Saying Good-bye to London
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
How do you say good-bye to your baby after you’ve just said hello to first love?
Francis is a shy 15-year-old when he meets edgy, confident 16-year-old Sawyer at a party. Sparks fly… and Sawyer gets pregnant. They hardly know each other, but now must deal with both their relationship and the reality of a baby.
Francis has a lot of growing up to do, and now it seems like he is being forced to do it all at once. When his life collides with Sawyer’s, Francis is forced to confront his own stereotypes about loss, sexuality, and family.
Sawyer decides to give the baby up for adoption, but that’s just the start. Over the months they wait for the baby to be born, Francis and Sawyer try to deal with their choices. Will Francis follow Sawyer’s brave example? Or will he turn his back and pretend his life has not changed? Where will they be when it’s time to say good-bye to baby London?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Burtinshaw (The Perfect Cut) tackles teen pregnancy, child abuse, homophobia, and the impact of a parent's death with mixed success. Francis Sloan, a 15-year-old Canadian, meets Sawyer, 16, at a local dance. Confident and experienced, Sawyer is everything Francis is not. When their relationship turns sexual, neither is prepared for the consequences of unprotected sex and the choices they must make after discovering that Sawyer is pregnant. Burtinshaw attempts to realistically portray what happens when a teenage couple decides to give up their baby for adoption, but her story seems to sugarcoat the situation. Sawyer's mother, teachers, and classmates are all extremely supportive, and Francis's life doesn't really change at all, save for a few sideways glances by students at his private all-boys school. The most realistic and dramatic parts of the story happen to the supporting characters Sawyer's best friend Jack gets kicked out of his home for being gay, and Francis's best friend Kevin has a father dying from ALS neither of whom gets much time on the page. Ages 13 up.
