I mean. Everything sucks.
Well...Lyra doesn't suck.
But my husband tested positive for COVID, which meant I missed the last week of summer school and we had to cancel some stuff we'd really been looking forward to, and then yesterday the moment we all knew was coming came and Roe v Wade was overturned. So it has been just the chillest of weeks.
I've done what I'm can while sitting here waiting to see if I also have COVID, but I'm still feeling pretty powerless. I recently saw Dirty Dancing for the first time (yeah yeah, I know...I was raised mormon, I wasn't allowed to watch a lot of stuff), and while I've been sitting around thinking about how different making the choice to stay in your house and be isolated is from doing it because you have to, I've also been reflecting on how surprised I was at the depiction of abortion in that movie and how it was just like....it was the best decision for her, so she made it, and the commentary around it was about how terrible it was that she couldn't get good, safe care and not what a horrible, scarring choice it was. I was trying to think about what other examples of abortions in media and books I had encountered and how many of them presented it like that, as opposed to this earth-shattering, psyche-destroying choice. Grey's Anatomy? I can't think of any others.
So anyway, I'm doing what I do best and putting together a list of books that include abortion that I'd like to read. It isn't going to make things better for the people who have been dealing with white supremacist powers policing their bodies and harming them for generations, it isn't going to un-overturn Roe v Wade...but books are windows and books are mirrors, and I have to believe at least some anti-abortion people might have had their minds opened a little more if the mere mention of abortion wasn't so stigmatized and it was talked about more frankly in the media and literature that we consume. So it's what I'm doing right now.
Aftercare Instructions by Bonnie Pipkin - This book follows a seventeen-year-old whose boyfriend bails from the waiting room while she's getting an abortion. It seems like the story deals more with how Genesis recovers from the realization that her boyfriend wasn't who she thought he was and how she navigates some other challenges life had thrown at her, with the decision to get an abortion being the thing that kickstarts the story after she and the boyfriend mutually decide it's the right decision for them. I'm very on board with abortion being part of the story but not THE drama being navigated.
Baby & Solo by Lisabeth Posthuma - Abortion isn't even mentioned in this book set in the 90s, but I know from reviews that it features. Honestly, I kind of like that it isn't a main plot point but is still included, it shows that abortion is...a thing that happens. It doesn't have to be a Main Story plot point!
Crazy Horse's Girlfriend by Erika T. Wurth - The story of a sixteen-year-old in a small town who is surrounded by poverty, unemployment, and drug abuse and dreams of a way out. She thinks she has found it when a new guy comes to town, but he may not be the light at the end of the tunnel that she thinks he is.
Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert - The story of a teenager nearing high school graduation and navigating other life difficulties when she learns that, on top of everything else, she is pregnant. This had mixed reviews, but I'm gonna give it a shot.
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero - A coming of age story about many things, one of which is Gabi's journey to accept herself and her sexuality after growing up in a shame-filled environment. This one has actually been on my list to read for a long time, so I need to get on it.
Girls Like Us by Randi Pink - Set before Roe v Wade passed, this book follows four teenagers who find themselves pregnant and aren't sure what to do. The reviews I read were mixed, but I thought the time period it was set in was important.
I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin - Gotta admit I'm on the fence with this one...it follows Nick, who has just learned that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant, and what happens with both of them as they navigate the situation. I can't decide if I like that the story is told from the guy's perspective or not, but I ultimately included it on the list because from the reviews it sounds like he's very supportive of what she wants to do, which is a great example of how anyone involved in an unwanted pregnancy should be.
Like Sisters on the Homefront by Rita Williams-Garcia - Gayle, fourteen-years-old, is sent by her mother to stay with family after she gets pregnant. This book was published in 1998, but recent reviews have talked about how relevant it still is, so I am eager to read it.
Me, Him, Them, and It by Caela Carter - Sixteen-year-old Evelyn has started acting out after her parents start having trouble in their marriage, and it ultimately results in her getting pregnant. The guy involved bails, and now she has to lean on the family she had begun to distance herself from while she decides what to do.
Bonus: Jane Against the World by Karen Blumenthal - A non-fiction book about the history of Roe v Wade and the fight for reproductive rights.
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