Prom Babies is the story of 3 girls who get pregnant on their prom night in 2005, and the bond they create over this shared experience. The novel flashes back and forth between then and eighteen years later when these 3 "prom babies" are getting ready to go to their own prom. Each dealing with their own ways to cope with their history and hardships is prevalent in both time frames. Will Cole find out about his father? Will Sheryl find a place to call her own? Will pregnancy be an issue at this prom now that Roe v Wade has been turned over? Kekla Magoon writes Prom Babies with an activist heart, educating teens on the issues today, while ensuring the novel has a feel good ending.

Prom Babies felt like a book version of a lifetime movie I would have watched in my teens and absolutely loved. And I mean that in the best way possible!

I loved how each individual had a different, but mostly realistic, experience with an unexpected teen pregnancy. This is a great book for teens of any age. I love how it examines the different perspectives on sex, consent and a persons right to choose. I especially liked the emphasis that pro choice did indeed mean a woman's right to choose, not just a woman's right to terminate. I think of all of the characters storylines, I would have loved to see/learn more about Amber.

This was an excellent YA novel that explores a serious topic in a fun and heartwarming way.

The subject matter of the story is important, but it comes off as pretty preachy. Discussion between characters is unnatural and forced at points where they're talking about reproductive rights and feminist issues. I get that this is for teens, but teens have the highest cheese-meter of all. I did enjoy it, but I hope the author develops a more natural voice on future projects.

I really enjoyed this! It was really interesting seeing the moms' prom experiences then and their kids' prom experiences now. Also, that prank at the end was epic!

This was a great multigenerational story. Usually when a book has a lot of POVs it can get super confusing. This one had 6 and it didn't get as confusing as I thought it would. I loved each character's POV and seeing what they were each going through. Cole in particular was really interesting, given that he was the only guy in the group and he was the product of a rape. I loved how consent was a big part of his story as well as the rest of the characters' POVs. It was an important aspect to the story.
With the past POVs, aka the moms, we got to see how each of them dealt with getting pregnant from a different type of relationship, couple in love, casual hookups, and rape. Each of them considers abortion and we get to see all of their thought processes as they way the pros and cons of both options. I liked that because having an abortion or having the baby are both difficult decisions especially as a teenager and each girl had a very different perspective on their pregnancy because of how they got pregnant. SO this book definitely explores a lot of different things.
With the present POVs, aka the kids, we get more discussions about sex, sexuality, consent, sexism, heteronormative expectations. So many different topics to explore. It was a different vibe than the moms' because moms' POVs were all about their pregnacies but the kids were about relationships, taking down the patriarchy, consent, and learning about themselves.
Now that I've talked about the good of the story lets talk about the not so good. Having 6 POVs in a 300 page book is not enough time to explore everything. I don't like long ass books but with 6 POVs there is just so much to explore and unpack. I wanted to know so much more about all of the characters.

audiobook specific: I loved that each character got their own narrator. They all did a fantastic job, except for cole's narrator. He wasn't terrible but I did struggle with him a bit. At times he spoke in a cadence that seems a bit computer like. He didn't sound like a computer but just his pacing was off as times. As I said in the beginning of my review, the 6 POVs didn't get too confusing for me. I cannot say for certain that that was because of the writing or because I listened to the audiobook with 6 different narrators.

Content warning: teen pregnancy, rape, sexual assault, discussions of abortion, sexism

A really well written dual timeline YA novel with a diverse cast of characters who each experience a Prom Date pregnancy. An excellent exploration of sexual assault, consent, women's rights through the lens of two generations of teens - the single mothers of the early 2000s and their grown children in the present day. Great on audio with a full cast, this really should be a must read for teens before prom with great life lessons! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Kekla Magoon, Spotify Audiobooks and NetGalley.

This was surprisingly good. I plan to pick up a physical copy for my grandkids. They're too young now but won't always be. I was engaged from the beginning and very quickly became invested in these characters. The story is told using 2 alternating timelines with 3 main characters from the 2005 storyline: Penny daughter of a teen single mom, Mina biracial with a father from Ghana and an upper middle class family, and Sheryl a foster kid who has bounced around a bit because her mom struggled with substance abuse. The second timeline from 2024 included 3 new main characters in addition to those from the 2005 storyline: Amber, Penny's daughter, Blossom, Mina's daughter, and Cole, Sheryl's son. In both timelines the story is centered around and focused on high school senior prom.

This deals with some heavy issues including abortion, birth control, foster care, sexual assault, substance abuse, LGBTQA+ struggles, gender expectations, the politics of consent and adoption. Some of these issues are merely mentioned and others are plot points. I don't want to be more specific because of spoilers. So I would say the publishers suggested age of 14 is probably a good benchmark for parents. These issues are crucial for understanding for teens of all genders so I'm glad this novel exists.

I loved that this audiobook has multiple narrators to go with its multiple pov characters. This was narrated by Andy Garcia, Imani Jade Powers, Krysta Gonzales, Matt Bridges, Victoria Connelly and Yinka Ladeinde. The individuality of each separate character voiced by their own narrator truly helped to differentiate the characters as well as made the story easier to follow.

Thank you to Kekla Magoon, Spotify Audiobooks and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

!! TW: rape, sexual assault

Thank you to NetGalley + Spotify Audiobooks for the advanced digital copy!

Prom Babies tells the story of two generations going to prom and the life changing events that happen during the event. Penny, Mina, and Cheryl attend prom in 2005 and form a friendship as they all ended up pregnant. The book follows the girls as they raise their kids and send them off to their own prom in 2024.

I loved how many topics this book covered!! It gets into virginity, consent, gender norms, patriarchal dress codes, and all the options women have when it comes to pregnancy (shout out Planned Parenthood!!). I also enjoyed the “found family” that is created as Cheryl, Mina, and Penny raise their kids side by side. I really wish more of that was shown as the kids don’t even interact with each other until over halfway into the book when we start getting more backstory into how they were raised together. This book would be a PHENOMENAL read for any high school English or Health class.

The book overall felt more like a Cole / Cheryl story, with Amber and Mina as side plot characters. I would say 75% of the book is about Cole / Cheryl overall. This left Blossom and Penny completely put off to the side and rarely heard from which was disappointing to me because as a mixed Afro-Latina, i was very excited for Mina / Blossom. I was also looking forward to Penny’s arc as her mom was a teen mom and they didn’t have a good relationship. I was hoping to see how she would put in the work to ensure she and Amber did not mirror that but she faded completely into the background as Amber was focused on her protest.

I also wish there had been a content warning because i was not expecting there to be such a heavy theme of sexual assault and rape within this book. I found both Cheryl and her son Cole’s chapters to be extremely triggering and had to fast forward through them. I did appreciate the note at the end going over all the different resources available to anyone who may be experiencing trauma and need assistance.

The audiobook was good however i found it hard to multitask while listening. I typically listen to audiobooks while working or gaming but this one took more brainpower to figure out what was going on or who was who due to the amount of characters. By about 40% i was able to power through. The women narrating did a great job, especially Amber! She truly captured her character’s complete essence. Cole’s narrator however was very robotic with little to no inflection. He sounded like all his chapters were recorded via “talk to text.”

I gave this 3 ⭐️ due to wanting so much more of the other 4 characters (Blossom, Mina, Penny, and Amber), wanting more interaction between the kids and a look into their found family lifestyle.

I read this book as part of my work on an YA award committee, so, unfortunately, I am unable to give a review due to the rules of the committee.

I will be giving this book 5 stars because that is the standard rating I am giving for all books I read for the committee.

I do want to thank the publisher for this copy of the book. Please know that I did read it and consider it for my work on this committee. I will be sharing this book in my job with my students and promoting it in my library!

I was drawn in by the cover, and stayed because of the story! Nineteen years ago on prom night, three high school girls become pregnant. Now their three kids get ready for their own prom night. Told from six different perspectives in two timelines (2005 and 2024), Prom Babies provides a compassionate window into what it means to carry out a pregnancy as a teen mom and what the future holds for those babies as they attend their own prom years later.

This book was written with so much love, and care, and I am so glad I read it. Whenever I paused the audio, I could not stop thinking about the book and could not wait until I pressed play. What I really liked about the book is that it provides an honest look at the teen pregnancy trope and what that trope looks like today versus 19 years ago and while taking into account the radically different social, political, and economic landscape. I also appreciated that the heavy topics discussed in the book (sexual assault, rape, addiction) are written in a developmentally appropriate, and compassionate way (no victim blaming).

4.5 Stars

The whole thing takes a bit of focus when you’re reading, this was not a book I could multitask while listening to. The story is good and kept me interested the whole time.

At about 50% the stories of the 3 girls who became pregnant on prom night and their kids really converge. The first half of the book takes place in 2007 and the second half bounces between 2007 and 2024. At this point I also seemed to figure out who was who and it made listening to it a little easier. I listened to the last 40% in effectively one sitting.

Whole book was intense. Really explores the question of nature vs nurture, as well as deals with some very important topics like SA, consent, and reproductive rights. I appreciate the authors notes at the end touching on when the book was written, how things had changed from the time it was written to publish, as well as resources available. considering this target audience for this book is teens, I feel like it’s essential information.

I wish I had books like this when I was younger and I will be suggesting this book to ALL of the younger people in my life.

The narration was good, with a decent pace. My biggest hurdle was that I had a difficult time keeping the voice for each character straight in my head. This is likely a me problem as I seldom listen to books with more than 2 people in the cast.

Two generations and prom converge in this incredibly powerful book.

Mina, Penny and Sheryl all end up pregnant on prom night and eighteen years later, their own high school senior are heading to prom… we get a back and forth timeline through each of these six people, creating such a level of anticipation that had me hook, line and sinker…

Now, Blossom, Amber and Cole, heading off into adulthood are grappling with their own place in the world. The times have changed, but so many things remain the same.

This book was so moving! A lot happens within each little family dynamic. I wasn’t expecting the author to go as hard as they went, but it all worked so well to lend to this really important conversation of consent, identity, activism, mistakes and growing up.

There is more depth than I expected with this unique story. It discusses sex in many aspects without being too graphic. Consent is a big topic. There are a ot of perspectives in the story. Well told but I wish it was longer.

Tropes
•YA
•Teen Pregnancies
•Duel Timeline
•Multi POVs
Trigger Warning ⚠️
•Rape | Sexual Assault
♤ Release April.30 ♤
-
4.5 🌟
I think this book might just be my favorite book | audiobook for this month (April) .
-
First, the audiobook is phenomenal, the narrators "Chief kiss 💋 * I love it when an author give each character a different narrator, and they don't all sound alike. *Chief kisses 💋 again*
-
Second, the storyline is phenomenal and should be talked about more, teen pregnancies.
The storyline is done in Then (Past) and" Now "(Present). In the Then (Past) we have the moms ... Penny, whose mother was also a teen mom, decided to have consental sex with her partner on prom night, and the condom breaks, and she gets pregnant. Mina story is the same as Penny's has cobsental sex with her partner, and the condom breaks and whe gets pregnant. Sheryl is a fostered kid who was unfortunately raped on prom night, which resulted in her getting pregnant. The Now (Present) is the story of their children and how they are coming up on their prom night. We have Blossom, Amber, and Cole are gearing up to go to prom and facing some big decisions of their own. As they seek to understand who they are and who they want to be, they grapple with issues that range from consent to virginity, gendered dress codes, and the many patriarchal, heteronormative expectations that still come along with prom.
-
I gave this story 4.5 🌟 because I wanted to know what happened after prom with the teen if they followed their parent footsteps or picked a different path. But overall, this is a great YA book for teens to read and very informative.
-
♡ Audiobook Review ♡
Thank you, Netgalley, and Spotify Audiobook for this ALC (audiobook) for my honest review

Wow, this book was compelling and one that’s going to stick in my mind. I am not generous with 5 star reviews but this deserved it in that I believe I will circle back down the line to read it again and I definitely will recommend it to young adults as a book that should be in every high school library.

I want to thank NetGalley and Spotify Audio for the audio ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As soon as I saw the description of this title I hit the request button immediately. I set other books aside to start it as something pulled me to it and it met my one of my 2024 reading challenges to read authors from marginalized groups.

The basic premise is 3 teens who got pregnant on their prom night. The story unfolds of how they dealt with their situations . The three having very different relationships from one another. The other part of the book is the off spring of those parents who are now attending prom.
It explores sexuality and intercourse and all that goes with it from a respectful, informative and open minded place.
You get to take the journey of the decisions all the teens take on their journeys with the original 3 all debating abortion but ultimately deciding against it while not demonizing if the decision was made differently.

In the current time period it also explores gender norms, the patriarchy and teens access to healthcare (that part is in the past too).

I don’t want to give spoilers so I’ll just leave it that the exploration it takes is one that so many can identify with as teens confront sex and the decisions that come with it as well as relationships. Whether those relationships are peer, romantic, criminal or parental. The story has so many touch points for folk’s to identify with.

While this title is in the YA genre, don’t let that scare you off, especially if you’re raising a child. It’s a must read.

Lastly, I consumed the audio book version. While some of the voices weren’t as enjoyable as some others, it was fine to listen to. I liked having various people to narrate the different characters, which there are many.

The only criticism I have is that you do need to stay present as there are many characters to keep track of. This is a good book to have a journal handy if that’s something you enjoy. It’ll help keep everyone straight. I know this is a stand alone book and it wrap things up but there is room for more to be written about the characters. If the author ever decided to write novellas on each character I definitely would read them. I look forward to reading more of this authors works.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again