Rating: 3; serious, heavy, coming of age: Unexpecting was an easy, yet heavy read that I still have mixed feelings about.

Ben is a junior in high school and soon to be a father. The novel follows Ben through his experiences preparing for fatherhood, and what sacrifices he must make to be a single father. He must get a job, fight for custody of the child, show up for his robotics club, keep his grades up, and navigate the social challenges of being a teen father…all before the baby is ever born.

I think this book would be great for someone who is really into serious, real life teen drama; I’m just not that person. I was so sad reading the entire book (which might be the purpose?), but I just can’t say I fully enjoyed it. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a teen pregnancy plot line (can’t say I do personally) or likes reading teenage coming of age novels. I will say the characters were all done really well, the plot just wasn’t as engaging to me personally, hence the 3 star rating.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.