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Book Review of If Not for You

If Not for You
If Not for You
Author: Margaret Willey
Book Type: Paperback
margaretlee avatar reviewed on + 171 more book reviews


This is a young adult novel that any 11-14 year old girl would like...it realistically depicts a teenage couple who have a baby together and a girl who learns from their mistakes by helping to take care of the child. I enjoyed it!

Here's the description on amazon.com:
From Publishers Weekly
Bonnie has always envied her best friend Jenny's older sister, Linda, who ran away with the boy she loved, and married him. Linda is estranged from her family, even when she returns to town with a baby and her husband, and sets up a small household. And when she needs a baby sitter, she calls Bonnie instead of Jenny, which strains the younger girls' friendship. Slowly, Bonnie becomes drawn into Linda's world; Linda innocently uses Bonnie as not only a sympathetic ear, but also a connection between her sudden adulthood and the teenage world she so abruptly left. Bonnie is confused by her desire to help Linda; for if Linda needs help, isn't that proof that she is not perfect? Willey's third novel is riveting, as she penetrates and reveals the ways in which friendships flow and the ways in which they falter. Bonnie's romance with Robert, an extremely shy boy, is refreshingly depicted; seldom has new love between teens been expressed in terms so genuinely real. Ages 12-up.