| Number | Call Number | Branch | Status | Volume |
| 1 |
YA F Bechard Margaret |
KL |
In at KL (Kathryn Linnemann) |
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| 2 |
YA F Bechard Margaret |
MK |
In at MK (Middendorf-Kredell) |
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| 3 |
YA F Bechard Margaret |
MY |
In at MY (McClay) |
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| 4 |
YA F Bechard Margaret |
SP |
In at SP (Spencer Road) |
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| Gr. 8-12. At 17, Sam Pettigrew has an unusual responsibility: his baby son, Max. Sam and Max live with Sam's father. Sam attends a high school with on-site childcare and watches Max in his nonschool hours. Sam's taciturn father will support Sam and Max until Sam finishes high school. After that, Sam must work for a construction company owned by a family friend. Although Sam is a good student, the idea of college angers his father, who sees it as an abrogation of Sam's responsibility. When Sam meets old friend Claire, also a teen parent, he begins to emerge from the social exile he's felt since taking on Max, and he discovers a home situation more supportive than his own. Eventually, Sam makes some important decisions about the future, which anger Claire but allow others to move beyond the past. It's unusual to find a boy in the teen single-parent role, but this story is both realistic and perceptive, and the characters are fully realized, speaking and acting with authenticity and individuality. Bechard's epilogue lends insight into Sam's difficult decisions. ((Reviewed May 1, 2002)) Copyright 2002 Booklist Reviews | | | |
| Sam, a single teenage father, stumbles through the fog of new parenthood, determined to take responsibility for his infant son, Max. Bechard effectively conveys Sam's perspective, neither sugarcoating his bond with Max nor using him as a ""poster child for the dangers of teenage sex."" A brief epilogue hints that everything works out for the best; still, it doesn't negate Sam's bravery when he ultimately decides to give Max up for adoption. Copyright 2002 Horn Book Guide Reviews | | | |
| Sam is a single father trying to do the right thing. He stumbles through the fog of new parenthood, barely able to stay awake during classes at his alternative high school but determined to take responsibility for his eleven-month-old son, Max. (Max's teenage mom has chosen to give the baby up.) Bechard effectively conveys Sam's perspective, neither sugarcoating his bond with Max nor using him as, in his words, a "poster child for the dangers of teenage sex." Yet she does make clear that life with a baby demands sacrifice. Unlike his friend Claire, a teen mom, Sam doesn't have much of a family support system. His mother died years earlier, and his household consists of just himself, his helpful but emotionally distant dad, and baby Max. (Sam's aunt Jean does regularly check up on them.) Fortunately, while Bechard shows Sam raising a few more eyebrows than his female counterparts do, she doesn't hinge the novel's provocative, some might say maddening, conclusion on the fact that Sam is male. His ultimate decision to give Max up for adoption stems from a painfully honest acknowledgment of the kind of life he wants for himself and for his son. A brief epilogue, which flashes forward seventeen years and hints that everything worked out best for everyone, seems meant to appease those outraged by Sam's choice. Still, it doesn't negate the bravery it took to make the choice back when the future seemed unbearable, whichever way it went. Copyright 2002 Horn Book Magazine Reviews | | | |
| A high-school senior copes with the challenges of taking care of a baby while trying to get a diploma and maintain a social life. As she did in If It Doesn't Kill You (1999)-which was about an adolescent boy dealing with his father's homosexuality-Bechard again takes on a challenging issue: teenage parenthood. But in a nice change of pace, Bechard's protagonist is that unusual breed of kid, an unwed father with sole custody of his infant son. Told in the first person by a youngster who has powerful feelings he has trouble expressing, the narrative neatly lays out Sam's dilemma-how to be a good father without completely sacrificing his dreams for the future. While many young adults in his situation are truly caught between a rock and a hard place, some of the obstacles Sam faces feel manufactured, giving the reader the sense that they could be ameliorated if he would just open his mouth and ask for assistance. The protagonist, who lives at home with his equally inexpressive father, is nicely foiled by two classmates, both teenage mothers, who help round out the situation and demonstrate the various experiences of young parenthood. A disconcerting resolution mars the piece, negating much of the action that came before it and leaving the unprepared reader unsettled and dissatisfied. Even so, the author should be commended for taking on a tricky topic, the demands, delights, and difficulties of being young, single, and a dad. (Fiction. 12+) Copyright Kirkus 2002 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved | | | |
| Sam, a 17-year-old unwed father, is the candid, unusually likable narrator of Bechard's (If It Doesn't Kill You) involving novel. A senior at an alternative high school that offers day care, Sam struggles to juggle his responsibilities as a parent and student. He and 11-month-old Max live with Sam's largely uncommunicative widowed father, who has agreed to support them until Sam graduates high school and takes a construction job. Sam finds much-needed companionship when Claire, whom he has quietly admired for years, shows up at his school with a baby of her own. Flashbacks effectively fill in the missing pieces of the story, recalling the evolution of Sam's relationship with Brittany, Max's mother; Claire's presence in his eight-grade English class; his mother's last days fighting cancer; a memorable childhood fishing expedition with his parents; his first glimpse of the newborn Max; and his resolve to keep the baby when Brittany decides to give him up for adoption. The teen's conflicted perceptions of his role as father, friend and son, as well as his future aspirations, are intermittently droll and wrenching. While the story has been told before, it comes across as unfailingly real; and even the surprise ending conforms to the lifelike atmosphere. Ages 12-up. (May) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. | | | |
| Gr 8 Up-Sam Pettigrew has transferred from his old high school to an alternative school for a very good reason. When his girlfriend wants to give their baby up for adoption, the 17-year-old assumes the role of custodial single parent of his son, Max. The story begins with Sam in his new role as father and moves back and forth between his current troubles and his earlier ones: the death of his mother, his emotionally distant father, and his peer relationships. Sam's world is generally a supportive one, full of friends, teachers, and family. However, he and his father made a deal; if Sam graduates and then goes on to work a construction job, he'll support Sam and Max for one year. There will be no college in Sam's future, even with his great SAT scores. The young man has taken responsibility for himself and his actions. However, he is still an ordinary teenager trying his hardest to do the right thing, the best thing for the tiny, much-loved son that transformed his life and possibly his future. As Bechard deftly shows, the choices made in small ordinary moments are as important as the big "turning points" in determining the course of a life. In a world where much of YA literature is fraught with "noir" plots peopled with dysfunctional characters caught in tragic situations, Hanging on to Max is a breath of fresh air. Bechard has written a poignant winner of a book peopled with human beings all struggling to make their lives work. And she has created in Sam an unforgettable and realistic protagonist full of heart and guts.-Jane Halsall, McHenry Public Library District, IL Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. | | | |
| This short novel examines teen parenthood and how its responsibilities can interfere with students' lives. The twist in this story is that the parent is a boy. Sam is a basketball star with plans to go to college, but a fling with his girlfriend changes everything. Holding his newborn in the hospital, Sam knows he cannot give up his son, although his girlfriend has already decided to do so. With help from his father and aunt, he begins the life of a struggling single parent, attending an alternative school while losing his friends and lots of sleep. Sam faces sexism as the only male in the program and fights daily fatigue. Only a chance to take the SATs and a budding relationship with a young mother in similar straits keep him going. He promised to get a construction job when he graduated to help his father with expenses, but his scores encourage him to consider college. Baby Max is almost a year old and consumes the bulk of Sam's time and money. His girlfriend and her baby could become his new family-albeit one with many financial difficulties. He could choose a future that selfishly would include only himself. Sam's surprising decision involves a gut-wrenching look at his priorities. This book is a quick, easy read that touches upon many real-life issues. Some characters are a little underdeveloped and might be too good to be true, but the story will make the reader think, "What would I do?"-Kevin Beach. PLB $22.90. ISBN 0-7613-2574-3. 3Q 3P J S Copyright 2002 Voya Reviews | | |
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