Unexpecting by Jen Bailey is the story of Ben, a gay high school student who thought the hardest thing he would ever do was come out to him mother and stepfather, until he had to tell them he was going to be a dad. The parents of the baby's mother want to put it up for adoption but he wants to keep it and begins working hard to prove he'll be a good father. But can he keep up school, work and baby classes and throw a newborn in the mix? A wonderful story from a unique perspective!
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

When I was offered this ARC, I asked the publicist a couple of questions about if the main character had pressured the pregnant character not to have an abortion. The book kind of side steps that plotline but Maddie is still never given a real arc and she's basically a baby machine in the eyes of well... everyone?
I get that the point of this story is to look at how a teenage boy might be impacted by impending fatherhood and I appreciate that at the end he realizes that Maddie's (Maddie's family's, let's be real) original decision was best for all of them. I know they're teens and a big part of the novel is the idea that they aren't mature, but it was deeply unpleasant to read as someone who was in constant fear of becoming pregnant for at least a decade of my life. Given the current state of the forced birth movement, I really struggled to relate to the main character and I was frankly quite angry at him for much of the book.
(Also the romance wasn't a focus and felt like it should have been removed given the actual focus of the book.)
Overall a big reader and book mismatch here.

This just did not land for me in the way I was expecting. It was an interesting concept to take Juno the movie and make it gay but it fell short of expectations and could not deliver.
I was not a fan of how Maxie’s situation was handled. The characters fell flat. I thought the end was too rushed and a little too Hallmark card like. Overall the book was pretty average. I also had an issue that the crush was a former step brother, it was an interesting narrative choice that did did not do much. The main character could be read as neurodivergent and he felt like a 2D character and relied on harmful stereotypes.

I think the premise of this book is great. I was totally hooked. However, I felt like the execution wasn't great. I found most of the characters to be unlikeable and incredibly immature - even the adults. I also thought that the book was lacking a serious conversation around teen pregnancy and reproductive rights, which would have been really additive to the story. That said, I sped through it and enjoyed the reading experience. I was invested in the story despite not loving the characters.

Note: I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting and at times (positively) frustrating exploration of the weightiness of parenthood and finding your support network.

The self-centric and self-assured perspective of teenage Ben feels realistic for his age as much as it inspires annoyance; Ben's instinctive reaction to run away from important conversations ends up hurting several relationships that really matter to him. However, when things seem their bleakest, Ben comes to realize that he has a strong support network around him of his family, friends, and coworkers and finally entrusts his thoughts and feelings to them.

Ben's journey to greater self-realization is a good one but could have been more gradual and complete. The time spent on his avoidance tactics is somewhat exhausting, even if it is genuine. Fortunately, Gio with his accessible, pro-therapy, and pro-open conversation mindset is a balm to Ben's habit of ditching difficult conversations. (In fact, much of the conflict in the book could have been resolved sooner with a couple of sit-down chats.) The depiction of panic attacks for Ben was also well done.

On the other hand, the complete lack of awareness of Maxie's feelings bothered me. Ben is supposed to be her best friend but only rarely does he even begin to think about what she has to go through as a result of the pregnancy (e.g., the shaming, the physical, lifestyle, and medical changes, the need to drop out of all activities and miss educational opportunities). Ben has to give up some of that too but it's physically inequitable and it isn't clear that he fully realizes that, even at the end.

Audience for this book feels complicated. Recommended for parents or librarians for their teens perhaps so they don't underestimate the costs and weight of pregnancy? It's unclear to me how this might directly appeal to teens. All of that said, this is a solid book and it feels like an accessible, even-handed way to instill greater awareness in teens.

Rounding up to 4 stars

not all science camp experiments have such dire consequences, but when ben finds out his best friend maxie is pregnant with his baby, he realizes his experiment cost more than he anticipated. now, he’s not only known as the gay kid, but the gay kid who got a girl pregnant. but maxie and her parents want ben to sign over his paternal rights, and ben wants to keep them.

what i liked about this book is how it explored how hard teenage parenthood is, and single teenage parenthood at that. though the majority of this book takes place before maxie gives birth, it’s shown how hard parenthood can be even before the baby arrives. it also did a good job of demonstrating that not all family is blood-related and that those family members are just as meaningful as those who are.

oftentimes ben just viewed maxie as the girl carrying his baby (if that) and not at all as a friend or even as someone going through a stressful situation. this did get somewhat better over the course of the book, but there still wasn’t enough reflection to make it completely better.

additionally, i’m still not sure what to think of the romance aspect, small as it was. the love interest is the main character’s ex-stepbrother, and in the beginning makes comments that make me feel he still views him as family. it was a bit weird, but again, the romance aspect wasn’t super prevalent, so it didn’t bug me too much.

Unexpecting was both engaging and disappointing in parts. The writing style was easy to connect with at the beginning and the premise was interesting with the narrative dropping right into the middle of the action. It was easy to see what the author was trying to do, and sometimes successfully within this story. The parental characters were well written and Ben’s growing relationship with his step-father was honestly my favorite part. Ben’s self centered and naive perspective on parenthood was maybe understandable, but felt like a bit too much as his story continued. I would have liked to have seen more gradual character growth rather than a snap change of mind after pages and pages of bullheaded stubbornness. This might also connect to the other thing I really wanted to see - more interactions with Maxie and Mo. these were his people and we never really got to see that dynamic for what it was referenced to be - as best friends for their whole life. Ben’s isolation would’ve meant more with some visibility to what was before or what it should be. Many of his interactions with them didn’t indicate a close friendship at all.

Still, I didn’t dislike this book and I’m pleased with the ending, though the ride to get there was a bit bumpy.

3.25 stars
Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me this advanced readers copy.
Let me just say, the cover drew me in. I had no idea what this book was about but was so glad to recieve it! At the beginning the book seemed a little slow, and I wasn't connecting with Ben. However, by the end I had fallen in love with mostly every character in this book.
The things I liked about this book were the facts that it was a topic that not a lot of books talk about. Also, Gio and Monica were literally the dynamic duo I couldn't have asked for but they were amazing no matter what!
The things I didn't like as much was Ben, even though it seemed like the main two characters of the book, Ben got on my nerves sometimes and kinda seemed like he cared more about himself than Maxie who was literally having his child.
Anyways, I liked it and the authors writing style was incredible, so I will probably try out other books by Jen Bailey.
Thank you for taking your time and reading this review, and have an amazing day!

Ben was a really likable character to me. I'm guessing he is on the autism spectrum. This felt a bit immature to me, but I think teens would enjoy it.

If you're not new to this site, you're probably aware that I took a less than conventional path to parenting - having stepped in to help raise my niblings after the death of their mom. So I'm no stranger to the complete panic of finding yourself responsible for the complete care & well-being of tiny humans.  But I was a grown woman by the time I had to assume this overwhelming responsibility, and Benjamin Morrison, the main character of Unexpecting by Jen Bailey, is just starting his junior year of high school when he finds out his best friend (and summertime experimental hook-up partner) Maxie, is pregnant with his baby. And faces his own panic about the situation.

Maxie's parents want her to give the baby up for adoption, and have sent her to school with papers for Bennie to sign, to say he agrees to giving up his rights to the baby as well.  Only, once confronted with the papers, he finds that he just... can't. So he spends the whole of the book deciding what he can do, instead.  Along the way, there's a lot of misunderstandings, hurt feelings, teenagers being teenagers, parents (both soon to be and experienced) being clueless, wisdom from unexpected places, & an answer that was in front of them all the whole time.

For the first time since Maxie told me about the pregnancy, I’m scared. Not about what people will think of me, or what Mom wants me to do, or about the changes I have to make. No, I’m not scared about how this affects me. No, I’m afraid for the baby. I’m scared that I won’t be enough. I’m scared that I’ll mess something up and the baby—my baby—will be hurt by it. This baby is not a theory or a concept anymore. It’s a baby, a tiny human baby, with a heartbeat and toes and veins. This might be the realest thing to happen to me, and I don’t know what the hell to think about any of it.

To be honest, Unexpected is kind of a mixed bag for me: It's not exactly treading new ground - teenagers having a surprise baby, not understanding exactly what that will entail for their lives if they decide to keep the baby, how just the fact of getting pregnant changes every single relationship in their lives immediately - but it also is. Because I've never read any of that from the expecting dad's point of view, and I've certainly never read 'expecting teenage dad who wants to keep the baby, and also is gay, and also has a crush on his former stepbrother, who just so happens to show up to help him figure his shit out at exactly the right time' perspective. But that's what you get here, and it's done well.

It's complex and simple, all at the same time.

It's the same old story, but from a different angle, and I think that's an angle that teenagers need to read. And Bailey has told it in an enjoyable & accessible way, and I'm so glad YA literature is a place where these kinds of evolving stories are being told.




My copy of this book was provided free for honest review by NetGalley.

Many a tear was shed during the reading of this book!
But seriously this was a unique story with a lot of heart and so much pain and passion and emotion. I sobbed for the entire last 25% of the book and I loved every minute of it.
There was good representation in the book including several LGBTQ+ characters, a biracial couple, and adoptive parents etc.
The overarching theme of the book is that family is more than blood and I found that to be included throughout the book in a great way and I was very happy with how everything played out.
I highly recommend this book, it's seriously so sweet and heartwarming - it does deal with some tough situations but it handles them so beautifully.

Thank you to the publishing and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was super cute! A fun, easy read and I loved it!

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of Unexpecting by Jen Bailey. This is YA at its finest! This is it, a gem of a book. And I enjoyed every word immensely!

uh what? weird premise. honestly really dumb. but moving on. Ben was so tone deaf it was annoying. like he just kept being an idiot who got rooted in his weird mindset. the reasoning behind him wanting to be a dad WAS ABSOLUTE NONSENSE. how does he not pick up on how to speak to people and like have a conversation? it was a good reminding that men suck. some plot points weren’t developed enough throughout the book.

This one is something different than I usually would be drawn to. With the story being told from the father’s POV about his daughter’s teen pregnancy, it was a pretty decent book. The one thing that I applaud is that Ben (the father) fought hard for custody. Usually the dad walks away. This was for sure an angsty YA. Check trigger warnings before reading!

5 stars all the way!

I LOVE THIS BOOK!

Benjamin Morrison came out to his mom and step-dad 2 months ago. He's gay. Now, he's sitting them down for another heart-to-heart. Why? Because he's gonna be a dad. What? How did the gay kid get a girl pregnant? Science.

Ben is quirky and loves robotics and calculus and science. How can his hypothesis that he's gay be true if he doesn't prove it. So, he and his equally science nerdy best friend Maxie have sex at, where else!:?, science camp. But, oops, the condom was out of date and now Maxie is pregnant.

Maxie's parents want to put all this behind her, so she can go on with her academic plans. Closed adoption, live, and learn. But, Ben has other ideas. He wants to keep his baby.

I thought Ben was the sweetest, most endearing character that I've read in a long time. He is trying so hard to do the right things, even if they don't all come easy to him.

About halfway through, I kinda guessed where this was going to end up - but I don't care because it was all so beautifully written. It's a beautiful day in Florida - the sun is shining, the birds are singing - and I was sitting on my front porch crying over Ben and Maxie's journey.

Thank you so much St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

This was so fresh and fun. It had a great cast of characters, and I truly enjoyed this one. It was like rooting for the underdog. I had no idea what I was going into, but I was so happy that I did.

3.5 stars

Imagine: you're seventeen, gay (at least, you're pretty sure you are), in love with your ex-step-brother, still don't have your driver's license, and your girl friend (two words, big distinction) is pregnant. With your baby. Such is the situation that our main character Benjamin has found himself in.

A quirky twist on the classic YA coming-of-age. Unexpecting is a fun Carolyn-Mackler-esque novel for this generation of teens. I liked the premise of the story and the quick pace. Although I didn't connect deeply to the characters--especially moody, distant Maxine, whom I wish would have had more involvement--I enjoyed the book throughout and found myself fairly invested!

Unfortunately, I knew how the book would end after one scene about halfway in. The author tried to be subtle, but I knew right away where that moment would lead our main character by the end. Lo and behold, I was right. Further, though flowing and enjoyable, the writing itself is not especially noteworthy. Plot aside, Jen Bailey as a writer doesn't stand out much with this work.

Unexpecting is a funky fresh YA that will be great for fluffing out your summer TBR!

LQBTQIAP+ rep.

I found myself so bored most of the time. But the writing was good and I loved the plot idea but the way it was planned out. Written was not just it, it had so much potential but it didn't hit the mark for me.

Thanks to netgalley and the author for an eARC in exchange of a honest review.

2.75

Setting: Wisconsin
Rep: gay MC

This had a lot of potential but unfortunately I found the protagonist incredibly annoying, shortsighted, and immature. He really rubbed me up the wrong way and this kind of book relies on likeable characters. The plot was also so obvious from a million miles off so I was just waiting for characters to come to the obvious realisations. This just wasn't for me unfortunately.