Trouble: A memoir

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Well, after the whole school finds out about Hannah's pregnantcy and starts guessing who the father is. Aaron goes to her home to talk to her and ends up being the fake father. It's believeble to them because the were alone once and every guessed they had sex but they really didn't. I adored all the characters! Trouble is told with 2 POVs, and I cared about each of the characters completely equally. I was really rooting for them all the way, and I found their story so captivating. I was hooked throughout the whole book, and found it really hard to put down, because of how much I just wanted everything to be okay! They had so much depth, and were so complex. Everything became too real, so I just didn't want the book to end! Hannah decides to confess who the real father is to her family, she comfrots Jay but doesn't want to. That's why she waits to get her family together and confesses.

Characters. I love Aaron. A lot. He's real. I have friends that are Aaron so it's easy to be inside his head. I don't know what to say anymore about him but I can confidently say that any reader will find it hard to hate this guy. You'll be frustrated, yes, but c'mon! He's a teenager with issues. Now, Hannah on the other hand is different. I want to symphatise, I really do. But IT'S SO FREAKIN' HARD. She's funny, witty and full of angst but she's also.. dumb. That's why while reading I can't help but think that she deserves everything that is happening to her. She's not acing at school, she doesn't think through the things that she does and she can't think about anything but sex. That's why she got pregnant in the first place. Oh did i mention that she's just 15??? However, I think it does everyone a dis-service when authors are straight up unthinking and irresponsible with how they write teens. The kids can be blindly ignorant but if you’re portraying parental figures as caring and involved and responsible, then you know, they should actually act that way. I bet your wondering why I didn’t rate it 5 stars if I loved the story so much. Well, that’s because of the ending. I loved how the story ended but just felt as though it needed more. It ended too soon after a major moment. I wanted to know what happened next. An epilogue would have been fantastic! We spent far too long messing about getting ready, so that by the time we came downstairs loads of Jay’s mates had arrived. I’m not going to lie. I was on the prowl. A summer of flirting with Tyrone and learning how to make a guy lose control had given me confidence.

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And so readers are provided this information, along with the fact that Chay claims to have fallen asleep behind the wheel, and that he bandaged Franklin's arm with his shirt before racing off to get medical assistance. (Remember, this is the 1980s. There are no cell phones for calling 911.)

Despite the obvious consequences of Hannah’s unplanned pregnancy, Trouble manages to be sex-positive. It is brutally honest when Hannah confides in us that she wants sex: “This last week or so has been UNbearable. I have never been so horny in all my life, and I think it might kill me if I don’t have sex soon.” More than that, however, this sex drive is by Hannah, for Hannah. Too frequently, women’s sexuality in media is an object of male desire—women are sexy for men, want sex for the benefit of a male viewpoint character. When Hannah refers to being “on the prowl” or “within perving distance” or otherwise discusses her body and her needs, she’s affirming that she wants sex for her own sake. Aaron has his own story, his own battles that have haunted him. He is lost and lonely. He meets his best friend in a residential home. Oh Neville! Aaron felt safe and happy playing cards and spending with someone who needs some company, friendship. Aaron suffered happiness and sadness in such a short amount of time that he needs a focus. Hannah needs his support, a friend to rely on, and he wants to matter again, he needs to do something amazing. He becomes a fake baby daddy and he takes it with both hands and doesn't let go. There is something deeper between them but friendship is the beginning. Like all of Schmidt's books, Trouble is well-written, with lovely descriptions and excellent character voice. I'm not sure if it's just because I was purposefully looking for the descriptive passages, but Trouble's seem to be the best I've read in his books. Everything is so active and vibrant. I was definitely taking notes. Marcy. There were other characters that I disliked more than her but she was the most underdeveloped. She embodied that typical villainess-queen-of-the-school-out-to-ruin-people's-lives-for-little-to-no-reason mean girl trope. She was even a model. Cliche much? That was kind of lazy writing on her part because Marcy was portrayed as basically all bad. There is not a single (sympathetic) mention of her being a victim of cheating, which she very much was.

And how might you feel if you'd had a life like Chay's and found yourself behind the wheel in such circumstances?

Henry Smith is a student at a college prep school whose parents are well-off. Because of his love for his son, Henry's father attempts to protect Henry from life, often spending money to that effect, but of course, this doesn't stop life from afflicting Henry. One day, Franklin, Henry's older brother, gets hit by a car and hospitalized. The novel's action begins when Franklin arises from his coma, looks Henry straight in the eyes, mutters a single word, "Katahdin," and then dies. It’s emotional af, but in a good way. There were sad points (yes, I did well up in the school library. I was having a tough day, ok?! *sniffs*), but there were also times when this book was so uplifting. I loved how happy it made me feel (the ending... it was perfect!). SO MANY FEELS HERE. It was sad and happy all at once, but overall, it was light-hearted (even if it dealt with some really hard topics), and such an enjoyable read.Also it would be criminal for me not to mention the swoon (in an unexpected and unpredictable way). As Hannah and Aaron’s stories slowly come together, it’s clear to discover these troubled teens have so much more in common and together they try to overcome the difficulties of their lives together. My one little issue with Trouble is the ending came way too fast. I really wanted more and I as left with so many questions. What happened with Katie? What happened to Aaron and Hannah afterwards? What happened to Jay? I felt the ending was a tad bit rushed but I still loved it and it does not take away from the beauty of this masterpiece. I would love to see a sequel to see what happened to everyone after the end of the book.