Polly Straughn November Blues by Sharon M Polly Straughn November Blues by Sharon M. Draper Published by Simon Pulse Published December 18, 2009

Brief Summary November Blues is a suspenseful and entertaining story about a girl named November who finds out that she is pregnant. She will have to face the hardest decision in her life; she also has to deal with situations that most sixteen year old girls don’t worry about. She is afraid to tell her mom, but eventually the news gets out. When everyone finds out about November’s unborn child, Novembers finds out who her real friends are. She is comforted by her true friends; Olivia, Dana, Kofi, Jericho, and her mother. November has no idea what to do, or how to be a mother; but when the time came, she was ready…without even knowing.

Protagonist and Antagonist The protagonist in the story is November. She is a sixteen year old girl that becomes pregnant. She is very intelligent and has amazing opportunities before she is burdened with a child. She relies on her friends and family to get her through this tough situation. She struggles to keep everything normal, but eventually she has to face reality, which is that she is a soon to be mother. The antagonist in the story is November’s pregnancy, not necessarily the baby itself, just the difficulties that come with the baby. For example, November will have to miss school and give up her a summer program. She will also have to endure the pain, swollenness, and responsibility of being pregnant. She will have to go to doctors and be poked and prodded, scared, and frustrated. She will have to give up her cute clothes, shoes, and unhealthy foods. Not to mention that she will also have to deal with the drama, rumors, staring, people talking about her, stress, and pressure that will come along with the baby. She cannot forget about how expensive everything for a child is either.

Main Conflict and Possible Solution In November Blues, the main conflict is that November is pregnant and does not know how to deal with everything. She is forced to make decisions that most people could not make. For example she has to make the decision of keeping her baby, giving her to another family, or putting her baby up for adoption. She wants to keep her baby because she is a part of November. But, November also wants to keep her options open. Will she take the easy way and not have to care for the baby and go back to having a more normal life? Or will November have to sacrifice everything and keep her baby?

Three Small yet Significant Characters Arielle is a cheerleader that bullies people, and makes people feel bad about themselves. She used to be best friends with Dana and November, but that all changed when Josh Dies and Jericho changes. Jericho is Arielle’s ex-boyfriend. Arielle is arrogant and only cares about herself. People realize who and what she is really like, and decide to make a difference. Josh is November’s boyfriend, well at least he was until he died. He was also Jericho’s best friend/cousin. Josh is very important to the story because if it weren’t for him, November wouldn’t be pregnant. When Josh died people close to him changed. For example Jericho becomes very sad and feels guilty and responsible. Josh’s death might have changed people and things for the better. Lastly there is Doctor Holland. She is of the first few people that November tells is pregnant. Dr. Holland is understanding, comforting, calm, reliable, trustworthy, reassuring, and kind. She is the person that strongly advises November to tell her mom that she is pregnant.

Book Reviews The account of November Nelson's teenage pregnancy paints a realistic picture of the difficulties associated with mother/daughter relationships and the dangers associated with teenage pregnancy. During her pregnancy November faces the physical discomforts, the emotional trauma, the legal problems, and the social problems brought about by the unplanned event in her life. She matures somewhat throughout the book and realizes that her life will become more difficult if she raises a child. I recommend this book to high school students. It is an easy read and Sharon Draper is a wonderful author who takes on a teenage voice in her books with great success. http://www.amazon.com/November-Blues-Sharon-M-Draper/dp/1416906991 Parents need to know that this is a realistic portrayal of a teen pregnancy and parenthood, and readers will get a good look at the difficulties November now faces in her life. As books about teen pregnancy go, this one is pretty P.G., but there are references to having unprotected sex, a clinical description of conception, prenatal doctor exams, a childbirth scene, discussion of abortion, and a pregnant 12-year-old. http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/november-blues

My Review In my opinion this novel is an easy and satisfying read. I liked it because it was suspenseful, interesting, and understandable. I also enjoyed the way they set the book up, so you didn’t really know what was going to happen in the end. It was a book that a lot of people can relate to and that isn’t outrageous. This book was so pleasurable that I recommend for people to read it, and I might even read another book by Sharon M. Draper!