Review also posted on my blog.


content warnings: abortion, anti-abortion sentiments (challenged), slut shaming, misogyny, cat calling, brief sex scene, vomiting, mentions of bomb threats, gun violence and rape
representation: latina main character

“I read this quote from Virginia Woolf once, about how the future is dark, and how she thinks that’s the best thing the future can be, that we can’t know how our actions can affect it and how that’s good. Otherwise we’d lose hope. But I wish the future weren’t dark. I wish it were, like, full of light so I could see what was ahead of me.”

I am a puddle of emotions. This is one of the most powerful books I've read in a long time, and probably the only one so far this year to make me cry. This book follows three teenage girls - Camille, Bea and Annabelle - as they have to drive from their hometown in Texas to the border so that Camille can get an abortion.

This is an incredibly difficult book to read. There were several parts where I just had to stop he audiobook and sit for a minute because I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. That is to say, this book did exactly what it wanted to do, and it did so flawlessly. This book portrays the near-impossibility of getting abortions in America, with scenes of Camille being tricked by a Pregnancy Crisis Centre, being humiliated by a pharmacist who refused to sell her a pregnancy test, having a judge tell her she's too immature to have an abortion without parental permission, and so many more. I loved that this book doesn't gloss over any of the horrible things people seeking abortions will have to go through.

The book isn't all just misery and gut-wrenching scenes. There's also an amazing friendship in this trio of girls at the centre of the book. Annabelle doesn't know either girl very well but is still willing to drive to the border to help Camille, and Bea is deeply religious and initially disapproves of Camille's decision but decides to support her best friend anyways. There are so many scenes between these three girls that had me laughing one minute and crying the next, because they're all incredibly different people with different ideologies, particularly with Annabelle and Bea's views on abortion.

The author's note at the end of this is what really broke me, though. It reminded me of the movie Spotlight (give me a minute, I'll explain). Throughout both this book and that movie, I felt awful (in a good way) because of the events being portrayed but it wasn't until the end when they tell you about what's happening in the real world that I lost it. This book also gives several resources concerning abortion, birth control, etc. which I liked.

One thing I especially appreciated about this book is that it doesn't fade to black when Camille gets her abortion. You're in the room with her the entire time as both she and the reader are explained what's going to happen, and I really loved that Sharon Biggs Waller was essentially telling her audience (which is largely teenage girls) what the procedure is like if they were to need an abortion.

This book is incredibly difficult to read and even though it's just over 200 pages it still packs a massive punch. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who thinks that they can handle the source material.