Hooked by Catherine Greenman

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Hooked by Catherine Greenman

Delacorte Books for Young Readers, August 9, 2011

Read for 2011 Debut Author Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

Thea Galehouse has always known how to take care of herself. With a flighty club-owner mom and a standoffish, recovering-alcoholic dad, Thea has made her own way in her hometown of New York, attending the prestigious and competitive Stuyvesant High School. But one chat with Will, a handsome and witty senior, and she's a goner—completely hooked on him and unable to concentrate on anything else.Always worried that she loves Will more than he loves her, Thea is pleasantly surprised when their romance weathers his move to college and Will goes out of his way to involve her in his life. But then, Thea misses a period. And that starts Thea and Will on a wild ride that neither of them could have possibly prepared for. When they decide to keep the baby, their concerned parents chip in what they can to keep Will in school and give both teenagers a comfortable place to raise their child. But when a freak accident leaves Thea shaken and threatens to upend their little family altogether, Thea is forced to turn to the last place she would have chosen for comfort: her stiff, uncompromising father.This smart, touching first novel brims with realistic, beautifully drawn characters, and reminds us that love is never as easy or predictable as we might like it to be.

I really enjoyed this debut novel, and I was so excited to sneak one more debut author in for 2011! There was a lot about Hooked that made it stand out from a typical teen mom novel. The tragedy that's mentioned in the summary isn't what you'd expect, and comes up almost out of nowhere--there's no leading up, no foreshadowing. But, I found this refreshing, because after all, in real life aren't tragedies too often thrust upon us with little or no foreshadowing?


Thea's mom is a tough cookie, and I appreciated that she didn't get all uber-grandma the minute she set eyes on her grandson. Likewise, Dad's desire for Thea to go to college doesn't fade away when he meets Ian. The relationship between Thea and Will is drawn fairly realistically, I felt. There's swoon, and strain, an everything in between.


Does Hooked show the realistic side of teen pregnancy? I didn't really think so. There was a lot about the pregnancy, and Ian's infancy, that was glossed over. In addition, Thea and Will are lucky enough to have parents wealthy enough to help them get there start as parents--I don't know mane teens (or adults) whose parents can do the same. But, I felt the dialogue between Thea and her parents to be very real and typical. Most parents want so much more for their kids than they had, and Thea's parents are no different. I will say that I felt Thea's dad was a little overzealous about her future, especially seeing as how underzealous (yes, I just made that up) he was about her present. I also felt that although this was a story about teen pregnancy, it wasn't a story about teen pregnancy, but about a teen couple who gets pregnant. I can't really describe the distinction, but I made one while reading this book.


All in all, I thought Hooked was a good story, and a strong debut. While I didn't feel it was completely realistic, I did appreciate that it wasn't a happily-ever-after fairytale. There were several moments throughout the story where I visibly cringed, thinking of all the possible, horrible outcomes. Catherine Greenman has a knack for creating stressful situations, and I can't wait for more!


Enjoy your reading!
Christi