I've been reading a lot of books lately that have this thing where they decide not to give you a solution to their plot line, even though they have potentially good elements. Add this to the list of potentially good books that let me down for just such a reason, as well as disappointing writing.

I thought that the premise sounded good, but that the writing left a lot to be desired. I found myself skimming large portions of it because the writing was very dull. I wanted to rip my hair out from how slow things were going. The fact that I could skim these bits and still follow the story line proved to me how superfluous they really were. The multiple points of view did not help with this problem. They felt really extraneous because there were so many of them: Quinn, her father, her boyfriend, a potential hookup, one or two of the believers that flock to her doorstep, etc. It's unusual to have so many points of view that work successfully; I can only think of one instance (Sandy Hall's A Little Something Different - 15 different points of view and it was fun!). In The Inconceivable Life of Quinn, they all felt like too many voices pulling at what little plot there was and stretching it even thinner.

The book also felt like it was conflicted as to it's identity. Primarily written as a novel that takes place in a strictly realistic setting, there were magical realism elements that didn't get introduced in-depth until too late. Was this intentional or was it an unconscious switch? It felt like a roller coaster jerk in storytelling styles in a somewhat unpleasant manner.

The mythology of the Deeps sounded like it could have been really neat if it had been developed as an actual real thing, rather than something that might or might not have been real and that 95% of the characters thought was just a children's story.

The ending was murky, as we never get a solution to the primary questions of the novel, something that has been infuriating me lately with novels. There are huge setups and no payoffs in the end? That amped up the feeling of frustration I was experiencing through the book. I don't think I'll be trying any more of this author's work because, while her idea might have sounded appealing, the execution of it was not to my liking and would push something potentially more worthy further down or completely off my TBR list.

I did not finish this book as I did not engage with this story at all.

How can you be pregnant without remembering having sex? 17 year old Quinn Cutler finds herself in this predicament which send her life and the lives of her family members and close friends into a state of chaos. This is far from good as Gabe Cutler, Quinn's father, is running for Congress. This is the story of how this moderately dysfunctional family deals with this crisis, guarding, protecting, blaming. Quinn is caught wrestling with the present while trying to sort through memories from the past that she feels must hold some of the answers for today. Marianna Baer's The Inconceivable Life of Quinn is told from varied perspectives including those of strangers who connect with the Cutler family. I definitely didn't see the ending coming even with all the dreams that the author wove through the story to point to the answer.

I wasn't as captured with the story as I thought that I might be. The writing is clear and easy to engage with. The answer that Quinn finds is certainly unique though the characters are very "ordinary" - real-to-life - identifiable - but perhaps her reality is so different from mine that I never was captured by this book.

Quinn has two problems - 1) she's pregnant at sixteen and 2) uhhh, she's never had sex. Like, ever. Reality ensues.

I really loved how this book took a realistic look at what would happen if the teenage daughter of a congressional candidate became pregnant but maintained that she was a virgin. All the possibilities are explored - was she raped and she's just blocking out the memory? Was she drugged? Is she the victim of long-term sexual abuse or could it be...well, something divine? Or magical? This book doesn't shy away from exploring the implication of all possible options (at one point she even begins to wonder if the father is a relative - appropriate horror ensues). The book veers into magical realism, with an emphasis on the realism, and it does so brilliantly. It drags in the middle, however, it takes forever to get some answers and then afterwards the ending feels pretty rushed. A good book overall, though.

When sixteen year old Quinn finds herself astonishingly a pregnant virgin, it shakes up her family's world.
Her father a candidate for congress and so the limelight becomes heavier surrounding the family throughout her pregnancy.

Her boyfriend, Jesse and her friends all stand by her and support her through the media onslaught and people insisting she's the 'new Mary' from the Bible.

The book also deals with the situation of believing you have experienced trauma for example rape very well. Quinn goes through a period of time trying to dig up memories which she can't complete, a classic sign of trauma normally.

However, this book has an underlying myth/fable fantasy storyline interwoven. Quinn's Grandma who is now dead, previously believed in 'The Deeps' as does Quinn but her father believes his mother was seriously depressed and made it up.

It was certainly a very different story to any other and in no way a straightforward storyline. But that's what made it more interesting, it wasn't predicable and caused me to go down many roots of thinking to try and figure out who could've got Quinn pregnant and the ending sure made it all come together perfectly!

Thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book!

I really enjoyed reading this. It sucked me in and I didn't want to stop reading.
I can see how those who didn't read the entire GR summary could be sucked into thinking this was a straight contemporary about a 16 and pregnant girl who has mental illness. There's no doubt that Quinn seems like an unreliable narrator. That thought is augmented by the other points of view that occur every few chapters - the nurse who drew her initial blood work, Quinn's therapist, her boyfriend and others. They were integral for adding the doubt necessary to keep you reading.
The truth is that this is a magical realism novel with messages about choice and faith. Quinn's father is currently running for Congress when she finds out about her pregnancy. He is very pro-choice and assumes she will get an abortion. When Quinn decides she wants to keep the baby Quinn and her mother have to explain to him that pro-choice indicates a choice.
Needless to say, Quinn's decision to continue the pregnancy has repercussions for everyone. The media are relentless, the religious fanatics are thinking she's carrying the Messiah, her little sister is stuck in the middle not understanding; Quinn is cut off from everyone and everything because her parents believe it's for the best - her friends, her boyfriend, social media, TV.

I loved this book! Such a compelling premise, and it's full of richly developed characters, beautiful writing, vibrant settings, and so much suspense. I was so captivated by Quinn and her quest to figure out what was going on that I wanted to drop everything to finish reading. The resolution is unexpected in the best way, in my opinion--I didn't see it coming, but there are clues deftly woven through Quinn's dreams and memories, so I found it satisfying rather than jarring. Sometimes people talk about books being high-concept or literary, or plot-driven or character-driven, and I think this book is all of those things. As a former Brooklyn resident, it was also fun to read something set in places I recognized...and how gorgeous is that cover??

This was such a strange book. Mostly in a good way but it was also in a not so good way. I thought the
synopsis was incredibly interesting and I really, really wanted to know what happened and I lowkey needed to know how Quinn became pregnant. I got a bit of a Unbecoming of Mara Dyer vibe from this book so if you loved Mara Dyer, you might love The Inconceivable Life of Quinn as well.
I'm not a huge fan of magical realism. I didn't expect magical realism in this book so that was kind of out of left field for me. It came a little late in the book for me to adjust to it and it just didn't hit me right.
I did really love the writing style. I thought it was really well written so the writing was my favorite thing about The Inconceivable Life of Quinn.
Overall, the writing was great but the magical realism just wasn't for me. I think this is a really cool book and a lot of people, especially fans of Mara Dyer, will really enjoy it.

The inconceivable life of Quinn by Marianna Barr was surprising. I really thought I would love it, and it's not that I didn't, it's just that the ending came way out of left field. So much so, that it left me feeling unsatisfied. Which is a massive shame, because the rest of the book was awesome.

Plot

The premise of this book is that a 16-year-old girl, who happens to be a virgin and the daughter of a political candidate, ends up pregnant. Nobody knows how or why she's pregnant, and throughout the book she maintains her position that she is a virgin.

The premise was great, when I read the blurb I was really intrigued as to how this would play out. I really wanted to know how she got pregnant. And the thing is, I really thought I would find out, and in a way I did, but also I didn't.

The style of the book is written in, is a really easy to read, nice and quick, flowing prose. I was sucked in, and despite the plot not being particularly fast or complicated, the characters had a lot of depth and I really enjoyed reading the story.

Chekhov's Gun

The biggest problem for me was that the author made an omission. There is a lesson for writers here around Chekhov's gun. Chekhov's gun is a theory that says don't show the readers a gun in a scene, unless later on the gun will be used or have a purpose.

Now, the whole book was based on a pregnancy that we wanted to find out the answer to who the father was. It was set in a real world with no fantastical elements. So when Barr pulled out a DNA test, and tested two of the lads that were probable candidates, I expected to find out who the father was (at some point). Without giving too much away, the ending did not explicitly tell us who the father was. Instead it used mythology and an extraordinary mythological based reason for the pregnancy.

Personally, I couldn't equate the DNA test with the mythology. Either tell us who the father was via DNA, or leave it out. It was very distracting given the books ending an explanation for the pregnancy. I was just left feeling frustrated and like I hadn't really got an answer. It felt, unfinished.

Characters

The characters were good, I felt for the main character, I liked the protagonists parents and how they shit they were as parents. But I would have liked to seen a bit more depth to the father in particular because he was such a great complex character, and I didn't quite get enough page time from him.

Overall

I think this author, is a great writer. I really like her style, her prose, and the way she sucks you into the story. Unfortunately, the ending really didn't do it for me, and I felt there was a huge dissonance between the real-life setting of the rest of the book, and the fantastical ending. That being said, I would definitely read other books written by this author, she's really engaging and one to look out for.

Blog posted on Tuesday 28th Feb here: http://wp.me/p8a9GB-27
Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1866122533

The Inconceivable Life of Quinn was an okay book. This novel started out strong with great writing and a story plot line. But i found myself just getting bored with the story as the book progressed. There were some parts that were just repetitive and I also didn't really care for the ending to much. I found that I really what I wanted to know what happened and that compelled me to finish the story but it was by no means the best book ever. Overall this book was an okay read.

This was really not a great book. I kept expecting there to be more, an explanation as to how she got pregnant that wasn't "magical". It didn't deliver and felt so flat and unfinished.