Not Going To Plan: A powerful verse novel from a Yoto Carnegie Shadowers' Choice winner

by Tia Fisher

Virginity’s an itch you can’t scratch by yourself . . . but getting pregnant? Definitely not part of the plan.

When Marnie’s latest arty rebellion gets her expelled just months before the GCSEs, the only empty seat in her new class is next to Zed, a rule-loving physics nerd with zero tolerance for mistakes.

Marnie mocks Zed’s ear muffs. Zed can’t stand the smell of Marnie’s vapes. But they both need good grades, and revising together forges a fragile friendship. Then Marnie sleeps with a boy who lied about using a condom. Will her pregnancy threaten Zed’s future too?

A powerful verse novel about consent, control, and where to turn when things don’t go to plan.

Genres: Young Adult

Paperback

Published August 28, 2025

About the author

I’m an author from south-east England, writing from middle-grade to YA in prose and verse. I love exploring important issues: writing gritty, realistic fiction for young people; accessible fiction that opens conversations.

Crossing the Line, my debut teen verse novel about a boy who gets caught up in county lines drug exploitation, won the 2024 Carnegie Shadowers’ Medal, the 2024 UKLA prize, was in the 2024 Read for Empathy collection and was one of The Times and Sunday Times’ best children’s books of 2024.

Grab yourself an early read of Not Going to Plan, a YA verse novel about teenage sexuality, consent, and the right to make choices without shame or blame. https://lnk.to/NotGoingToPlan

Reviews

[cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The not like other girls of it all

2.75

[Andrew Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant brilliant verse novel. This is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, the author gets you behind Marnie and Zed, the two main characters, as they navigate their intertwined lives. Marnie a girl returning to state school after being booted out of private school becomes unexpectedly pregnant, zed is a high achieving gay discovering who he is. Both become friends on marnies first day. This is The second book has ve read recently about unwanted teenage pregnancy and the issue is dealt with using a deft touch from being unable to control rumours st school to how to tell your parents. It must be a terrifying step for a teenager in real life. Pretty sure this will be in my top ten come the end of the year. It’s superb. Netgalley arc. My only complaint is nothing to do with the words, but it didn’t read the best on a kindle, I think because of the format of the poems on the page it would be best read in physical form.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting a story about an unexpected pregnancy and having to make decisions on the future, which I did get. What I wasn’t expecting was the added element (which only really came in towards the end) of consent.
Marnie is an interesting main character, it’s difficult to condone her behaviour at school but you do understand why she acts that way. Her friendship with Zed seemed unlikely initially, but I liked the way it slowly developed.
It works well as a verse novel, clearly showing which character we are with. The creative layout on some pages help to illustrate the story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

[Evangeline Munster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving and fantastic story about teenage pregnancy and abortion. With realistic and relatable characters for teenagers I feel this is such an important read. It tackles shame and guilt around abortion and getting pregnant at a young age as well as also looking at a character that chooses not to be sexually active currently and just how difficult both of those paths can be when teenage-hood can feel so hellish. I loved the core group of friends in this bringing a different experience, opinion and knowledge to the situation but also showing how important understanding is. Just because you may decide something is or isn’t right for you why should you take that choice away from someone else? It promotes each individual having ownership of their bodies and their choices as well as respecting others. I will most certainly be requesting this book into our school library as I think it tells a very important story in a relatable and comforting way.

I picked this up as I also really enjoyed Crossing The Line by Tia Fisher and I’m so glad I did!

[Ellie (bookmadbarlow) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was blooming brilliant, no notes, if I could give it 6 stars I would!
Told is dual POV between Marnie and Zed, the book follows their last year of school in the lead up to their GCSEs.
As with the title, the year doesn't go entirely to plan, with trying to figure out sexuality, consent, teen pregnancy and exam stress.
The author did a fabulous job of bringing these characters, the issues they faced and the wider school population to life.
The secondary characters were just as alive even though they didn't get a full voice and I liked how the parents and family units were involved.
This book should be read by every teen and adult alike and I will be pushing it into people's hands.

[Olga · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m sitting in that uncomfortable middle space with this one.

Because I can see exactly what Tia Fisher is trying to do in Not Going to Plan. And I don’t think it fully works.

That’s frustrating, because parts are good. The writing is clean, accessible, and the verse style carries you quickly, almost too quickly at times. This is the kind of book a reluctant reader will actually finish. And the friendship? Chef's kiss. Marnie and Zed shouldn’t work on paper, and yet they do in that awkward, uneven way teenage friendships often do. There’s something sincere there. I also appreciated the thread of art, that quiet attempt to make sense of yourself through creating something. And the resources at the end felt thoughtful and genuinely useful.

But this book feels… thin.

Not in length. In depth. The characters don’t quite become people. They hover as types. The wild girl. The awkward nerd. The pushy Christian. The gay best friend. They are positioned more than they are developed, and because of that, when the story leans into something complex, there isn’t enough weight underneath it to hold it.

The pregnancy is the centre of everything, and this is where I struggled most.

The narrative reduces the situation to something very narrow. It becomes about inconvenience and control, about moving forward, but without any real pause to sit with the ethical weight of what’s happening. There’s even a moment where the characters make a spreadsheet to work through the decision, and it feels strangely detached. There’s no real grappling with the fact that this involves a life. The Christian perspective is included, but it’s flattened and almost ridiculed rather than seriously engaged with, which makes the whole conversation feel one-sided.

The second thing that stayed with me is the lack of growth. Marnie doesn’t meaningfully reflect on what led her here. The drinking, the choices, the lack of boundaries, it all feels brushed past. By the end, when she talks about wanting to go to Ibiza, I found myself wondering what, if anything, had actually shifted in her. Even smaller details, like the casual vaping, add to that sense of weightlessness. For a story built on something so serious, it doesn’t feel like it carries the full consequence of it.

And that’s the tension at the heart of this book.

It wants to handle something complex, but it simplifies it too much. It wants to say something important, but narrows the lens until other perspectives almost disappear.

I didn’t hate it. There is care here. There is intention. There are moments of warmth, especially in the friendship. But I couldn’t fully stand with it.

For me, this sits firmly in a 16+ space, and even then it’s a book I’d want to be discussed, not simply consumed. Especially in a Christian or Catholic context, where the portrayal here will feel not just limited, but sidelined.

If you are a librarian in a Catholic school, this is one to pre-read carefully before purchasing, to assess whether it aligns with your school’s ethos.

2★

[Theediscerning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooh, get Marnie – so contrary, her narrative in this book is right-justified. Which is made more startling as this is a verse-format novel. She certainly is a bit of a rebel – kicked out of a select school just two terms before leaving it, when that and the scholarship that afforded such an education were so important to her single mother. When she goes down a step into a comprehensive school for her GCSEs, we meet Zeb(edee) – a lad who could almost make the opposite route, seemingly in a gifted and talented area. But he is naff at Spanish, while she abhors his beloved physics, and despite really not getting off on the right foot, the pair decide to befriend each other to teach their opposite. There's no hope of a romance – Zeb crushes on a lad in class – but they do form a kind of friendship. And then they both get invited to a party, and things happen in the bedroom, and – well, if you thought things ever happened in the bedroom without consequence, then you haven't lived.

Many a time I find verse-novels a way to pad an hour-long story out onto the same pages as a novel. This takes four hours, and packs more than enough in to justify the length. At no point are you judging it for the blank white space. This is rich, entertaining, and thoroughly important. And I'll say it now, it's worth five stars any night of the week.

I loved Marnie and Zeb, as a combination. OK, their dovetailing narratives, with so many overlaps, coincidences, ironic similarities, can be switching so overtly it's a bit overdone and annoying, but it can also be hilarious. The way they – no spoilers – end this novel almost with the feel of a married couple is gorgeous.

And what keeps them from joining up together is important, important stuff. Zeb has a lot to learn about himself; Marnie has a lot to learn about herself, and others – both born and unborn. For yes, this features teenaged pregnancy – the same fate that befell her mother. This then could – by some people – be seen as a pro-abortion book. It's not, for the simplest of scans proves this is an anti-what-leads-to-some-abortions book, and it's really wonderful.

This talks of tigger-warning-worthy subjects, and then deflates them all with the best and most unexpected joke about a certain confectionery. It gives you rounded, believable characters shorn of enough representation in previous reading, and it nails the task of being entertaining with it, with wonderful conjoined narratives and jokes to match. Oh, and it tweaks and quirks the design of the wording on the page to add another layer – and that's to ignore the chapter-heading artwork, which you find is even more ridiculously clever as you read through this.

I want to reiterate here that this is a five-star read. I devote that rarity to books worthy of being riveted to a spaceship and sent to the stars, as an indication of human thinking. Or it's for something that does a surprising amount more than I expected – matching perhaps the perfect story with the ideal storyteller. This does both. For someone who gets a thousand digital files a year to review, delete on this was a wrench. Books this quality are a distinct rarity.

[Barbara Bleiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One sometimes hears blanket criticism of YA fiction for being too ‘issues-based’ and focused on the challenges of being a teenager, rather than taking young adults into new unfamiliar territory, as if books closely associated with YA worlds, dilemmas and experiences are de facto less ‘literary’ and challenging – not high-quality literature. Tia Fisher’s new book, Not Going to Plan, is a powerful rebuttal of this simplistic view.

Her protagonist, Marnie, faces massive problems when she is forced to change schools in Year 11, struggles to be accepted and then gets pregnant by a boy in her class, and has to decide whether or not to have an abortion. The boy’s behaviour has been wholly, and very plausibly, reprehensible and yet she ends up carrying the full responsibility and blame for what has happened. She makes an unlikely friendship with Zed, a boy in her class who has his own issues to grapple with, and together they support each other in finding a way of standing up for themselves, learning more about who they are and want to be, and asserting their newfound values. If this sounds worthy and didactic, it isn’t. There is nothing preachy or simplistic about the very important messages of the book. The style and structure of the verse novel, with Marnie’s narrative and thoughts on one side of the page, and Zed’s on the other, is incredibly inventive and allows for changing thoughts and feelings, and different perspectives to emerge. The reader has the chance to hear and weigh different views. There are tough moments to read – Fisher doesn’t withhold details – but there is humour too. Imaginative layout and design include elements that YA readers will love – typography, shapes, drawings and lists are all used in clever ways to extract the maximum juice out of particular moments.

This is a novel that I can imagine young people reading with great enthusiasm, as I did, and at speed, to find out what’s going to happen to Marnie and Zed, two characters in a really tough situation. But equally, one could see teachers going back after that first read to explore the cleverness of the telling, the narrative invention, the use of the two different voices and the beautifully judged verse form, in ways that will develop their students’ understanding of narrative texts, helping them to become knowledgeable and discriminating readers of fiction.

Thank you to Tia Fisher for sending me an advance copy as a PDF.

[Milly Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Longlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal. Having read Crossing The Line last year and loving it, I was really pleased to see Tia Fisher’s second novel on this year’s longlist and once again it is written in verse. I listened to this on audible and I’m sad not to have seen the layout of the verse, but I did really enjoy the occasional use of overlapping voices. From the blurb we are told that Marnie has been expelled from the private school that she had attended on scholarship. At her new school, she is forced to take the only empty seat which is next to Zed who is a bit of a nerd. Marnie is brilliant at languages but struggles with numbers and Zed is brilliant at maths and physics but struggles with languages. Two totally different characters but they both have what the other needs and so they trade tuition. We are also told that Marnie can’t wait to lose her virginity and when she has sex with a boy at a party, a boy who lies about using a condom, then she needs Zed. From the blurb, it is pretty obvious what is happening and this novel handles issues of consent and abortion very well. Add to this there is the issue of control. Control over your own body, control over another person, control over the rumours that spiral. All issues that affect teenagers at different times. The friendship group that Zed and Marnie have is strong and I looked the way that the friendship between Marnie and Zed, which did seem unlikely, developed. This is a novel that explores so many topical and relevant issues and should be in every school library

[Rebecca R · Rating 5 out of 5]

When 16-year-old Marnie is excluded from her fancy private girls’ school and sent to the local secondary school to write her GCSEs, she ends up meeting Zed - a pedantic physics geek. Artistic rebel Marnie has nothing in common with him but they form an unlikely friendship anyway. And when Marnie gets stealthed by a boy at a party, Zed steps up to help her deal with the fallout.

‘Not Going to Plan’ is a riveting read and I raced through it in one sitting. Marnie and Zed’s friendship is particularly heartwarming. I loved the way he weighs up pros and cons via Excel spreadsheet and supports Marnie through her difficult decision.

I’d highly recommend this authentic and powerful verse novel about consent, reproductive rights and finding your voice. It is particularly topical in light of the current challenges to abortion access in the US but equally relevant in the UK where abortion is still stigmatised - an essential addition to school libraries.

[Clare McCarron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The bold Tia Fisher has done it again with her brave and important second novel, Not Going to Plan. It's unputdownable. I love Marnie and Zed. I was invested in them from the first few pages. They made me laugh and cry. Just like Tia Fisher's first novel, Crossing the Line, the story cracks open a topic which is difficult yet imperative for teenagers to have the chance to think and talk about; teenage pregnancy, abortion and the right to choose. The novel explores the subject material sensitively and doesn't shy away from the issue of consent. Another important, accessible and beautifully written verse novel which pushes the boundaries both in content and form.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

REVIEW ON MY BLOG HERE!
After reading Fisher's debut, Crossing The Line, last year, I knew she would become an author I would read everything she put out.
Our main characters are going through a transition and a coming-of-age time in their lives. Marnie has just been expelled from her private school and has now been enrolled into public school. Zed has always been a loner, more intent on solving maths equations than making friends. When Marnie and Zed are thrust together, a beautiful, unlikely friendship forms. I really enjoyed reading about their friendship. They are total opposites but perfectly complete each other and build such a supportive friendship. I loved reading about Zed discovering his sexuality and from his point of view, we learn the way he interprets the world around him is very different to Marnie.

Another character I unexpectedly loved was Marnie's mum. Although they argue, bicker and don't always see eye to eye - Marnie's mum is a real support system for her and in the end we leave the book hopeful that moving forward they will be a strong family unit.

The main topic of this book centers around consent. When Marnie has sex with a boy, she asks him to put a condom on and he pretends he has. This results in serious consequences for Marnie including pregnancy, school rumours, bullying and deep feelings of shame for her. This topic although uncomfortable, is so important to see represented in novels, especially for teenager. Making teenagers aware of the importance of enthusiastic continuous consent and that this is not okay. I hope this book empowers readers to feel more aware of what consent is and how consenting to one act does not mean consenting to others.

Although I really enjoyed this book, I felt I did not love it as much as Crossing The Line. That being said, Tia Fisher's way of weaving a story through her poetic writing is captivating and enthralling. I will definitely be picking up any further books that they pen.

[Matthew Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very important and timely YA verse novel from Tia Fisher, winner of the Yoto Carnegie Shadower's Award for Crossing the Line. It's brave and effective - I hope it falls into the right hands at the right time and helps someone IRL - but it's also a work of art. Tia Fisher is not just a poet but a great visual storyteller, as evident in the extraordinary design of these pages and in the small details she picks up on and uses to make this story all too real.

[Kate S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

She’s done it again. Tia Fisher manages to write about such important, topical issues facing many teenagers today. She also manages to do it in an accessible, engaging, and empathetic way. This time exploring teenage pregnancy and the themes of consent and control. Her characters are real and flawed and relatable. This book needs to be in the hands of teenagers and their carers. A must for any high school library. I devoured it.

[Lyndsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another truly stunning verse novel from Tia Fisher! It is a balanced, thought-provoking exploration of consent and abortion with brilliant characterisation and a very clever plot. The fun visual format of the text supports the messaging wonderfully and leaves the reader with lots to think about. Thank goodness for the benevolent relationships and compassionate activists at the heart of the novel. I thoroughly recommend that everyone reads it.

[Jia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this. Choosing from a limited choice, I decided on this book as I had never read verse books and I actually found it very cool and more interesting to read. I also liked it as it was a quick read and generally I like reading family or school based genres. The content of the book went quite fast, but I like the meaning that the characters wanted to convey at the end and the relation to women's rights.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast paced multi-layered delight. Spending time with Marnie and Zed was a pleasure and the suspense was there until the very last page. The prose, with its original verse layout, makes this an easy read, but not at the expense of depth or narrative. A great book for both experienced YA readers as well as those nervous of reading an actual book.

[Victoria-Melita Zammit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely not as good as Fisher's other Carnegie nominated novel - Crossing the Line was fantastic. But still a really good verse novel. I am so glad that it explores stealthing and the nuances of consent, and how it also talks about the future and self-identity. A great read for KS4 and above, and definitely one I will be recommending to older teenagers. A strong Carnegie contender.

[Jenny Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA dual perspective verse novel. This book tackles important issues for teens such as consent, abortion and identity. It was brilliant to see male characters supporting female friends so well. Really engaging and important.

[Hannah Peck · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting layout of writing that would engage reluctant teenage readers. A hard-hitting YA book that deals with teenage life and situations. It doesn’t gloss over things that could be seen as difficult and explains processes, both in thoughts and realities.

[lauren ⋆⭒˚.⋆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⋆⭒˚.⋆ 4 stars
⤿ this was emotive, heartbreaking and a protest itself towards stigmas, much like Marine's art project, it was an excellent read and Tia Fisher knows exactly what she's doing when it comes to writing books that are emotive and reflective of the society we live in.

[V · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - I liked it, has a really important message, enjoyed the friendship between Zed and Marnie. Took me a minute to like the characters. Feared the bad thing would be worse than it was. I do enjoy the verse style and liked how aesthetic it was - although it's not my favourite of its kind

[Kim Baiden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a powerful book for young people and an insightful look at teenagers for adults. Congratulations Tia Fisher.

[Rachel Chavez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't think I'd get on well with a verse novel but this one surprised me. One of those I think all students should read!

[Eleanor Rutherford · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ but rounded up for nicety.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't doubt this will be a controversial book considering the issues at the heart of the book, that is abortion. I thought it was handled well and with homestay, the scenario convincing, and the differing views were there. I am not sure enjoyed is the word I would choose for this, but I did find it an absorbing book.

[Jane Branson · Rating 5 out of 5]

After her debut Crossing the Line, @tiafisher would have been completely forgiven for taking years to write something as good again. Instead, her second novel is out already and it's another perfectly pitched heart-wrencher.

​N​ot Going to Plan deals with themes that are the day to day experience of our young people - the pressure of exams, the pressure to behave a certain way, the pressure to find a label and stick it on yourself with superglue, the pressure of social media in your face ​all the time. ​On top of all this, for some, there is more. Zed, for example, dreams of a sixth form scholarship. And for school newcomer 16yo Marnie​, there is the need to belong and be liked. Harry Borman (what a character name​!) is a boy who, it seems, will give her instant credibility. But when she has sex with ​him, it's not the type of sex she thinks she's consenting to.
​
​Abortion rights continue to be weak and further eroded in some parts of the world,​ and it's so important ​that books like this ​are written​, published​, and put into the hands of young people. Not Going to Plan will hopefully make it possible for a few of them to take an informed and nuanced view of the practical and emotional fallout of unplanned pregnancies​. I think it will be another award-winner, but also that it will fly off the shelves and be read and read and re-read. I hope ​that grown ups and parents of boys are amongst the readers. The stealthing conversation is one every family needs to have.

​Main characters with alternating control of the narrative voice, Marnie and Zed are brilliant creations - they leap fully-formed off the page​ in deft, light verse, making me laugh and cry.​ I love Marnie's art project and Zed's beautifully precise ​expressions. The supporting cast have authentic, strong presence too, which must be hard to do in so few words. And I was particularly pleased that Jessica, who sadly reminds me of so many desperate teenage girls, gets an empathetic hearing in the end.

Thank you @tia_fisher_writes and @hotkeybooks for another potentially life-changing book.

NGTP is out on 28 Aug. I read a @netgalley advance copy.

[Sarah Ziman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was excited to discover how Tia Fisher would follow ‘Crossing the Line’, her Carnegie-winning verse novel about the county lines drug trade, and ‘Not going to plan’ does not disappoint. Once again dealing with themes parents would probably prefer not to think about, this time it’s unplanned pregnancy and the toxic side of teenage relationships (stealthing, slut-shaming, coercive control and more). There is also well-handled discussion of abortion as a divisive topic between friends, and I can imagine the book being passed on and turned back to by teenage girls who might find themselves in a similar situation.

Despite all this seeming doom and gloom, the lighter thread that runs through the book is the fledgling friendship between ‘bad girl’ Marnie and the terminally uncool Zed, who prefers equations to parties and would rather physics than physical contact. The POV shifts between them throughout, and once again, Fisher uses clever concrete poem techniques to enhance the narrative. Another must-read for teens, and Fisher is one to recommend to fans of Sarah Crossan and Louisa Reid.

[Sue H H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, I'm in awe. Tia's writing for teens is timely, topical and, importantly, accessible. As with Crossing the Line, she uses well chosen words and playful formatting to deliver a powerful message but sealing the deal is her ability to create relatable characters a reader can root for and rally behind. Zed is a brilliant antidote to the toxic Andrew Tates of this world and, on more than one occasion, I wanted to give him a massive hug (even though he'd probably find that most uncomfortable!).
Not Going to Plan should be a staple in every secondary school library.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is stunning. It doesn't pull its punches and deals with some really heavy stuff.