Choice Summer

Nikki Sheridan #1

by Shirley Brinkerhoff

Life for Nikki Sheridan has always been the same no surprises, no scrapes, no crises, no escapes. This summer will change all that.

"Sure enough, honey-"

Her hollow words reverberated off the cold, antiseptic walls of the examination room, and inside my head. I stopped listening.

How could this have happened to me?

More accurately, how will I ever forget? Especially now that there's this little reminder to think about. What am I going to do?

Telling my parents - I don't even want to think about that! And Grandma and Grandpa would be so disappointed. No. It's just like the nurse at the clinic said I can have it taken care of, and then my life can just go back to normal.

But I have to do it right away, before anyone finds out, before I start gaining weight-

Her worst fears confirmed, Nikki's plans come to a screeching halt when she realizes that, for the first time in her life, the choice is hers to make. What will she decide? And can she follow through with it?

Genres: Young Adult, Christian, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Coming Of Age, Realistic Fiction, Childrens

182 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1996

Reviews

[Elizabeth Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

** This book is dealing with teenage pregnancy and abortion **

Sexual content: (note: most of the big stuff is in the very beginning as flashbacks) kissing, barely above not detailed sex scene, pregnancy, mentions of crushes

Language: dang, heck

Violence: a mention of a man shooting his wife

Spiritual: praying, talking about how God has a purpose

Drinking/drugs/smoking: a party where teens drink and get drunk

Overall, this was an okay book. It deals with a tough subject and I think the author did a pretty good job on it.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book 5 stars because this book was a lot like the other books I have read. I can relate and feel as though I am in the book with her. I am now reading the second book in the series and can't wait to start! These books are great for teen girls because we can relate with the character because we go through some of the same things and we know what she is going through and can feel as though that was me or that was my friend. These books are awesome!

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Amazing book. Really makes you think about rights and life and making good choices.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this when I was 12 and found it extremely interesting.

[Bonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

really makes you think and is a really good read.

[Mandy Gall · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a YA book series I really enjoyed this, it was simple, but complex for the demographic and was honest not washed over

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t remember if I read this book in high school or college (late 1990s or early 2000s). The first few chapters were an eye-opener. I, as a pro-life person (even now as a pharmacist, but I wasn’t even thinking about a career in healthcare at the time I read this), found myself empathizing with her & hoping she could get to the clinic for the “pro-choice procedure”!

As the story continued, it became so much more than a story about the plight of a pregnant teenager, or pro-life vs pro-choice. It was about how Nikki was ultimately set free by giving her life to Jesus, & getting to know Jesus on a personal level like she had never encountered him before. It was also good to see that her friends & her grandparents were a lot more supportive of her than Nikki expected. (She thought they would just be judgmental.) I liked how one of her friends introduced her to Jesus in a way she hadn’t considered (maybe she had heard of him, but still thought of him only as the “judgmental God”).

And I also liked how her Grandma knew about the baby from Nikki’s confession while the Grandma was unconscious in the hospital, recovering from a stroke. Grandma was even sympathetic to Nikki’s plight, even confessing to Nikki that she was in a similar situation. She was engaged to Grandpa, then Grandpa went off to war, & when Grandpa came back, Grandma was crying because she was pregnant by another man, & assumed Grandpa would want to break off the engagement. But Grandpa still wanted to marry Grandma, & accepted the child as his own—the child who was none other than Nikki’s Mom!

When Nikki’s Mom (who was not a believer) found out, she took Nikki to the clinic for the procedure. But Nikki was a believer by then & started praying for a miracle to save her child. At that moment, the nurse bumped into some other nurse, mixing up the paperwork, & it ended up being just a routine ultrasound—but Nikki got to see her child! She even found more peace in fighting to save her child than she thought she would find in terminating the pregnancy.

Her Mom still wasn’t crazy about it, but Nikki’s Grandma stepped up & let Nikki live with her for the rest of the pregnancy (or as long as needed), reminding Nikki’s Mom that she would’ve never been born if Grandma had terminated the pregnancy before Grandpa got back from the war & found out about it.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have nostalgia for this series because it's the first time I can remember reading Christian teen fiction where the main character had problems beyond purity culture. Rereading it now, however, I pick up how it's subtly implied that Nikki's pregnancy is her fault (when it's absolutely not!). Hoping the rest of the series is more like how I remember it being.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dnf at the half way mark I might try it again soon but it was boring and the same thing over and over my family read it when they where younger which is cool and I liked the Christian aspect

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book I originally read because it was endorsed by Susie Shellenberger and advertised in Brio magazine when I was a teenager. I know I read the first three in the series but did not reread them nearly as much as many of the other Focus on the Family series. Definitely an issues book, and if I remember correctly each book in the series focuses on a particular issue. This one was fast to reread. Nikki’s confusion and eventual decision felt authentic and realistic in that there wasn’t a dramatic conversion to Christianity. I didn’t remember her parents being quite so hateful. As in, you get the impression that they not only find her to be an inconvenience, but they actually seem to hate her. It’s very odd. Maybe there is some more backstory to that will be revealed in later books?

[Tobia Cochran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time reading this book. It was amazing! Such a powerful message!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this in the 6th grade