i picked this book up randomly at the library yesterday when I was looking for a Lee weeks book. They didn't have what I wanted in stock and I ended up with this somehow. It sounded interesting enough so I thought I'd have a read.

Outline of the story:
Lana Spriggs is 15, and she's already planned her life. She wants her mother out the way so she can get married and have babies of her own. When she meets slightly older Les, she thinks this is the beginning of her dream, but when she get's pregnant unexpectedly, will it be the fairytale she dreamt of?

I thought this would make an interesting read, because I've been there and had the gorgeous husband, big house and labrador dream myself when I was young, and I had my children, and now I've got greandchildren. Although it is amazing and I don't regret it, I struggled and I thought it was the hardest thing I ever did, and I certainly wasn't 15 years old when I started! I was interested to see the story told from a younger point of view.

The story follows Lana meeting Les, getting pregnant, having the baby and the first few months of motherhood so you get a good view of how this would affect a teenager. I think Dyan Sheldon should have spent a little more time on the actually pregnancy, because she sums it up in about 5 pages, which I didn't really think was detailed enough, and she barely mentions the birth, which is one of the biggest things.

It didn't help Lana at all that she couldn't stand her mother, so even when she tried to help, she'd get called all the names under the sun and her motives would be questioned. This irritated me, because as annoying as I know mums can be, they do have your best interest at heart. Even though I was married when I had my children, I'd have been lost without my mum. It also annoyed me throughout the book how the sun seemed to shine out of her boyfriend's backside when I'm sure every reader cringed when they read the things he did while she was pregnant and after the baby was born, but I suppose it is through the eyes of a fifteen year old girl who is going to be more naieve than me.

I thought it was good that the book was realistic, she didn't paint any rosy pictures of pregnancy and sleepless nights, she made the reality sound as harsh as it can be. I think this would be an ideal book to circulate in high schools across the country, perhaps it will reduce the number of teenagers getting pregnant when they realise a baby isn't like a doll, it really does change your life! After baby Shinola is born, Lana makes it clear that she realises she can't do the things she did before, even the simplest thing like catching a bus becomes a task and a half when you've got a baby and pushchair thrown into the equation.

Sheldon did a fairly good job at portraying emotion throughout the book. Lana's character goes through a huge contrast, from being a care free fifteen year old to a mum with bills to pay and a baby to feed. She shows this transition well, and gives you a good idea how the character is feeling. The only lack of emotion I thought there was was towards her boyfriend Les. He seemed to be able to tell her anything and swan off to do his own things and she never seemed bothered. I know what I'd have done if my husband would have been like that when I was pregnant!

Overall, I did enjoy this book. The main character, Lana was your typical fifteen year old, witty know-it-all whose life is changed dramatically. I found it both entertaining and interesting to read, and because it's not a really long book, I managed to read it it one evening which is a credit to the author because I don't usually sit for more than half an hour with a book before getting bored. I'd recommend this book to others, but I'd borrow it from the library, it's not really worth buying it because you'll have read it in one day and it's not something you want to read over and over.