“That cross on my locker—it feels like an anchor pulling me down, down, into a permanent humiliation.”

This book was transformative and heartbreaking as we follow Ivy and her decision to abort her pregnancy. I am a firm believer in Pro-choice and am so ecstatic that there is finally a story out there that talks about the big “taboo” of abortions. Yes it’s a tough subject. Yes it’s a brutally conflicting choice. But NEVER should we condemn a woman for whatever choice she makes. I am happy that this book was written as it brings much awareness to something people tag so much negativity with. Especially for young readers - to help give them the opportunity and encouragement to be further informed about choices like these.

“The idea of this being one understandable experience will absolutely and without a doubt disappear. There, what I’ve done is against the law, and immoral.”

Thank you @tbrbeyondtours for including me in this tour!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyASbNHA72X/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

A really poignant perspective that is desperately needed in today's climate to help remove the stigma around abortion access. While this is fiction, it's also a real story/reality for many people.

I can appreciate the premise of this book because in our current climate, with the overturning of Roe v Wade, its a reality many women and even teen girls, like the main character here will face. However, as a story this read as a lofty premise supported by a pretty mediocre story. The main character felt obnoxiously immature for a 16 year old, her "love" interest felt obnoxiously mature for a teen himself, and so much of the story is carried by the premise and not any actual storytelling. At times it felt like the author took planned parenthood stats and dropped them into the confines of a story in the most inauthentic and forced ways. Also, the way that the Main character became pregnant was a cop out. It actually would have been more poignant for her pregnancy to be the result of the teen love and hormones as opposed to SA. It felt like her pregnancy being a result of SA was done to make her being pregnant more digestible but that thinking runs counter to the entire premise of the book. Ultimately this story tried to do a lot, did none of it particulary well, but overall I still felt like the premise IS important.

Plan A is a timely novel set in pro-life Texas. It answers the questions" What happens when you become pregnant in a state in which abortion is illegal?" and "How far will you go for the ones you love?" I love how this story destigmatizes abortion. Not every pregnancy is cut and dry, as far is what is best for the woman and man women have secrets. This book shows young adults, that whatever they choose, it will be okay. A powerful story, with strong characters.

3.5 stars - Thank you to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for a review

PLAN A details the story of Ivy, a 17 year old girl who needs an abortion in a state where it is illegal. Along the way, Ivy heard the stories of other women who were in her place. These connections are woven beautifully into the story, and it looks at reproductive issues from all angles. I really enjoyed this book, seeing Ivy process her emotions and seeing her learn about how other women have been in her place.

Five Reasons to Read Plan A by Deb Caletti

Her Body, Her Choice - this book discusses bodily autonomy and various ways in which misogyny tries to claw rights away from folks looking for health care. Given the state of things, choice is a right that needs to be fought for.

Road Trip - by coincidence, I was also on a road trip while reading this book, and can confirm that the jubilant aspects of being on the road (places with fun names, spotting things you don't see every day) are present and serve as fun reminders of past travels. ALSO! Ivy and Lorenzo visited Dinosaur National Park on their trip, and we happened to stop in the Dinosaur Capital of the World on ours.

Pancakes - this is such a little detail, but road snacks and the type of food one gets during an actual driving break can change your whole mood. Out of all the foods I could have picked (Mountain Dew, Red Vines, all the amazing sounding stuff Mase made before/after the trip) I picked pancakes because on this trip one of our hotels had an automatic pancake maker.

Love Story - yes, this is an Abortion Road Trip Love Story, and though the love between Ivy and Lorenzo is new, we get to see it blossom, and there is so much love that surrounds them. Sometimes it is in words or actions or just being present, and despite her small-minded town being full of people who don't have it in them to open their eyes fully, that doesn't mean the whole world is against her.

Why is history so important? - It repeats itself, especially when it is left unchecked. What you are facing has been faced before and so many people have made it through. In order to make things better for those who come after you, you need to stand up for your own human rights.

All the stars, no notes. Deb Caletti does not miss and this is an important and timely book that should be at the top of everyone's to-read list.

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

Sixteen-year-old Ivy is shocked when the plus sign appears on the pregnancy test. She meant to spend the summer working to save up money for college and swooning over her boyfriend Lorenzo, but now she’s planning a road trip to her grandmother’s home to legally obtain an abortion. Despite the heaviness of what will happen at the end of the trip, Lorenzo is determined to make their “abortion road trip love story” a beautiful experience for Ivy, creating an enchanting path from Paris, Texas to Rome, Oregon. On their journey, Ivy finds herself a part of a secret community, a community built of women who have been silent about their own experiences.

Small town teen girl gets pregnant and seeks an abortion—on the surface, it doesn’t seem like it’s a new story. But Caletti finds a way to tell a beautifully tender love story that is surrounded by a call to action against those who want to take away the bodily autonomy of individuals with uteruses. It’s a story that pulled me in from the get go and pulled my heart in all different directions.

One of the things I loved most about this story was the women that Ivy meets along the way. Our society has this unspoken rule that we don’t talk about abortion or miscarriage or infertility—there is a certain stigma and shame associated with it. But as we follow Ivy’s journey from Texas to Oregon, we also get stories of other women who have had to make a difficult decision surrounding a pregnancy. Despite this being a work of fiction, Caletti has opened the door with this book to start bigger conversations and allow those who have been shamed into silence to share their stories.

It is beautiful to see the great support system that Ivy has around her (that a lot of teens don't have in her same situation). Her mother, brother, and boyfriend rally around her and immediately support her without an ounce of judgement or blame. They are the perfect example of the kind of people we should all 1) strive to be and 2) surround ourselves with. In a book that centers around an abortion, there are some tender moments that warmed my heart and restored some faith in humanity.

And listen, I know we all love the morally grey villain as a book boyfriend, but sweet Lorenzo absolutely stole my heart and I will fight anyone who says a bad word about him.

In a post-Roe world, this story is incredibly timely and unfortunately too easy to believe will happen. I hate to say it, but I can absolutely see this book being banned or challenged in all the places like Ivy’s hometown, though I will hold out hope that it will find its way to the teens that need it. As someone who has felt that exact shame and hidden from the stigma, I know exactly how isolating it can be and a story like this is just a little thing that can help you feel less alone.

And, of course, can’t leave out the important content warnings: abortion, sexual assault, parent with cancer, slut shaming, and homophobia. Take care of yourself while reading.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review.

I’m so glad this book exists and hope that it gets into the hands of kids who need it most. Ivy is a teenager in Texas who learns she’s pregnant right at the start of the book. She knows she isn’t ready to become a parent and it would dramatically change her life and she wants to wait and have kids when she’s ready. Unfortunately, she lives in Texas and it’s past 6 weeks when she learns. After discussing it with her mom, she decides to go to Oregon where her grandmother lives for an abortion.

Ivy and her boyfriend Lorenzo decide to make it a road trip and look to add some fun and adventure. Ivy learns along the way about other women who have also had abortions.

The audio narration is well done but the narrator speaks slowly and the player I was listening on only goes to 2x. I think this may have really impacted my reading experience because the story felt really slow - I decided to DNF but would still recommend this to people who are interested and most especially to teenagers who need to read this experience.

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley and prh audio for the free ebook and audiobook.

Deb Caletti always writes timely stories that explore the nuances of being female. While she writes for a young adult audience, her themes cross age barriers and are meaningful for readers of all ages. In Plan A, she presents a story that could be ripped from the headlines and does so in a way that makes you ache for the suffering of every person with a uterus in this post-Roe era.

Plan A is a beautiful story. Ms. Caletti approaches her subject matter with care. Never too preachy, she lets her characters share pertinent facts. Where Ms. Caletti shines, however, is in showcasing her characters' emotional toil. Not only do we see firsthand the turmoil Ivy experiences, but we also get to see how Ivy's story impacts her family and her boyfriend.

Plan A is not an easy read, but it is so powerful. Ms. Caletti perfectly captures the fears, loneliness, doubt, and general shock of an unexpected pregnancy. She does so while exploring the idea of choice. Again, she never pontificates. Neither does she condemn others for their beliefs. Instead, she presents one girl's situation and experiences that will, hopefully, allow readers to understand and empathize. Plan A is one of those books I want everyone to read. It is a subject that only Ms. Caletti could tackle, and I'm glad she did.

great book and loved the mystery through out the book. I loved the characters and how they grew through all of their adventures. I enjoyed this book and this author and will check them out again add them to my reading pile.

I really wanted to love this book. The book started really slow and the topic was a HARD read. The teen abortion and pregnancy story is the reason I wanted to read this book. The story was good but it wasn't my favorite I really appreciated the topic being written about it is so hard to read what is often real life experiences for teens.

Thank you, this is just the book we need right now. Beautifully written to capture the feelings and truth around this experience across generations. I enjoyed every mile of this ride.

I really wanted to love Deb’s book, but it wasn’t for me. The pacing was too slow for me and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would, unfortunately.

This is a difficult book to rate. Not because it's not good - it's excellent! - but because the subject matter is so difficult, and knowing that this is real life for so many people right now makes it even harder. I'm fortunate that this situation will never affect me, but it's still pretty hard to read someone going through it.

Parts of this I thought were slow, but the story as a whole is amazing, full of new experiences and details and little moments that really shone. I love Ivy's younger brother and Lorenzo, but the rest of the cast is brilliant as well. I was never bored reading, I always wanted to find out more about what was going on.

We need to flood the shelves with books like this so that people will start discussing and arguing and maybe, just maybe, things will start to get better. I'm looking forward to trying to get this to as many people as possible.

This is such an important read and I am so glad it exists. Thank you for letting me read it and putting it into the world. Highly highly recommend

Ivy, the main character, doesn’t consider keeping the baby and the abortion itself is straightforward. Her boyfriend, Lorenzo, is from California and neither feel welcome in their small Texas town. The town turns on Ivy but it doesn’t seem too realistic – I live in a town about that size. Nevertheless, Lorenzo is a sweet and supportive guy (not the father of the baby – but that’s a whole other plot). The author has done an amazing job broaching this subject. The book does not advocate for abortion but instead brings forth the reality of being in Ivy’s shoes.

I enjoyed reading Ivy's focused, determined character, rightfully making her own decisions. I like how this story is quite different from the average teen pro-choice story in many ways.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Plan A follows teen Ivy as she embarks on a cross-country road trip for an abortion following an assault.

Plan A is such a poignant novel for our current social moment, and I am so excited for teens to have access to this kind of book which so deftly and lovingly talks about the issues of abortion and women's rights. Deb Caletti does a wonderful job of representing a range of perspectives here, as well as highlighting the difficulties of this kind of choice and what both consent and genuine loving support look like. More than anything, this book highlights the life-changing impact, no matter your choices, of pregnancy and abortion, and of being a woman in the world we live in today.