With the summer winding down, the back-to-school party gets out of control for at least one girl. Bored and lonely, Angel ends up talking a boy. Taking a drink. Zoning out. Having a lapse in judgment. Later, when she discovers she is pregnant, she can no longer deny what happened that night.

Faced with the biggest decision of her young life, Angel considers many options: having an abortion, going through with the pregnancy then giving the baby up for adoption, postponing college to raise the baby as a single teenage mother. She knows that no matter what choice she makes, her life will change forever.

ANGEL'S CHOICE, Lauren Baratz-Logsted's first teen fiction novel, is never too preachy nor too predictable. The story covers nearly a year in Angel's life and allows readers to walk in her shoes. As she makes her way through the familiar halls of high school and home, Angel's classmates whisper to each other, her friends are alternately there and not there for her, and her parents struggle to come to terms with their daughter's choice.

The author tackles the delicate subject of teen pregnancy with realism. Most importantly, she allows Angel retain her dignity throughout the story. This book is recommended to adult women and teenagers. If you like a touching story, if you watch the better-quality Lifetime movies, or if you read Lurlene McDaniel stories, you ought to discover ANGEL'S CHOICE.

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Read my interview with the author.

ANGEL'S CHOICE, Lauren Baratz-Logsted's first teen fiction novel, handles the subject of teen pregnancy with realism and an appropriate amount of delicacy. ( Read my entire review. )

Teen pregnancy is not the easiest subject to tackle, and you managed to let Angel retain her dignity throughout her struggle. How much of this story changed between the rough draft and the publication?

I have to say, compared to other books I've done, not much. When ANGEL'S CHOICE was acquired by Simon & Schuster, my editor asked me to change two things. I clearly saw she was right, made the changes, and then it was on to copyedits: the niggling but important minor tinkers every book needs.

Will you be writing more books for teens in the future?

Yes. I have another one scheduled for publication from S&S later this year. ( Read more... )

Visit Lauren Baratz-Logsted's official website and MySpace.

"Stay with me," I say, wishing I'd said it to my sister but also wanting to hear it from him.

"Stay with you?" he asks.

"No," I say. "You've messed up the pronoun."

Leila is the product of her father's second marriage. Her parents are still happily married, and she is their only child. She has two half-sisters from her father's first marriage, but she is not as close to them as she would like to be. Rebecca and Clare were in their twenties with Leila was born, so even though she is now approaching the age of seventeen, Leila still feels like a kid in their presence.

Even more remarkable than her parents' loving marriage is Leila's other source of adult support: Janie, her father's first wife. The book begins with Leila's memories of Janie, and the loss she felt when Janie passed away. It continues with the revelation that Rebecca has committed suicide, causing those familiar feelings of loss and regret to rise to the surface but in a new way. As Leila attempts to figure out what would cause Rebecca to do such a thing, she makes startling discoveries about her family members - and herself. What she thought she knew may not be true at all.

There's such a gap between the images I carry in my mind and what can actually be found in the world.

Among many other things, Leila learns that nothing valuable is easy. Her life is as complex as that of any real person, and the book seamlessly weaves together various plotlines that touch Leila's life, with each given appropriate weight and attention. In Freymann-Weyr's best novel to date, the author has created characters who are intelligent, each in his or her own way, and realistically flawed. The first-person narrative is poignant and poetic, offering many memorable scenes and exchanges of dialogue.

For me, they are one more thing that belongs in someone else's story.

This book is something to savor and share. Leila's story with stay with readers long after they finish the last page. Highly recommended to adults and older teens.

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Read my exclusive interview with Garret Freymann-Weyr.

In Garret Freymann-Weyr's best novel to date, STAY WITH ME, a young woman attempts to figure out what would cause her older sister to commit suicide, and why her family is the way that it is. I highly recommend this complex, well-written novel to adults and to older teenagers. ( Continue reading my review. )

Was the title derived from the exchange between Leila and Eamon or did you have it in mind prior to writing that exact scene?

I wanted a different title (and a different cover!) I had used Stay With Me for an earlier draft (the Clare & Raphael period), but thought that because of Leila and Eamon's exchange, Stay With Me sounded like a romance novel. But, in the end, I decided that "stay with me" is what you say to the people who leave you, but who you wish had never left, and so it made sense as a title.

( Read more... )

Visit freymann-weyr.com to learn more about Garret and her novels.