Foundlings

by Diana Peterfreund

In a terrifying near-future world, a teenage girl goes on the run with her pregnant twin and the boy she secretly loves in order to save all three--or maybe four--of their lives. It's a story about sisterhood, unconditional love, and the things we learn that explode everything we've ever been taught.

This short story was originally published in the anthology
Brave New Love.

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Short Stories, Ebooks, Fiction, Science Fiction

Nook

First published July 10, 2012

About the author

Diana Peterfreund has been a costume designer, a cover model, and a food critic. Her travels have taken her from the cloud forests of Costa Rica to the underground caverns of New Zealand (and as far as she’s concerned, she’s just getting started). Diana graduated from Yale University in 2001 with dual degrees in Literature and Geology, which her family claimed would only come in handy if she wrote books about rocks. Now, this Florida girl lives with her husband and their puppy in Washington D.C., and writes books that rock

Her first novel, Secret Society Girl (2006), was described as “witty and endearing” by The New York Observer and was placed on the New York Public LIbrary’s 2007 Books for the Teen Age list. The follow-up, Under the Rose (2007) was deemed “impossible to put down” by Publisher’s Weekly, and Booklist called the third book, Rites of Spring (Break) (2008), “an ideal summer read.” The final book in the series, Tap & Gown, will be released in 2009. All titles are available from Bantam Dell.

She also contributed to the non-fiction anthologies, Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume, edited by Jennifer O’Connell (Pocket Books, 2007), The World of the Golden Compass, edited by Scott Westerfeld (BenBella Books, 2007), and Through the Wardrobe, edited by Herbie Brennan (BenBella Books, 2008).

Her first young adult novel, Rampant, an adventure fantasy about killer unicorns and the virgin descendents of Alexander the Great who hunt them, will be released by Harper Collins in 2009. When she’s not writing, Diana volunteers at the National Zoo, adds movies she has no intention of watching to her Netflix queue, and plays with her puppy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever named Rio.

Reviews

[Dani]

Taking place in a not-so-distant future, in a world not too dissimilar to our own, women’s reproductive rights have all been stripped away. Pregnancies are carefully monitored, abortion has been outlawed by the government, morning-after pills don’t exist, unplanned teen pregnancies result in young mothers and their unborn babies being taken (i.e. rescued, rehabilitated?) by government agency WOMB – usually never to be heard from again. And set against this world, our unnamed, everygirl teenage narrator begins telling us the tale of her illegally pregnant twin sister and her desperate struggle to save them all from ruin.

Women’s rights? Um. Talk about a hot-button issue, especially after inciting so much national controversy in the recent US presidential election. And while I’m not going to go into a debate of political/religious beliefs, a woman’s right to choose, or the sanctity of life, I will say that I’m approaching these issues from a more conservative standpoint just so you have a reference for where I’m coming from. From where I stand, Peterfreund’s short story is definitely controversial. However, while I don’t agree with certain viewpoints expressed within this story, there are certainly others I can appreciate… such as the indescribably complex love between sisters. The dangers found within extremism. The dangers of forcing a group of people to live by a strict and merciless worldview. The dangers of aggressive social indoctrination. The loss of personal freedoms. Losing the right of personal responsibility. It’s the nanny state at it’s most literal and perhaps most extreme, and it’s a scary thought to consider no matter which side of the line you fall on.

Overall, an interesting, well-written, hard, controversial little short story that turned out to be more thought-provoking than I originally anticipated; there’s something for everyone to mentally chew on here. And really, isn’t that the point for a story such as this?

[Amanda]

4.5

Foundlings is for people who...

...want to see how to write a GOOD story in only 26 pages
...like creepy dystopian worlds
...like when their creepy dystopian worlds could easily be our world
...need a quick story that'll have them flipping through the pages like MAD
...are looking for the perfect Bout of Books read (short AND good)
...would like an introduction to Diana Peterfreund
...can't get enough of STANDALONES (even though I want a full length book in this world)

Foundlings was a free Kindle book I downloaded on April 14, 2013 for the Why Buy the Cow? reading challenge. And because Kelly told me to. I always listen to Kelly.

[Kelly]

Holy crumb! This was... really kind of awesome. The world that unfurls as this story is told is creepy in the extreme. I love creepiness. I LOVE IT. The idea that women aren't responsible enough to manage their own bodies, especially if they're a teen who gets pregnant... chilling.

For my inaugural Diana Peterfreund read, I think I picked a good one.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

Foundlings was a free Kindle book I downloaded on 04/14/13 for the Why Buy the Cow? reading challenge.

[Abby]

I adored this short story about a set of twins that run into issues when, in a dystopian future where reproduction is VERY controlled, one of them becomes pregnant. I wish this was a full book so I could spend more time with these people in this world.

[Kirsti]

Dystopian short story. A little confusing at the start. Lots of action, satisfying ending.

[zoë eliza]

good for how short. dystopian

[Veronica Ibarra]

A scary short story that is not as far fetched as one might like to believe. When Emily, a teenage girl, becomes pregnant her twin devises a plan to help keep it secret and find a good home for the baby rather than risk submitting to WOMB, the organization that claims to have the best intentions for ensuring the safety of mothers and babies, especially unwed teenagers. But any who have gone into the care of WOMB are never seen or heard from again. Reading this brought to mind the Barry Goldwater quote, "...extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." It is a line embedded in a speech he gave the Republican Convention in 1964, and while those were different times than the ones I find myself living in now, they are the kind of words I could envision those aligned with WOMB uttering as part of their rhetoric where they might replace the word "liberty" with words like "safety," "babies," and "life." With so many strong opinions about pregnancy, birth control, and abortion this short story smacks of one possible tract to a dystopian future that has roots in debates going on even now.

[Gewbook]

I initially thought this story was a little heavy handed in its treatment of the topic, but the topic also resonated with me. Once I read the author's note at the end I realized why. Peterfreund wrote this after having her first child. I just had my first child so the experience of being pregnant and having the medical community shove does and don'ts at me for 10 months is fresh in my mind. It's odd how many different opinions there are about what's good for you when you are pregnant, even between different doctors. It's strange to realize how little even the medical community can say they know for sure about pregnancy. They are making their best guess based on prior pregnancies they have seen, but they really don't know for sure. My best indicator was to let my body tell me what it needed and what it didn't want. To have a government agency superimpose their ideas over that voice would be truly frightening to a pregnant woman. So while I understand and respect the place this story came from, I think it could have been better executed.

[Cheer Papworth]

3 1/2 stars: Imaginative Dystopian short story with a strong protagonist's voice dealing with teen pregnancy in a world highly regulated by WOMB a big brother like organisation that detains pregnant girls who are never to be seen again. This book deals with familial relationships, particularly among twin siblings, and the lengths sisters will go to protect each other.

This book starts with a great set-up and introduction to Foundlings dystopian world and the characterisation was easy to grasp. My problem with Foundlings is that after the great beginning, it cuts to the end rapidly and skims over the drama and romance. It's almost like the author had this great idea for a book, but after writing a couple of great chapters, got bored with it and rushed to conclude. I think this could have been an interesting novel, but the flame burnt out too fast and fizzled.

[Amanda]

I picked this one up with Number the Nameless Stars and Errant in a book sale bundle, and was quite pleased-surprised by it.


A solid, beautiful 3 stars for the main 95% of the novela. This is a solid, well plotted, surprise!dystopian novel, that made me think of a lot of stories like Margaret Attwood's "The Handmaiden's Tale." Bonus? It was a twin story. Bonus? It was about the differences between choice and love and loyalty and self vs. Government.

The solid 4 star rating is because I didn't predict the ending, at least not entirely, and I really like how the ending parallel's right back into the first 5%-10% commentary of the story. Quite lovely for even how short it was. I can't wait to keep reading through the rest of her works.

[Kate]

A dystopian future that feels strangely real. Just imagining a world where other options for parenthood (whether planned or unexpected) are removed and then strictly regulated. The short was an engaging read that centered around the hiding and chase of the twins by these WOMB agents. The idea of the government allowing the restrictions of sexual education, and the possible removal of the pregnant woman and child are downright frightening ideas. It reminds me a little of The Giver in how emotions and even childbirth is regulated there (along with the haunting scene with the twins there too). This would make for a good novel.

[C. Ellis-Massey]

From the first sentence this short story draws you in. It is a well-written short story that immediately throws you into the action of the story. The characters are well-developed, and there isn't a lot of just explaining the world as set-up. The author uses the actions of the characters and the plot itself to explain the world.

This is worth the read for everyone. It is a world that could possibly exist in the near future, where this novel is set. It is an action-packed, good, quick read and there is no reason for anyone to not give this short story a try. No one will be disappointed.

[Nikki]

Foundlings is an interesting short story centered on a teenage pregnancy, which is now illegal in this dystopian society. Any overbearing law that could be passed is in this world, such as monitoring every teenage girl's pee at school via the toilets and taking away any teenager that gets pregnant (never to be seen again). This particular story involves a set of twins that try absolutely everything to hide a pregnancy. It was a well-written tale and unfortunately the scenario was a bit too close to reality for some people in this world.

[Katherine]

I enjoyed this short story. It actually gave quite a bit of backstory for being short. More so than some novels I've read lately. In addition, the story wasn't so strange. I do not believe this could necessarily happen, but I can imagine good people arguing in favor of the logic behind WOMB. A good quick read.

[Juanita Johnson]

It could happen. In a not too distant future, pregnant women must do exactly as they are told our face arrest.

[ambyr]

This is a perfectly fine Teen Dystopia With Romance; I just don't particularly enjoy, well, Teen Dystopia With Romance. So it goes. Not all books are for all readers.

[Sarah]

I like this author, and I'm glad I picked this up.

Short and sweet, and oh so very disturbing.

[Liz W]

Interesting and creepy short story that seems particularly apropos as Donald Trump becomes President.