Book Review: Aftercare Instructions by Bonnie Pipkin

Title: Aftercare Instructions
Author: Bonnie Pipkin
Genre: Contemporary YA
Format: E-Book
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Legend Press
Publication Date: 27th June 2017

My Rating: ★★★ (3 stars)

Goodreads | Storygraph

Synopsis:

In the tradition of Jandy Nelson and Rainbow Rowell, a big-hearted journey of furious friendship, crazy love, and unexpected hope after a teen’s decision to end an unwanted pregnancy

“Troubled.” That’s seventeen-year-old Genesis according to her small New Jersey town. She finds refuge and stability in her relationship with her boyfriend, Peter—until he abandons her at a Planned Parenthood clinic during their appointment to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. The betrayal causes Gen to question everything.

As Gen pushes herself forward to find her new identity without Peter, she must also confront her most painful memories. Through the lens of an ongoing four act play within the novel, the fantasy of their undying love unravels line by line, scene by scene. Digging deeper into her past while exploring the underground theater world of New York City, she rediscovers a long-forgotten dream. But it’s when Gen lets go of her history, the one she thinks she knows, that she’s finally able to embrace the complicated, chaotic true story of her life, and take center stage.

This powerfully immersive and format-crushing debut follows Gen from dorm rooms to diners to house parties to auditions—and ultimately, right into readers’ hearts

My Review:

This novel is about heartache, friendship, family and abortion.

It is written in alternating style, half is prose written after Genesis’s abortion and the other half is written as a drama play. I wasn’t a huge fan of the script sections as I felt the prose was strong enough without it.

Peter is Genesis’s boyfriend who left her at the clinic. I honestly hated him and by the end of the book, I still hadn’t forgiven him. I could see his reasons but I felt he was a dick.

I enjoyed being inside Genesis’s head and watching her cope with her father’s death, her mother’s grief and Peter’s abandonment. My heart ached for her as she dealt with things by herself and I loved the introduction of Seth.

This novel tackles various different taboo topics in an open and honest way and none of them are villanized. It’s well written, heartbreaking and engaging.