Facts and Fictions: Teen Pregnancy in Young Adult Literature

ALAN Review, Summer 2007 by Nichols, Kristen

"It is a story social workers have heard all too often in the past-and are almost certain to hear hundreds of thousands of times in months and years to come. It is the story of a teenage girl who finds herself pregnant and, for all intents and purposes, alone."

-Stewart, Teen Mothers 6

"When I finished feeding Amy and was just about to put her down . . . Mum came over and took her from me. She just kissed her, the way she does, and then she walked back across the room and put her in Nan's arms."

-Doherty, Dear Nobody 232

Almost one million teenagers in the United States become pregnant each year ("Facts in Brief"), and these same teens' ideas about sex and related matters are strongly influenced by the media. Young adult novels about teen pregnancy can speak to teens who "want to read about things that are interesting and true" (Donelson and Nilsen 87). These same teens also read young adult literature to "find out about themselves" (Donelson and Nilsen 42). For a teen who is dating, is considering dating, is pregnant, or whose friend is pregnant, young adult literature can be a method of receiving information and connecting with the experience. But can the way these experiences are being portrayed help teens form an accurate picture from them? Can teens, in fact, "find out about themselves" in the portrayal of teen pregnancy and parenthood in young adult novels?

Previous Research in Teen Pregnancy/ Parenthood Novels

Little research has focused on the issue of teen pregnancy in young adult novels. My search for material turned up only five studies addressing teen pregnancy and/or parenthood in this literature. These studies primarily examine the messages portrayed in the literature, focusing on stereotypes and the lack of information regarding details of teen pregnancy and parenthood.

One 2002 study examined six young adult novels, three featuring teen mothers and three focusing on pregnant teens. Author Cynthia Coffel was looking for stereotypes, identifying the intended audience, and critiquing the message. In the ALAN Review article, "Strong Portraits and Stereotypes: Pregnant and Mothering Teens in YA Fiction," she contends that pregnant and mothering teens can benefit from reading "old and new young adult literature about young women in situations similar to theirs, " and she encourages them to do so "with a feminist and culturally critical critique" (15). Coffel intends students and teachers to use these novels to discuss sexuality, gender stereotypes, and teen pregnancy (19).

In their 2001 study covering fifteen pieces of literature (thirteen novels, one short story, and one creative non-fiction), Joy Davis and Laurie McGillavray also examine messages regarding teen sex and pregnancy. Their article in the English Journal, "Books about Teen Parents: Messages and Omissions," outlines eight primary messages:

Don't have unprotected sex even once.

Most mothers keep their babies.

Having a baby may put your education on hold, but you can still achieve your goals.

When you are pregnant, you are on your own.

For guys, sex is about fun. For girls, sex is about . . . [a variety of complicated reasons].

Young women have to live with consequences, young men don't.

Teen pregnancies do not mandate marriage.

Teens from "troubled homes," or their partners, are more likely to become pregnant. (90-95)

As for "omissions," Davis and McGillivray identify three concerns: the lack of discussions of race and class, a limited number of references to prenatal care, and little, if any, discussion of how to prevent pregnancy (96).

In their Knowledge Quest article, "Teenage Pregnancy as Moral Panic: Reflections on the Marginalization of Girls' Feelings," Lynn Cockett and Sarah Knetzer conclude that, in the four novels they examine, the "problem belongs to the girls" (53), which they see as literary perpetuation of a myth. The authors argue that teenagers should be educated to be "critical consumers of information" so that they can see through this myth perpetuated in young adult literature (53).

Rather than looking at stereotypes or messages, Caroline McKinney examines young adult novels in which the female protagonists exhibit strength of character. Of the fifteen novels she discusses in her ALAN Review article "Finding the Words that Fit: The second Story for Females in Young Adult Literature," two of the novels are about a teen who becomes pregnant. July (Mr and Mrs Bo Jo Jones] and Helen (Dear Nobody) both "create a stronger self" as they make decisions regarding their pregnancies (McKinney 3). McKinney believes that these novels' portrayal of strong female characters provides "illumination and discovery" for the adolescents who read them (6).

While the previous four articles examine stereotypes, messages, and character strength in young adult literature about teen pregnancy, an ALAN Review article by Denise Banker, "Too Real for Fiction: Abortion Themes in YA Literature," focuses solely on examining books which in some way address the abortion issue. Banker analyzes eleven young adult novels written between 1972 and 1991. Disappointed in what is available in young adult fiction on the issue of abortion (6), Banker believes more young adult literature should focus on abortion "to educate the students . . . [and] to allow them to expand their attitudes and to help them develop a sense of empathy and tolerance toward others" (2).