The Future Unborn

Kansas Jones has a plan with one ultimate end goal…get into MIT. She’s a straight-A student, a top varsity swimmer, and a member of the robotic club. One brief fling - her first ever - while on vacation should not ruin that. But to Kansas, getting pregnant at eighteen is the end of the world. She has twelve weeks to decide to either abort, adopt out, or keep the baby. That’s plenty of time, despite needing to take the SATs, study for finals, prepare for her MIT interview, and finish her team’s robot for the R2-RoboCon competition. With no money and time running out, Kansas has to make a decision fast, but what is she willing to sacrifice and if she does carry the baby to term will she be able to give it away?

A contemporary YA novel, “Future Unborn” is a poignant tale of one girl’s true test of coming of age as she weighs all the possible consequences resulting from having a one night stand. Ms. Chess does a marvelous job of presenting all the options available to a teenage girl without pushing any particular choice on the reader. Further, the story explores the hurt and devastation of miscarriage. Kansas has plenty of depth and readers will find themselves caught up in her worry, denial, grief, and fears as easily as if they were their own. With some teen romance on the side, this is an absolute must read for any book lover.

Sarah E. Bradley