The Lit Report (Young Adult Novels)

How Julia copes with her best friend's pregnancy and her new stepmother and her crush and everything else life throws at her during her senior year. Nicely done, with plenty of allusions to classic literature and some warmly believable characters. The crazy/religious/evil parents were, I sincerely hope, unrealistic. A quick, enjoyable read.

Julia and Ruth had been best friends since they were four, Julia being a pragmatic list-maker and Ruth being an outrageous, fun-loving big mouth. When Ruth becomes pregnant, Julia goes into planning-overdrive - a beloved "research project" for neonatal care, delivering the baby, and putting the baby up for adoption without anyone being the wiser, most especially Ruth's parents - an evangelical preacher and his wife. But the moment the baby arrives, all of Julia's plans are smashed; Ruth wants to keep the baby, despite the certain wrath of her parents. Suddenly Julia's dreams for her and Ruth's future have been destroyed by a 7 pound female who regularly poops herself.

Sarah N. Harvey has presented a witty, lovely and wonderful story of show more friendship between two teenage girls. Despite the odds against Ruth and Julia, a reader finds herself believing that these two are unstoppable. However, those wanting a more hard-hitting and realistic novel about teen pregnancy might best look elsewhere; while Ruth might struggle against the judgment of her parents, she ultimately has support that many teen mothers might envy (homeschooling and free room and board in exchange for being a live-in nanny). Moreover, Julia's own development as a character appears clunky; we know that she has a weight problem at the beginning of the novel, that she sticks to a dieting regimen in support of Ruth, and then suddenly she's become skinnier, "wearing stilettos and a denim micro-mini with a pink satin camisole" (pp. 99-100). The focus on body image is inconsistent and Julia's transition from controlling list-maker to a less-compulsive and more indecisive woman appears a little disorganized. However, for those who enjoy their Chick Lit with a sarcastic and literary punch, The Lit Report is highly recommended. show less

I really enjoyed this book. The protagonist is sarcastic and grumpy in the most charming way. Her pregnant best friend also has a distinctive voice throughout; neither are flat characters in any way. They live and breathe, and as Julia tells her far-fetched tale, you find yourself rooting for them. The plot device never crosses the line into a realistic situation, but it is less the focus of the story than one would think. I found Julia's romance with Ruth's brother completely charming, and Ruth's adoration of her child lovely. Overall, a very enjoyable and quick read. Recommended.

The Lit Report is told from the perspective of Julia, a high school student who thinks she knows exactly what her future is going to hold. When her best friend Ruth ends up pregnant, Julia does what she does best – she comes up with a plan. She thinks she and Ruth can keep anyone else from finding out about the pregnancy, and that they can get through this without messing up Julia's plans for the future... but things don't turn out quite the way she intended.

The best thing about this book is the main character's voice. Julia is intelligent and funny, and her narration pulled me into the story from the first page. The characters and their environment were described vividly enough that I could easily imagine them as real people and show more places. Julia also weaves in thoughts about books she's read, and each chapter starts with the opening lines of a classic, but this aspect of the book seemed kind of tacked on; the books, and Julia's appetite for them, didn't connect very much to the rest of the plot. The ending was another thing I had a slight problem with; the book seemed to peter out near the end, without much of a climax and without some important issues being fully explored – namely, the fact that being a mother is hard and being a single teenage mother is even harder. Overall, though, I enjoyed reading this book. show less

When Julia's best friend Ruth gets pregnant, they concoct a plan to keep the pregnancy secret, but things go hilariously amok. This was a fun, quick read. Julia and Ruth are amusing characters, and while Julia's plan to deliver Ruth's baby herself is truly frightening, the friendship between the girls is lovely to watch. The relationships were nicely done - Julia and Ruth's, Julia and her mothers, and Julia and Boone - there is a sweetness to all these that I found endearing. Ruth is a constant observer, noting down her thoughts on the books she reads, the people around her, and wryly describes events that do and do not go to plan.
I had a few problems, the biggest being the plan to deliver Ruth's baby in secret - this is a horrifically show more dangerous idea, for both Ruth and the baby, and I was scared by how lightly it was treated by everyone involved. It didn't seem realistic to me that everyone the finally told would take it so calmly. Also, I couldn't quite fit Julia's weight loss into the rest of the story.
I really appreciated the contrasting religious characters, Ruth's pastor father with his nasty condemning attitude and Julia's religious mother who acts with compassion and kindness without a hint of judgement.
I'd give this to readers interesting in realistic fiction, romance, or funny stories. It might also be a good one for getting a reluctant reader interested in classic fiction. show less

I read this several months ago and am just now getting around to doing a review (mea culpa) but the strongest thing I remember is the theme of friendship, even when your friend is being difficult and downright bitchy (with reason, because her life kinda sucks) and it would be easier not to deal, the true friend sticks around. A smart and funny addition to the teen-pregnancy genre, told from a slightly different perspective than most.

Julia has her whole life planned out: after high school, she and her best friend Ruth are going to move out of their respective houses, get fabulous high-paying jobs, and live in a fantastic city. She and Ruth have had this plan, or a variant on this plan, for nearly forever, but the plan has some serious changes to undergo when Ruth gets pregnant. They both know that Ruth's Bible-thumping parents will not accept this turn of events, so Julia does what she does best: she makes a plan. Together the girls conspire to hide Ruth's pregnancy and give the baby up for adoption without anyone finding out about it, but when the time comes, plans aren't always carved in stone. As stresses pile on both of them, it's time to find out how strong show more their friendship really is.

I can't speak to the veracity here, but it does sound like hiding a pregnancy for 9 months and then having a baby at 17 isn't that difficult. There is an acknowledgment that Ruth's baby is an "easy baby," and that Ruth's support network is wider and stronger than the average 17-year-old's, but it still doesn't really communicate just how difficult new parenthood can be. However, this hardly seems the point of the book, which is more about friendship than it is about reproduction.

This is an easy, light read (not surprising as it's an Orca book), but I don't know about its hook for reluctant readers: Ruth's story, and her relationship with her underdeveloped parents, could be fascinating, but Julia's voice is one of calm intellectualism. I could identify with her, but I'm not 100% convinced the reluctant readers this publisher aims at will share Julia's passion for classic literature, or will appreciate the way she starts each chapter with the first line from a classic work.

But the story's really about friendship, and at that, it's really good. show less