Truth to be told, I've been waiting for this book to come out since last December, and, when it finally did, I knew I didn't want just to read an e-book copy. I had to own it. So I went on Book Depository, paid 14$ for a paperback, which I usually refuse to do on principle and waited and then waited some more. I started reading it as soon as it arrived, and, while I wasn't disappointed, I had mixed feeling about Trouble, so I let a little time pass before reviewing it, just to be sure what were my feelings exactly.
This 2014 debut novel introduces readers to two fresh and honest characters, Hannah and Aaron, brought together thanks to a reason none of them could have ever imagined: Hannah's pregnancy. So supposedly you have the 15 years old teen soon-to-be mom, the entire drama the pregnancy ensues and the baby's daddy. But things aren't what they seem, my friend, as the reader will know with certainty. It might be true that Hannah is known for being easy, it might be true that she and Aaron were seen leaving a party together one night, but it's also true that nothing happened, and, whatever everyone else chooses to think, Hannah knows precisely who's her child's father. It's just that he won't man up and assume the responsibility, and in the meantime, she's being thrown to the wolves by the girl she thought her best friend in the entire world. And then Aaron's proposition comes: she wants a father for her baby and he is willing to play the part.
That's the premise of Trouble and, while it definitely intrigued me, what really sucked me into the story were the characters. YA contemporary went crazy lately with dual point of view, but Non Pratt truly nailed it. I loved how the perspectives kept switching back and forth, how it wasn't repetitive even when they both described the same moment. I was relieved that the author didn't feel pressured into giving them both equal screen time. It's easy to tell that she changed the narrator only when it felt right, for a few pages or for a few sentences.
Hannah and Aaron went and made their mistakes and stayed true to their personalities and to their demons. I could imagine them taking form and living in our reality and that's something I can't often say when it comes to contemporary, no matter how much I actually enjoy the book.
Hannah is not really likeable, but she grows on you if you give her the chance. Thing is, you know girls like her. Girls that were really nice and sweet, but then went and got friends with some vapid bitch and became like that as well. Girls who talk bad about the popular ones, but at the same time want to be like them. And girls who choose the wrong way to achieve that. You have Hannah, you have a box full of mistakes.
Aaron is the new kid no one knows much about. He's friendly enough and nice enough to get by, but he's feeling dead inside and needs to do something good for someone desperatedly. He needs a reality better than his nightmares and so he offers to help Hannah in this charade.
There's the question of who's the actual father. For half the book, you will have your suspicions and for the other half you will want to beat Hannah senseless for still fueling stupid expectations from a guy who already proved his real worth. But again, hope is what make's her real.
There were, however, some things that I wish would have gone differently. Firstly, this quiet tension that's between Aaron and Hannah never gets resolved. They are friends, but in a way they're more than friends and you never get a label for it, which really bugs me, because I've been left with a lot of questions. I don't, by any means mean that she should have thrown them into a relationship. I just wanted more resolution. Also, there's a mention of a letter that I think was an important part of the story we never got to read, as we never go to see if the tension between Hannah's parents and Aaron decreases or not. Quite honestly, what this story needed was an epilogue, a view in Hannah's life as a mother and her future relationship of friendship or more with Aaron. Likewise we didn't get one, so no use crying after the spilled milk.
In reality, Trouble is more about trusting the right people, choosing your friends carefully, making the right decisions and growing up than is about anything else. It is about assuming your mistakes and facing the consequences. And it's about the value of people and how one special person can change your life forever through a single act of kindness.
All in all, a really good debut novel and I am going to keep an eye out for Non Pratt's future books. She might just be another case of Rainbow Rowell as far as I am concerned.
"Here. Cuddle your fake daughter"
4/5
Hannah is not really likeable, but she grows on you if you give her the chance. Thing is, you know girls like her. Girls that were really nice and sweet, but then went and got friends with some vapid bitch and became like that as well. Girls who talk bad about the popular ones, but at the same time want to be like them. And girls who choose the wrong way to achieve that. You have Hannah, you have a box full of mistakes.
Aaron is the new kid no one knows much about. He's friendly enough and nice enough to get by, but he's feeling dead inside and needs to do something good for someone desperatedly. He needs a reality better than his nightmares and so he offers to help Hannah in this charade.
There's the question of who's the actual father. For half the book, you will have your suspicions and for the other half you will want to beat Hannah senseless for still fueling stupid expectations from a guy who already proved his real worth. But again, hope is what make's her real.
There were, however, some things that I wish would have gone differently. Firstly, this quiet tension that's between Aaron and Hannah never gets resolved. They are friends, but in a way they're more than friends and you never get a label for it, which really bugs me, because I've been left with a lot of questions. I don't, by any means mean that she should have thrown them into a relationship. I just wanted more resolution. Also, there's a mention of a letter that I think was an important part of the story we never got to read, as we never go to see if the tension between Hannah's parents and Aaron decreases or not. Quite honestly, what this story needed was an epilogue, a view in Hannah's life as a mother and her future relationship of friendship or more with Aaron. Likewise we didn't get one, so no use crying after the spilled milk.
In reality, Trouble is more about trusting the right people, choosing your friends carefully, making the right decisions and growing up than is about anything else. It is about assuming your mistakes and facing the consequences. And it's about the value of people and how one special person can change your life forever through a single act of kindness.
All in all, a really good debut novel and I am going to keep an eye out for Non Pratt's future books. She might just be another case of Rainbow Rowell as far as I am concerned.
"Here. Cuddle your fake daughter"
4/5
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