Book Description:
During her junior year, sixteen-year-old Maggie Reynolds expected to shop for prom dresses not maternity clothes. Now, instead of studying for the SATs, she’s reading, What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Maggie’s ‘Mother Dearest’ lives in fear that Maggie will somehow taint the family name, so Maggie can’t turn to her for help. Meanwhile, her father is oblivious to anything but his 9-9 job. And her boyfriend, Justin? She’s pretty sure he’ll stay by her side.
While Maggie wrestles with her options, Justin offers a solution: abortion. It would solve all her problems quickly, easily, and effectively. And her parents would never know, which means they won’t throw her out and cut her off like they’d always threatened if she got herself knocked up. Now Maggie must decide which choice she can live with: abortion or teenage motherhood. Either way, it’ll be a tough road to travel.
While Maggie wrestles with her options, Justin offers a solution: abortion. It would solve all her problems quickly, easily, and effectively. And her parents would never know, which means they won’t throw her out and cut her off like they’d always threatened if she got herself knocked up. Now Maggie must decide which choice she can live with: abortion or teenage motherhood. Either way, it’ll be a tough road to travel.
Excerpt: Ch 1
Maggie pulled out her calendar, and flipped past
July and August, which were filled with her work schedule and penciled-in date
nights with Justin. “No,” she whispered, turning to the month of September.
“No, no, no, no, no.” The blood drained from her face, and she sucked in a deep
breath, trying not to pass out.
“No, it can’t be,” she whispered again. Count
again.
“Mags, what’s wrong?” Lauren Weaver, her best
friend, leaned over from her seat with a look of concern on her face.
Maggie glanced at Lauren, and shooed her away
with her hand. She flicked her eyes back to her calendar, flipped to the month
of August and counted the days from the little ”X” she’d made at the beginning of the month.
Lauren interrupted her deep concentration.
“Maggie,” she whispered, smacking her gum.
A bead of sweat trickled down Maggie’s hairline.
Finally, she looked straight at her friend, whose eyes squinted in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing.” Slapping her notebook closed, she
packed up her books long before class was over. “Nothing, I’m fine.”
But she wasn’t. “Ms. O’Donnell, I’m not feeling
well,” she said as she gathered her books and dashed to the nearest bathroom
down the hall, where she locked herself in the handicapped stall and sat on the
toilet trying to suck in a full breath. It wasn’t possible. The calendar she’d
just used moments before stared at her from the top of her pile of books, but
she ignored it for a while longer, choosing instead to read the graffiti on the
walls. Jenna & Cade 4ever. Mr. Brackenrich bites! Not
very creative. Staring at the puffy lettering scratched on the wall, her vision
grew fuzzy until her brain pulled her into the present again.
She had probably counted wrong. Yeah, that was
it. Grabbing the little book, she looked for the mark telling her what day
she’d started last month. Twenty-eight, twenty-nine,
thirty…forty-one…forty-one...forty-one.
Numbness spread through her limbs and mind as
she sat on the toilet. Her arms slack at her side, she didn’t have the strength
even to close the notebook, which still lay open on her lap. She was late. Two
weeks late. She’d been late before, but only a couple of days, never two weeks.
Forty-one days. No, that couldn’t be right. One more time. Count one
more time. But it was no use. All six times, she came up with the same
number. She was late. Late enough to be—
Without warning, her stomach heaved, and the
acid rose.
About this author:
Jessie Andersen lives in a small town in Western New York with her husband and three kids. A former English teacher, she now spends her time writing while the kids are at school and the baby is sleeping. She volunteers at the local library and sings in the church band.
You can find information about her books at jandersenbooks.com, and you can follow her blogs at Therabidwriter.blogspot (Personal blog) andReadbetweenthelinesbookclub.
J.Anderson is giving away 3 e-book copies of At What Cost. Fill out the Raffle copter below for a chancce to win.
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