{Review} Belly Up by Eva Darrows

Synopsis

Title: Belly Up
Author: Eva Darrows
Pages: 384
Published: April 30th 2019
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Genre: YA/Contemporary
My Rating: 4/5
Add To: Goodreads

When 16 year old Serendipity Rodriguez attends a house party to celebrate the end of sophomore year, she has no intention of getting drunk and hooking up with a guy she's just met, let alone getting pregnant. To make matters worse, she has no way of contacting the father and she and her mother are about to move to a new town and in with her grandmother.
It's hard enough to start your junior year as the new kid in school, but at 5-months pregnant it's even harder. So when Sara meets Leaf, who asks her out and doesn't seem to care that she's pregnant, she finds herself falling.
Juggling the realities of a pregnancy with school and a new relationship are hard enough, but when Jack, the father of her baby, turns back up, Sara's life goes from complicated to a complete mess. With the help of her overbearing mother and grandmother, Sara will learn to navigate life's challenges and be ready for anything, as she prepares for the birth of her baby.

My Thoughts:

★★★★ Stars

Belly Up was one of those books that you can't help but to enjoy... While it's good, but takes no time annoying you in between. I enjoyed it immensely and it had me cracking up so much that I teared up. 

But there were a lot of parts that just seemed to forced. Especially the Transgender parts. I get that some books talk about it to try to bring it to light and teach you about it. Belly Up seemed to just want to cram it down your throat along with race. It was forced, I can't tell you how many times race was randomly brought it. I just didn't get the necessity of bringing it up so often. The overuse of they/them just about made me want to punch someone in the face. Sorry, but when it is said every other word - it tends to drive you insane. 

That being said, It really was a very fun and light hearted read if you could get beyond the sexual politics and race. 

Sara was a character you can't help but to love. Same with Leaf. They are just so adorable. I love the relationships everyone had in this book but there were times when I thought she was being extremely disrespectful. Couldn't help but think most of the characters were pretty bland though - in a way that they seemed to be all the same. It wasn't until the middle to end of the book that that all seemed to separate and become their own person. I can't tell you how happy I was for Sara for being one of the few teen mom's that are blessed with loving people surrounding her. I wish more mom's got to feel that love. Young and old. 

I would like to take this moment to say .... THERE WAS FREAKING ICP REFERENCES?! That made me feel so old. Lol I really wonder how many people will know the juggalo talk. Haha

Would I recommend this book? Highly. Because like it or not, this book really is awesome and has a ton of potential. It's a great quick read.