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Book Review By Melissa Unger
Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard

Margaret Bechard tells the tale of a confused high school boy, Sam. Sam is a typical teenager, concerned about football, his friends, and his girlfriend. Until he has sex. After this, Sam's life changes drastically. His girlfriend becomes pregnant, has the baby, and decides that she doesn't want him. Thus begins Sam's journey of hanging on to his son, Max.
Sam is determined to keep his son, switches to an alternative school for teens with babies, where he is the only male. He gives up sports and his friends, and strains his relationship with his father. The only thing he has is Max. However, Sam soon finds another young love, who also has a baby. They quickly become infatuated, thus beginning another journey for Sam.
Bechard paints a wonderful tale for what it feels like to be a teenage parent. Sam is a nice mix of loving parent, caring boyfriend, and teenage angst. We see him struggle to convince himself that having a baby is worth losing so much, and we see him struggle to keep up with grades, school, and his love life. While he's just a kid himself, Sam struggles through this novel to hang on to Max.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 2000+ (Present Day)
Kids growing up/acting up? Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Pregnancy/Child rearing Yes
Major part of story:
Loving/sexing? - bun/oven

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Ethnicity/Nationality

Main Adversary
Identity: - none
Age: - a teen

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 5 ()
United States Yes

Writing Style
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - descript of kissing
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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