*I receive a digital ARC of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
Title: Plan A
Author: Deb Caletti
Publisher: October 3, 2023
Publication Date: Labyrinth Road
ISBN: 9780593485545
Synopsis:
Ivy can’t entirely believe it when the plus sign appears on the test. She didn’t even know it was possible from . . . what happened. But it is, and now she is, and instead of spending the summer working at the local drugstore and swooning over her boyfriend, Lorenzo, suddenly she’s planning a cross-country road trip to her grandmother’s house on the West Coast, where she can legally obtain an abortion.
Escaping her small Texas town and the judgment of her friends and neighbors, Ivy hits the road with Lorenzo, who, determined to make the best of their “abortion road trip love story,” has transformed the journey into a whirlwind tour of the world: all the way from Paris, Texas, to Rome, Oregon . . . and every rest-stop diner and corny roadside attraction along the way.
And while Ivy can’t run from the incessant pressure of others’ opinions about her body or from her own expectations and insecurities, she discovers a new world of healing and hope. As the women she encounters share their stories, she chips away at the stigma, silence, and shame surrounding reproductive rights while those collective experiences guide her to her own rightful destination.
***Spoiler alerts below***
What an absolutely poignant book in a time of increased lockdown on women’s rights as many US states have been fighting to take away the rights and autonomy that women have had over their own bodies. Ivy is a young woman in Texas who finds herself pregnant after a violation of her body that nobody knows about. When she seeks to end the pregnancy and her peers find out, the backlash is swift and all encompassing. Everyone assumes that her boyfriend, Lorenzo, is the father, and Ivy won’t give them the power of the truth of her situation. Thankfully, she lives in a household where her mother and extended family are pro-choice. Ivy’s decision is not questioned, but fully supported. When her whole town turns against her, she finds what little solace there is in the unwavering support of her mother and brother, and even Lorenzo.
Lorenzo is a young man who has suffered through terrible loss. He’s an incredible support to Ivy and stands behind her without question. Her body is her own to govern and decide and to him, it is worth risking everything he knows to help support the young woman he loves. Their romance is pure and sweet. While they are not without their trials, her choice being ]the toughest things they’ve faced in their short relationship, what they have together is unlike anything either of them has experienced before. Together they embark on an adventure to take back their lives, their relationships, and their autonomy as they make their way to Oregon where Ivy’s family lives and abortion is legal.
This book is so incredibly timely and it’s just bursting with big emotions and deep, heavy feelings. It really truly highlights what women have lost and the terrifying social and legal backlash they, and those who help them, face if they make the choice to end their pregnancies. Ivy is one of the lucky ones. She, her family, and Lorenzo, all have a safe way to escape in the end and to make lives for themselves somewhere where women do have the rights and freedoms to govern their bodies as they see fit. It was a beautiful, yet simultaneously devastating read. It packs a punch, starts a greater conversation, and hopefully makes an impact to sway the minds of those who stand firm against a woman’s right to choose, or those who are suffering silently, not knowing a way to escape their situation.
There are so few titles out there that I’ve encountered that handle such difficult, but important topics. It’s great to see more literature out there to help create a dialogue around women’s choice and autonomy. It’s something that we can’t forget and we can’t let slide. This is an important work and should be showcased.
Worn Pages and Ink 