but I don’t have a desire to get into it. I never once considered an abortion, but I had been considering the option of adoption. However, in my case the father and his parents wanted the baby so I kept him. I completed High School and I got my diploma all while taking care of my son, I had lots of help with the father and the fathers parents. But like Grace I knew I wasn’t ready to be a parent.

Grace gave her little one up for adoption and I gave my little one to his Grandparents. At that point in my life, I was a mess, I wasn’t stable and I knew I couldn’t take care of him and give him what a baby needed. I was selfish in a way, I wanted my life back. I just wasn’t ready to deal with motherhood and I was being forced into it. It sounds bad, it does but I don’t regret my choices. Like Grace said in the book she has no regrets.

This book really hit home for me, because I personally went through a lot of the same situations. I personally had to deal with what was in the book, reading the book made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me a lot of things. It also made me think about 13 years ago when my son was born. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done in my life, the memories, the moments, the thoughts, the after – all of it is still fresh in my mind. I think that too often when people judge others because of choices that aren’t always the brightest that they should really be judging themselves. I don’t see anything wrong with a teen age girl being pregnant because they made a mistake. I have been there and I know that makes it a little biased – my opinion. But that doesn’t change what it is. I wonder often what those individuals who haven’t had to experience it really think, or what they would do if they were placed in such a situation. It’s not easy to make choices that will not only effect you the rest of your life, but also the baby that you are carrying and about to bring into the world.

I can tell you from experience that no matter how much you think you are making the right choice, you will second guess, third guess and more yourself, because of uncertainty.

This book is an excellent book for teens that have found themselves in a similar situation or just for parents who want their teen to read a book and see what can happen if they aren’t careful. I am sure I will be having my daughter and my sons read this book in the future. This book is informative and it is well written. It drags you into the story and it holds you tight. I almost had the feeling that I was Grace – because I’d been there. Her story is similar to mine, but not exactly the same. I do hope that teenagers in such a situation understand that they are not alone, and just because their parents aren’t accepting, it doesn’t mean it’s over, it just means they need to take a different path in life.

[Amy Perrault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. She finds out she got pregnant with a guy who she went on a 3rd date with & he wants nothing to do with it. Her parents kick her out & her neighbour takes her in & helps her. She falls in love with the neighbours nephew & they go to school together. She decides to give the child up for adoption & goes to a camp for summer holidays before college. Her neighbour pays for it all. She ends up with her true love & they go to college together

[Zoel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Length: 304 pages
Release Date: May 18th 2013
Published: by Merit Press
——–
Grace was the girl who always did everything right, until the night she fell for a boy’s sleazy line and became pregnant. Nick couldn’t care less about pretty math-geek Grace or the baby he fathered. He’s had a dozen girls like her, and he’ll have a dozen more. When Grace confesses to her super-religious, strait-laced parents, they deliver a shocker: They’ve scheduled an abortion. All they want is to pretend this never happened.

When Grace balks, they literally throw her out in the street. A rich, elderly neighbor takes her in, and, with the help of the friendship she needs in Charlie, the old woman’s great-nephew, she must make the toughest choice of her young life. The people she believed in were only playing a role, while others, in an unlikely way, are true heroes.

Grace can never have the life she planned, but she has one chance to be the person she will have to live with for the rest of her life. Her choice will cost her, big time, either way–and no one can make it except her

*

About the Characters

I really enjoyed the characters of this story, they were completely realistic people. Had both flaws and lovable qualities that made them human and easy to relate too. First up was our main character grace, Who after one night had gotten herself pregnant by the school’s walking sperm bank and popular kid Nick. I thought grace reacted to the situation the way anyone would have. The opening chapter was an amazing way to just drive the reader into the story and immediately sympathizing with her. I fell in love with Grace’s resolve and strength through this but she wasn't perfect. She was stubborn at times especially during the last end of the book but being paranoid with relationships after what she had been through and despite the treatment she received from her parents she still cared which definitely is accurate in what most teens think. No matter what happens no matter what they do at the end of the day they are still our parents and we care about them. Grace’s parents are the sad but true representation of what does happen in alot of so called “christian” families and being religious in background and nature myself I do this happen alot, not necessarily the kicking out pregnant daughter but the constant double standards and hypocrisy which has always frustrated me constantly.

Charlie was an amazing guy and support to Grace she needed as was Aunt Helen whose philosophy on life I wish everyone on earth would adapt. Intolerance really is waste of time and energy. My favorite character though was Jennifer by far. I loved her attitude and personality and even if she was clearly flawed her flaws made her who she was and I loved her for it.

About the plot

Like most books this could have been done without the romance, I easily get weary of the phase “I love you” in YA books and despite me understanding the need in Grace’s life to have some sort of care and support system I thought that the book would have been so much better focusing on the issues of school and her family as well as the community. None the less I loved the story and the issues presented in it. This could have had alot more happen, school wise and community wise, i felt like not enough this happened in the book to make a lasting impression on me even though the things that happened where pretty good they weren’t as memorable as I thought they’d be. The pacing of the book was actually very very good, I never felt bored and I flew through the book in two days as is typically the span of great books for me. The ending of the book was a bit disappointing, I felt unresolved in alot of issues and in my heart would wish this book would do a companion to it to continue Grace’s story, whether it be college or beyond but rarely do contemporary books have sequels so that was a let down.

About the Writing Style

I enjoyed the writing style, I thought it was perfect and I rarely enjoy books told in third person, It wasn’t over descriptive the dialogue didn’t feel forced and the cursing was actually well place. Many YA Books tiptoe around issues such as sex, drugs, and cursing and even when some attempt it feels forced and awkward. Not in this book. I thought everyone’s voices were well displayed and their stories told very well. I’d love to read other books from this author in the future.

Overall thoughts?

Romance often ruins books for me, in this case it was so. Even though i enjoyed both characters I thought the story could have been much better had it focused more on the issues around Grace. And I also wish it focused on Jennifer a bit more too. The ending left me desiring more which is good if there’s a sequel but bad if it’s a stand alone. The rating for this book had me in a debate whether it was 3.5 or a 4 but as on Goodreads there is no .5 marks so I give this book a

4 star rating



Even though it wasn't completely satisfying I still don’t regret reading the book, I had fun going through Grace’s journey with her. :


I reveived an ARC of Screwed from Merit Press via NetGalley, in return for an honest review. (:

[Amy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

i got this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. i honestly can't believe the low ratings!!! this book is amazing and it is told almost like a true story. now, being a teen mom myself i know exactly how grace felt. even though i raised my child, but i went thru everything that she was talking about.
grace was perfect. she had a 4.0 was in all the ap classes and her parents who a lawyer and estate agent. her parents were also the head members of the pro life group and save yourself till marriage. no one would ever suspect that grace would do anything bad. but all that can change with one bad decision.

grace was tired of being the good girl. she went on a couple dates with the all american boy at school. nick was the captain of the soccer team and the lacrosse team. he could have any girl that he wanted, but he seemed to want grace. after that 3rd date they ended up having sex in the back of his jeep. now staring at the 7 pregnacy tests in the bathroom grace had to come to the conclusion that even though she used a condom, her life is over.

grace had a best friend named jennifer. jennifer had a bad sense of humor and made a joke of everything. grace told her about her new found problem and jennifer said she should just get an abortion before her family found out and act like nothing happened. grace liked that idea except that she didn't have 500 dollars laying around. jennifer convinced her to talk to nick and tell him he needed to take care of the problem because she didn't do this to herself.
well, nick was found at the lake with another girl. no surprise there! he was smoking weed and had no intentions of talking to grace again. he wanted to break his record of sleeping with over 21 girls before we went to college. and this girl amy, was just that type. grace told nick that they were having a baby. he said it wasn't his and that it wasn't his problem.
well, thinking grace didn't have any choice she finally broke down and told her parents. her dad refused to talk to her. being strict christians how dare grace do that to their family. her dad kept calling her a whore and that their mother better take care of this problem because he was done. her mother had nothing to say except that she knew who the father of her child was. now a couple weeks had past and her parents have said nothing to her or even acted like she was there until one morning her mother woke her up at 4am. they took off in the care and grace thought she was getting dumped at a shelter.
graces mom went to a different state for her to have an abortion. grace told the doctor it must be a mistake because her family does not believe in such things. the doctor confirmed it with graces mother and then told grace that it was her choice and that she had to live with her decison for the rest of her life. so grace did want anyone would do. she decided to keep the baby. with her head down she told her mother that she was keeping the baby. her mothers was furious. she called her husband and said that grace refused the abortion and was keeping the baby.
when they showed back up at home all of grace's clothes were on the porch. her had told her that he couldn't have a whore living at home to ruin their reputation. that she made her mess and had to figure things out for herself. she didn't know what to do. her best friend was away for the weekend with her family and she had no one to call. grace decided she was going to sleep in their shed.
there nosy neighbor hellan over heard the argument and woke grace up. she offered her to go to her house because it was a safe place. now grace didn't know what to do she was scared and now her parents were on the porch threatening to have hellan arrested even though they kicked out their own child. grace did decided to go with hellan. her house was a mansion. she was a wealthy lady with no children and loved helping people. helen treated grace like one of the family.
grace decided that she was going to place her baby up for adoption. now here comes the fun part. she had to decided what kind of adoption she was going to have and also what kind of parents she was going to choose for her child. then she also has the problem of getting nick to sign his rights away because he refuses to acknowledge the problem. lastly, grace gets introduced to hell and nephew charlie. who is handsome and is head over heels in love with her.
with all these problems going on she didn't even think about her senior year has started. now she is the smart innocent girl who is now carrying a baby. she didn't realize how judgemental high school girls can be once her knew secret it out. and they all want to know who her baby daddy is. all her friends she thought were friends are now gone so she feels alone more than ever. thank god for jennifer!
can grace decided what is best for her baby? will she keep the baby in the end? will she make up with her family? or will she fall for another gorgeous guy and make another mistake? and finally will she get into college now that she is in a new situation?

[amanda Navarro · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a typical YA novel. It was not life changing but it was a little escape from the outside world.

[Stormy · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s very rare that I completely dislike a book so much I don’t recommend it at all. The majority of my one and two star reads are books that I realize are not for me, but will have appeal for several readers. Unfortunately, Screwed falls in that unfortunate small category of books that I actively dislike.

Almost every character in this book is a caricature of their stereotype. With one notable exception, almost all the characters are portrayed rather offensively. This book manages to stereotype:

Conservative Christians
Grace’s parents are shown to be polite, conservative, involved citizens of the community and the church who are only in it for a good reputation. They act hypocritical, illogical, and unbelievable for parents. At times Grace’s parents think that they actually hate their daughter a little bit. Now, I know there ARE parents out there who don’t love their kids, but it’s such a jump for them. They go from doting on Grace to actually using the word “hate” towards her, at least in their minds.

Guys
There’s two main boys in the book: Nick, the boy who Grace has a fling with, and Charlie. They’re meant to contrast each other, but . . . Nick’s goal is to get twenty girls to sleep with him, and it’s pretty obvious that Nick sees women and girls as nothing more than an means to an end for him. He goes into an adoption agency and almost all he thinks about is how attractive the owner of the agency is! Again, he’s an exaggerated stereotype. Charlie is suppose to be the “nice” guy but even though he has good intentions, his actions towards Grace still seemed a little. . . off to me. He thinks he has to protect her and protect her honor. Well-meaning, perhaps, but it still makes Grace seem like a fragile girl who can’t be trusted with her life and her choices.

Teachers
With one refreshing exception of the guidance counselor, the only other teacher and principal in this book is sadly characterized. The teacher tells an entire class of student that THEY ARE ANIMALS. She says this. To a room full of high school students who probably have insecurities and problems and you know, probably don’t enjoy being called animals. And who clearly aren’t animals. And then she claims it’s all because they’re playing video games. . . sorry, I just don’t follow the logic. Even if teachers would think those things, I don’t know a single teacher who would say it out loud. The principal can’t bother to care and is just looking forward to retirement.

This will probably make my review ridiculously long, but it needs to be expanded more than what I just touched on underneath my impression of the characters– Charlie. Let’s get something straight, because this is a pet peeve of mine in YA. If you think you’re a “nice guy”, but if you can’t respect the fact that the girl you like is pregnant and is going through a lot of things, you are not a “nice guy”. If you think you’re a “nice guy” but also feel the need to defend said girl who is by no means defenseless(Grace may have made a bad choice, but she’s shown to be a smart character. She can handle her own), you are not a “nice guy”.

The plot itself is quick-moving, if predictable. Even though I feel for Grace, I feel she had it pretty easy after getting kicked out of her house. She’s taken in by a wealthy benefactor and besides dealing with kids at school, doesn’t have to worry about much. I’m sure it would be really hard to be in her position, but overall things could have gone much worse after being kicked out of her house.

Also, this book is written in third person unlimited omniscient, which is really not a good fit for the book. I don’t need to know what a jerk Nick is because I can see inside his head as well as the main character’s — show me instead(which, to be fair, is shown quite frequently with great intensity). I don’t need to know everyone’s innermost thoughts. I would have appreciated Screwed more if the point of view had stuck with Grace and Grace alone.

I really didn’t follow the plot as well as I could have because I was so distracted by all the characters and their portrayals. Even Jennifer, Grace’s best friend who supports her for the most part, is an annoying character. She says whatever she’s thinking and does seem to harbor quite a bit of judgement towards Grace. All in all, I just didn’t feel this subject was handle with the nuance and care it so deserved. It read very much like an after school special, and I was just hoping for something deeper.

Final Impression: A predictable plot filled with characters who’s only purpose seemed to be to embody a stereotype. Nobody is off the hook from this treatment, and it was just impossible to read past that. The most enjoyable part of the book was after Grace delivers her baby and has a few months without being surrounded by the other characters. It seems to be the only time any character growth really happened and overall, I just was hoping for more from this book. 1/5 stars.

[Dayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review first appeared on my blog: Book Addict 24-7

I received a copy from the publisher & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Laurie Plissner’s Screwed is one of those young adult contemporary novels that feature dramatic reactions, the sometimes dark truth behind religion, and what it means to be the shattered image of perfection that sometimes hides our true selves. Plissner’s novel is daring in how it deals with religion, youth, and the very popular and unfortunate trend of teen pregnancy.

Having read Louder Than Words, I was expecting a lot out of Plissner’s second novel. From the get-go, I noticed that it would be a completely different experience.

The third person, omniscient narrative immediately stood out as something that might annoy me. If the story is about Grace, the protagonist, and her unplanned pregnancy, then why are we seeing how everyone else reacts to her situation? Shouldn’t we be worrying more about what Grace is experiencing, rather than what others think? Doesn’t this contradict the message of strength, hope, and love that we are ultimately receiving at the conclusion of the novel?

Or, I may have not liked it simply because I’ve never been a fan of third person narrative…let alone omniscient narrators.

I liked the romantic aspect of Screwed because it helped bring the beauty out of the ugly situation. It gave light to an otherwise bleak moment in Grace’s life. And with jerks like Nick, her unborn baby’s daddy, Charlie, her love interest, is a refreshing male character. He both respects her and treats her the way Nick unfortunately doesn’t. And though it is a little unrealistic, it still made me giddy whenever they were around each other.

I also thought it was a nice touch to show Grace that one wrongly thought out decision doesn’t have to define the rest of her life. I’m not an advocate for abortion, nor am I an advocate for people to get abortions—I believe that this choice belongs only to the pregnant mother-to-be. So, it was nice to see that Grace’s choice to let the baby live was neither affected by her parents’ belief that it is only right to have an abortion, nor by her strict religious upbringing.

While I am a sucker for a dramatic read, this was flirting with the idea of too much drama. It almost felt like Plissner was trying to get a rise out of the reader. I know it is vital to affect your readers’ emotions, but sometimes subtlety works over the dramatic. The intensity reached the point of unrealistic for me, but hey, there are a few parents out there who are just as harsh as Graces—neighbours like hers though…not so sure.

In some ways, Screwed also reads like a fairy tale waiting to happen. Great and loyal love interest (where was he when Grace was being tormented in school?), a best friend who would do anything for her and loves her unconditionally (where was she when Grace was being tormented in school?), and a neighbour that proves to be her fairy godmother (Why is she in a less than stellar neighborhood, conveniently close to Grace?)—Grace has it all. She’s just lucky like that, despite her ever-growing belly. Also, throw in the slightly confusing and extended conclusion that made the novel drag.

Also, I was kind of mad that I didn’t get to see what happened to Nick. Yes, I believe it is hinted at, and yes this was Grace’s (semi, anyway) story, but still. Shouldn’t the reader get the satisfaction in seeing Karma at her finest?

I did love some of Plissner’s prose and descriptions—one of her best writing attributes—and the little notes Grace writes for the baby. I also loved her relationship with her neighbour and how at the end, there are hints of second chances.

But the pacing was off—there were often scenes that were simply skimmed over—and the characters were a little unbelievable and unreliable.

I recommend Screwed to fans of quick and dramatic story lines. If you enjoy pregnancy stories, you might like this too. Religion tends to play a heavy hand in this one, but in both a negative and positive light. I’m not a huge fan of religiously motivated decisions, but it’s not so extreme that it makes Screwed off-putting.

The romance is sweet and this is a very quick read.

[Tori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally posted at http://smexybooks.com/2013/05/review-...

Screwed by Laurie Plissner is a modern YA version of Cinderella. That is, if Cinderella had gotten pregnant, her parents were the evil ones, and she learns that her original Prince Charming is a jerk. Grace, our Cinderella, is a parent’s dream child. A straight A student with the world at her feet, one bad decision places her life on a far different course than she ever imagined. She succombs to a popular boy’s attentions and ends up pregnant after she loses her virginity in the backseat of his SUV. When she finds out she’s pregnant, both the father and her uber religious parents push her towards an abortion. Grace decides to have the baby and suddenly finds herself kicked out of her house with only a hand full of trash bags filled with all her possessions. Grace is saved when her extremely rich next door neighbor, her fairy godmother, swoops in to save the day. She brings Grace into her home and provides the support Grace’s parents should have provided. As Grace struggles to deal with her parent’s abandonment, the judgemental tone of the town, and the changes to her body; she learns that strength comes from within and the only one she has to answer to is herself.

Screwed is not a bad book. The writing itself is decent. There was potential for this story to be an emotionally gripping YA that deals with teen pregnancy and the consequences we are forced to face from choices made. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t deliver that. Instead we get a watered down, cliche riddled fairy tale whose extreme linear storyline leaves nothing to the imagination. It’s boring. Characters are drawn as caricatures, prone to over exaggerated reactions. A third party omniscient narration gives us choppy repetitive dialogue throughout the book. We see no real plot twists or character growth. Our heroine, Grace, never really faces any adversity for her problem(s) because she is saved from the get go. She always has someone there that validates her choices. She is even given a secondary romance, the extreme opposite of her baby daddy, to show her that good guys do exist. The only person who seems to question Grace’s choices and offer any commentary is her bff, Jennifer. Jennifer is a brash young lady who we are repeated told is beautiful but dateless because of her lack of social boundaries. She says it like it is and apparently that is a no-no in this town. Of everyone in the book, I like Jen the best. She is the only one who seems able to break from the author’s stereotyping and become a defined character.

The antagonists of the story are weak figures who are randomly injected into the story and are shown in an extreme unflattering light to ensure we dislike them. I found Grace’s parents to be ridiculous in their actions. To be so religiously conservative but have no qualms about trying to force an abortion on their daughter? I was puzzled that no conversations were held with the minister of their church. I would assume both Grace and her parents would have sought spiritual guidance if they were that ingrained in their church’s doctrine.

Nick the baby daddy, was rarely seen and no evidence was granted in order to provide a solid explanation as to why a supposedly smart girl like Grace would ever sleep with him, much less even go out with him. They called him the “pussy whisperer” for goodness sake. The first time we meet him, this “supposed” all american jock on a lake dock with a joint in one hand and his other hand down a girl’s bathing suit top. Grace is asked continuously throughout the book as to the attraction and even she can’t tell us what the attraction was. He’s let off the responsibility hook early on.

The ending is indeed a fairy tale ending as everything falls into place for Grace and she is once again spared any true emotional life choices. As I stated earlier, Screwed isn’t a bad book but it’s not a realistic book. Any teen who may be facing a similar problem is not going to gain any real life knowledge or perspective from this book when dealing with the consequences of an unplanned teen pregnancy. Not everyone has a billionaire fairy godmother or a perfect prince charming waiting in the wings to make their lives magically better.

Overall Rating: D

[Megs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Urgh, this is such a hard book to review. I actually enjoyed the first half, but then during the second half I felt like everything crumbled and I ended up hating Grace. Also, I wanted to include a small disclaimer: This is a book about teen pregnancy and therefore my review will mention pregnancy and the stuff that precedes and follows it (aka. sex). If that's something that may offend you, please skip this review.

Since this is a book about a teen who gets pregnant and is kicked out of the house by her parents (it's not a spoiler if it's in the synopsis), I expected it to be very gritty. Look the cover, a teenage girl with a backpack on the side of a highway. It's not. Grace is homeless for probably a grand total of one hour, which she spends napping in a hammock before being rescued by an elderly neighbour. Who also happens to be completely loaded AND have a cute great-nephew staying with her. Not to say Grace's situation is a picnic, but I think considering the circumstances, she was Disney movie lucky. While her parents were truly insane and she did have a pretty major fall from grace (see what I did there?), Grace's situation could have been a hundred times worse without her unbelievable rescue by Helen.

And what about Charlie? How convenient is it that Grace's rescuer, who is a childless senior citizen, just happens to have her super cute, incredibly nice, painfully perfect great-nephew staying with her for the school year? And that he is the kind of boy who is turned on by pregnant girls? I just found this part of the book to be super unrealistic and I think the book would have been much stronger if Charlie had not been included.

I did enjoy watching Grace as she came to terms with what was happening to her and was forced to make a decision that would impact multiple lives. These parts of the story were my favourite by far and I wish they hadn't been combined with an awkward love story.

*** SPOILER ALERT *** Please don't read these 2 paragraphs if you don't want spoilers!

Finally, I need to have a little rant about Grace herself. For the first half of the book I liked her and could usually see where she was coming from and why, but about halfway through, I started to get annoyed by her and for the final 50 pages I couldn't stand her. Despite everything she had been through (or I guess because of it), she still acted like having sex at 17 was the absolutely worst thing should could have ever done. She was constantly calling it her cardinal sin and even forced herself to give birth with not painkillers as a sort of penance for this terrible thing she had done. Seriously, you would have thought that she had been going door-to-door killing babies for how much she was punishing herself for having sex one time and getting majorly unlucky. Eventually, this all started to sound very preachy and I felt like the author was trying to make it clear that teens should never have sex ever until they meet their soul mate. Personally, I found this annoying and unrealistic. Teens are so pumped full of hormones that abstinence is unrealistic. Not to mention that when you're a teen, every relationship feels like soul mates (at least for me it did). So while I'm definitely not advocating that teens go around having sex willy-nilly, I got super annoyed at how sex was pained at this terrible sin.

Secondly, Grace turned completely crazy after the baby was born and started playing these really weird mind games with poor Charlie. You know the ones where you want someone to do something, but you tell them not to as some find of deranged test and then when they respect your wishes, you get all disappointed. What? I have absolutely no patience for people who pull crap like this. In any sort of relationship, especially when you think you're in love with someone, be straight with them!

*** END SPOILER ***

Overall, Screwed started off very promising, but when steadily downhill from the halfway mark. The characters were either annoying or unrealistically perfect and everything was wrapped up too neatly in the end. Things got a little preachy for my taste and a weird fairytale romance didn't fit well into what should have been a much grittier story.

[Sarah slimm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Screwed by Laurie Plissner is such a fantastic book! I definitely recommend you read this book if you like young adult fiction. My favorit part is when Grace decides to keep the baby. Her parents were super upset but she did what she though was right. I think this book shows taking responsibility and growing up even in hard times.

[Audrey Wilkerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Low Down: What happens when the teen daughter of extremely morally upstanding parents gets pregnant? What if these parents donate lots of time and energy to a group called Save Yourself for Marriage that they helped establish at their church? What if these same parents tell their frightened daughter that she has to get an abortion, something that said parents were completely against before they found out their child was with child? And then, when the daughter refuses, they kick her out of their house?

Grace Warren is super book smart. But, like any girl who isn’t part of the popular elite at school, she is so flattered when Nick Salter, captain of the lacrosse team, when he asks her to the movies after the last day of school. Why would one of the hottest guys at school ask out a math geek like herself? A perfect gentleman for the first few dates, she decides to throw caution to the wind and fall for all of his whispered declarations and have sex with him. He is her first, and though he wears a condom, it isn’t foolproof. And then, she’s the fool who gets pregnant and discarded.

Grace’s best friend, Jennifer, tells her to get money from Nick for an abortion and “take care of it” without telling her parents. Certainly Grace doesn’t want to spend senior year growing fatter and ostracized? But the more Grace thinks about it, the more she can’t do it. After all, her parents are well-known to be in opposition to abortions. Grace has no doubt that, although they will be extremely disappointed in her, they will fully support her choice to have the baby and give it up for adoption.

Enter her guardian angel. Mrs. Helen Teitelbaum. Finder of silver linings, bringer of assistance, helper extraordinaire. Grace’s parents are sure that Grace will give in to their demands if they kick her out of the house. But when Helen takes her in, Grace discovers that perhaps her parents are wrong in their way of handling the situation. And then Grace meets Helen’s great-nephew, Charlie, which is the first step to proving that she has not ruined her future by having the baby.

Best Thang ‘Bout It: A well-written story, it never preaches toward or against either side of the abortion question. If anything, it helps to show how when an unwanted pregnancy hits close to home, it may change the debate completely.

I’m Cranky Because: The combination of the pregnancy and getting kicked out is not only the catalyst of the story, it is the climax. While what happens afterwards is very heartbreaking, thought-provoking and lovely, it is all too easy. Perfect-ending type scenarios line up and are checked off. While that’s great for Grace, it felt more like a wishlist coming true than a struggle. I do not agree with some reviewers who think this story glamorizes teen pregnancy; I just think it was tied up too neatly.

The only down-side to her predicament becomes her relationship with her parents, people that we don’t like anyway. We want those hypocrites to be revealed for what they are, yet there is nothing in the book that shows anything they may have suffered publicly due to their callous treatment of their only child. Certainly there are people that go to school with Grace that also attend her church. News of a teen pregnancy, especially by the daughter of such upstanding people, would fly around the congregation faster than a falling reputation.

The Bottom Line: While I appreciate the dilemmas brought up by deciding to have the baby, they felt glossed over. Worth reading, but don’t expect any speed bumps to the end.

Screwed by Laurie Plissner was published today by Merit Press. A free copy of this book was given to Ink and Page in return for an honest review. Big thanks to Merit Press and the Author.

Rating: 3

Genre: Young Adult Fiction Contemporary
Ages: 13 and up
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