Review: A Great New Adult Story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2013
I gave Positively Mine 4.5 Stars.This book first caught my eye when it was released. I was intrigued to read about a young girl concealing her pregnancy whilst she attended college and all the problems that would arise.I really enjoyed this story, I liked Laurel immediately and was drawn to her. I could empathize with her situation and I couldn't blame her in the beginning for concealing her pregnancy from everyone. If you don't acknowledge it, it's not real, right? Wrong! For Laurel, time was getting on and she had the ultimate decision to make, does she continue with the pregnancy, does she consider abortion or does she give the baby up for adoption? This book was well written and informative. It was very well detailed and it could offer genuine help to anyone in a similar situation.Laurel had made her decision but with that she still chose to bury her head in the sand and hide her pregnancy. She was yet to tell the father of the baby or anyone else for that matter. She gradually withdrew from campus activities and with the exception of Mike the hot friendly guy who was interested in Laurel, she didn't tell a soul at college. I really liked Mike, his initial reaction to Laurel's news was genuine and I felt for them both as the attraction was there but Laurel was in no position to take things further.The other person Laurel was hiding from was her father. Ever since her mother passed away their relationship had been strained and Laurel's dad thought providing Laurel with material things and sending her away with nannies in her younger years was the ideal way to parent. So every attempt Laurel made to tell her father was thwarted, by an argument with him or the introduction to his new fiancée or his own surprising baby news. Granted Laurel could have tried harder but she was still very much in denial and after all being eighteen and pregnant, Laurel was coping the best way she could.Although Laurel coped very much on her own, there were some outlets of help and I'm glad she had these options, from the friendly doctor who looked out for her, to the college professor who worked it out and then offered support, to the friends Laurel made at the support group for young mums to be. Each one slowly helped Laurel find her own path and what she wanted to do.This was a good New Adult novel, you won't find a fast paced, smutty romance here but you will find a realistic account of a girl discovering her way into new adulthood. The story was well paced, it covered the full nine months with time jumps but it was done in such a way that I didn't feel we missed chunks of time or felt it moved too fast. At the end when things got complicated and Laurel had no choice but to contact her father I was in tears. From the moment Laurel delivered her baby and had a heart to heart with her dad my cheeks were streaked, it was heart-warmingly sweet.Now I must admit the ending left me hanging! I was invested in Laurel and her situation but I was left with unanswered questions; what will happen with the dad of the baby? What about Laurel's future? And what about sweet Mike?? Although the ending was abrupt, it made quite an impact and left me wanting more! Positively Mine is book one of a series so a sequel is in the works and I really can't wait.Positively Mine is a great début novel from Christine Duval, I really enjoyed her writing style, I read this book within a matter of hours and I look forward to what comes next from this author. ~Ava*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*