Review: Positively Mine by Christine Duval

This review is part of the book blitz hosted by Xpresso Tours. Read my interview with the author here!

Title: Positively Mine
Author: Christine Duval
Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark
Release date: December 19th 2013
Genre: contemporary New Adult
Source: Review copy provided by author - thanks!
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It is four weeks into her freshman year of college, and Laurel’s first test was unexpected. Discovering she’s pregnant isn’t exactly what she had planned for her first semester, and while she intends to tell her emotionally-distant father, being away at school makes it all too easy to hide.
An imperfect heroine plagued by bad choices and isolated during what should be the best time of her life, readers are sure to identify with Laurel as she confronts teen pregnancy, in secret.

Note: This book was previously self-published under the title Freshman Forty.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I'm really starting to enjoy the new adult contemporary genre! I feel bad about it, but I'm generally a little wary of self-published books - yes, there's a lot of good ones out there, but the fact that a publisher has put effort and money into someone's work makes me trust traditionally published books a little more. But I've been reading quite a few self-published new adult novels for blog tours and such, and I have to say, I'm impressed! They've started to convince me to give more self-published books a try, since there's so few traditionally published new adult books out there. Anyways, I've really been enjoying these self-published new adult novels, and Positively Mine is no exception!

I love pregnancy novels. I know tons of people don't like them or have gotten sick of them, but I always enjoy them. I'm not even sure why, because, yes, it's been done a million times before, but for some reason, teenage pregnancy is a topic that I just cannot get sick of; it's fascinating to me, this impossible decision and everything related to it. I was especially excited to see pregnancy play out in the college setting, giving the character more freedom than a teenager still living at home. And I loved everything about pregnancy in this novel - Laurel's struggles are portrayed honestly and relatably, and I loved being there with her on this journey.

The pregnancy takes the main focus of Positively Mine, but there's some smaller storylines that I really enjoyed as well. The secondary characters are great - I loved reading about Laurel's relationships with Tori, her friend from back home; Mike, her friend-and-maybe-more at Colman; her dad and the rest of the family; Audrey, her friend from the young-mothers support group; even her obstetrician and her biology professor, who both end up being good resources for her. All of these relationships develop in a very natural way - there's issues, but there's never any unnecessary drama, which I really appreciated. The only relationship I feel was lacking was the one between Lauren and her babydaddy - I get that him not playing a role is kind of the point, but I wish we'd at least gotten to see her tell him.

What really made Positively Mine work was the writing. I don't even know what it is about Christine Duval's style, but it made everything flow so well. Positively Mine is a book that I never wanted to stop reading; I kept sneaking in chapters whenever I had a minute. And how badly I want to keep reading is really the best way of telling whether or not I'm enjoying a novel.

The only thing I found somewhat disappointing was the ending. Everything is explored in so much detail in the beginning, but the ending felt rushed. I wanted to know more about the delivery of the baby and what happens after - if we've spent that much time working up to this event, it felt strange to me to only have a couple of pages about the actual birth and everything surrounding it. Maybe it's just because I didn't want the book to end, though - I wanted to keep reading about what happens after Laurel gives birth. And I read that this book might be turned into a series, so that would explain the rushed ending as well.

Either way, Positively Mine is a book that I really enjoyed. Like I said, I love pregnancy books, so that probably influenced my opinion a lot - if you're not a big fan of pregnancy books, this one probably isn't for you; there are some other storylines, but they tend to lead back to the main issue, and the focus really is on Laurel's pregnancy. For me, though, that's particularly why I liked it. Positively Mine is an honest and engaging portrayal of teenage pregnancy that I really enjoyed.

Author Interview with Christine Duval (Positively Mine Book Blitz)

Today we have Christine Duval here for an interview as part of the book blitz for Positively Mine! This book blitz is hosted by Xpresso Blog Tours. You can find out all about the blitz here.

This interview is an excerpt from Christine's Q&A with the Goodreads New Adult Book Club.


Raquel:

Hey Christine! I'm curious about where you got your inspiration for the idea behind Positively Mine? It was unlike any book I've read, in a refreshing way!

Christine:

Hi Raquel, A couple years ago my dearest friend announced she was pregnant and at the same time my babysitter was going off to her freshman year of college. I don't know why but I started thinking, wow, if you were newly pregnant and heading away to college, you really could hide it from people back home (I know I have a weird brain). I've had 2 kids, so I know how the weight comes on and realized Laurel could easily hide it through Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then I just let Laurel tell me her story.

Caryn:

Hi Christine, I really enjoyed Positively Mine. How did you weave together elements of fiction with such a strong sense of place that was based on a specific area of upstate?

Christine:

Easy...I lived up in the Finger Lakes for 4 years. It is a beautiful place when the sun is shining but there are a ton of dark, grey, cold days. You live for the sunny ones but honestly, when I was there in college, my mom received more than her share of phone calls from me begging to come home just to see the sun. Ultimately, the good friends I made kept me planted but it is a long, hard winter (thus easy to hide behind a big coat).

Holly:

Hi Christine! Really enjoyed Positively Mine! What is your writing process? Do you find you write better at certain times of the day or do you run to the computer when inspired? Also, how did you connect with your publisher?

Christine:

Hi Holly, I am the most undisciplined writer that ever lived! I have no process. I drive a lot in my car and let the story unfold in my head and then go back home and recreate it when I have time. Still, that usually backfires because at that point my characters have changed their minds and all of a sudden I am writing a completely different story. A prime example of this is in Positively Mine. I never meant for Sheryl to end up pregnant. It happened as shocking for me as it was for Laurel! Seriously, I was writing and all of sudden she just cleared the room and announced it. I had no plan of this, no outline. Regarding Bloomsbury, I saw on NA Alley - a blog I follow - that they were starting Bloomsbury Spark and I sent an inquiry to Meredith Rich and a few months later the rest is history!

Beatriz:

Hi Christine, I really enjoyed reading your book. Congratulations! Are you working on a sequel? If so when can we expect it by :) I would like to know how long did it take you to complete your book?

Christine:

Thanks so much Beatriz! I am working on the sequel and hopefully will have it complete this winter, after Positively Mine is released. I wrote the first draft two years ago during a NANOWRIMO competition (National Novel Writing Month), where you are challenged to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Then I put it away for December, picked it back up in January and had it complete to enter into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest around the third week of that month. But it has evolved quite a bit since that version thanks to a bunch of beta readers and a really good critique group who demanded more of my characters and more from the plot.

I'd recommend doing NANOWRIMO if you are just starting out writing your first novel. It really is an inspiring month and around the clock, through Twitter, there is someone in the world working on their novel. I remember I used to do word sprints in the middle of the night with a girl in South Africa. We'd turn on the timer and race write for ten minutes then compare how many words we wrote. With NANOWRIMO, it is all about quantity, not quality. You push yourself to write as much as you can and amazingly by doing that, you let your guard down and really surprise yourself with what you come up with. Plus, it forces you to look at your novel every day so it is always with you, you are always thinking about your characters. And, there's one right around the corner since it is an annual event. Best of luck with your project!

Sherry:

One of the things that struck me about your book is the very strong and distinct voice of Laurel. She feels very real. Is she based on anyone, or a group of people, you know?

Christine:

She really isn't based on any one person or even a group of people. Some of the situations she finds herself in are based on real things. Not the pregnancy but the premature death of her mom, the places, the struggle to move on while her dad is building a new life with someone. I don't think there is one person out there who hasn't witnessed, whether first hand or via a good friend, someone who needs to accept a parent's new husband or wife. And the gossipy doorman...yeah. I think the choice to write the book in first person, present tense helped to strengthen Laurel's voice. It isn't an easy way to write because everything is happening to your character while you are writing it. I was very influenced by two books when I set out to create this story: Laurie Halse Anderson's "Speak" and Julie Buxbaum's "The Opposite of Love." I loved how Laurie was able to keep Melinda quiet the whole year in a believable way when she had such a big secret to tell. And, I love the way Julie balances strong emotion and humor as her main character Emily is forced to face her fears.

Check back tomorrow to read my review of Positively Mine!

Positively Mine by Christine Duval
Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon

It is four weeks into her freshman year of college, and Laurel’s first test was unexpected. Discovering she’s pregnant isn’t exactly what she had planned for her first semester, and while she intends to tell her emotionally-distant father, being away at school makes it all too easy to hide.
An imperfect heroine plagued by bad choices and isolated during what should be the best time of her life, readers are sure to identify with Laurel as she confronts teen pregnancy, in secret.

Review & Giveaway with Christine Duval (Freshman Forty Blog Tour)

Title: Freshman Forty
Author: Christine Duval
Publisher: N/A
Release date: February 21st 2013
Pages: N/A
Genre: New Adult contemporary romance
Source: I received an ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour - thanks!
Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon

When eighteen-year-old Laurel Harris discovers she’s pregnant four weeks into the start of her freshman year at prestigious Colman College, she has all intentions of telling her father. But being away at school makes it too easy to hide. And while she can’t explain to her friends, or to herself even, the reasons why she doesn’t want the baby’s father to find out about the pregnancy, the rest of her world begins to unravel.
Freshman year is hard enough. Most girls get through by forming close friendships, finding new boys and a phone call from mom or dad on Sunday. Laurel has to navigate all of it while hiding an unplanned pregnancy from a summer fling...
An imperfect heroine plagued by bad choices and haunted by the memory of her deceased mother and grandparents, readers are sure to identify with Laurel as she navigates teen pregnancy, in secret, in a remote college setting.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I'm really starting to enjoy the new adult contemporary genre! I feel bad about it, but I'm generally a little wary of self-published books - yes, there's a lot of good ones out there, but the fact that a publisher has put effort and money into someone's work makes me trust traditionally published books a little more. But I've been reading quite a few self-published new adult novels for blog tours and such, and I have to say, I'm impressed! They've started to convince me to give more self-published books a try, since there's so few traditionally published new adult books out there. Anyways, I've really been enjoying these self-published new adult novels, and Freshman Forty is no exception!

I love pregnancy novels. I know tons of people don't like them or have gotten sick of them, but I always enjoy them. I'm not even sure why, because, yes, it's been done a million times before, but for some reason, teenage pregnancy is a topic that I just cannot get sick of; it's fascinating to me, this impossible decision and everything related to it. I was especially excited to see pregnancy play out in the college setting, giving the character more freedom than a teenager still living at home. And I loved everything about pregnancy in this novel - Laurel's struggles are portrayed honestly and relatably, and I loved being there with her on this journey.

The pregnancy takes the main focus of Freshman Forty, but there's some smaller storylines that I really enjoyed as well. The secondary characters are great - I loved reading about Laurel's relationships with Tori, her friend from back home; Mike, her friend-and-maybe-more at Colman; her dad and the rest of the family; Audrey, her friend from the young-mothers support group; even her obstetrician and her biology professor, who both end up being good resources for her. All of these relationships develop in a very natural way - there's issues, but there's never any unnecessary drama, which I really appreciated. The only relationship I feel was lacking was the one between Lauren and her babydaddy - I get that him not playing a role is kind of the point, but I wish we'd at least gotten to see her tell him.

What really made Freshman Forty work was the writing. I don't even know what it is about Christine Duval's style, but it made everything flow so well. Freshman Forty is a book that I never wanted to stop reading; I kept sneaking in chapters whenever I had a minute. And how badly I want to keep reading is really the best way of telling whether or not I'm enjoying a novel.

The only thing I found somewhat disappointing was the ending. Everything is explored in so much detail in the beginning, but the ending felt rushed. I wanted to know more about the delivery of the baby and what happens after - if we've spent that much time working up to this event, it felt strange to me to only have a couple of pages about the actual birth and everything surrounding it. Maybe it's just because I didn't want the book to end, though - I wanted to keep reading about what happens after Laurel gives birth. And I read that this book might be turned into a series, so that would explain the rushed ending as well.

Either way, Freshman Forty is a book that I really enjoyed. Like I said, I love pregnancy books, so that probably influenced my opinion a lot - if you're not a big fan of pregnancy books, this one probably isn't for you; there are some other storylines, but they tend to lead back to the main issue, and the focus really is on Laurel's pregnancy. For me, though, that's particularly why I liked it. Freshman Forty is an honest and engaging portrayal of teenage pregnancy that I really enjoyed.



Giveaway

The author generously offered an ebook copy of this book to give away, open internationally! This giveaway runs from today until July 10th. Enter using the form below.

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