Review: Trouble by Non Pratt

Trouble by Non Pratt

Release date: 06/03/14

Publisher: Walker Books

Reason for reading: received a proof, UK author, intriguing premise, loved the cover

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Buy it: Waterstones | Hive

Goodreads synopsis:

Hannah’s smart and funny ... she’s also fifteen and pregnant. Aaron is new at school and doesn’t want to attract attention. So why does he offer to be the pretend dad to Hannah’s unborn baby? 

Growing up can be trouble but that’s how you find out what really matters.

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The first thing that struck me about Trouble was how genuine the teenage voices felt. Immediately I could imagine that these characters were real people somewhere, and this was their story. Trouble touches on a lot of things that affect teenagers: sex, unplanned pregnancy, alcohol, reputation, bullying, yet it managed to avoid being an ‘issues’ book. At the heart of it, Trouble is a story about a 15 year old girl that falls pregnant, but for me the shining star of this book was the dynamic between Hannah and Aaron, which unfolds in the most brilliant and organic manner.

Hannah isn’t quite the girl everyone thinks she is, but when she falls pregnant, people aren’t that surprised. She is known for ‘sleeping around’ after all. Aaron is the new boy at school and a bit of an enigma and, for some reason, he offers to pretend to be the father to Hannah’s baby. The amount of personal growth in this novel is pretty outstanding. Both Hannah and Aaron experience a lot over the course of the story, but beyond the things that happen to them is the amount they learn from those things and how they’re changed. By the end of the novel they’re both stronger, better people and that’s accomplished in a way that is painful for everyone involved, but is also incredibly moving, heartfelt and genuine.

The whole cast of secondary characters is wonderfully detailed, from Hannah’s darling little sister to the people that become her true friends to Aaron’s unlikely companion Neville. While Trouble has a lot of seriousness to it, there’s also a lot of humour and completely touching moments, and a lot of those come courtesy of these secondary characters. This might be Hannah and Aaron’s story, but it wouldn’t  be the same without everyone that’s a part of their lives along the way.

Trouble manages to be totally unflinching, yet avoids being cringey. It has one of the most realistic sex scenes I’ve ever read in a book and yet it was not at all uncomfortable to read. Everything about the plot was pitch perfect, from the various reactions to the pregnancy from the people in both Hannah and Aaron’s lives, to the events that unfolded and the twists and turns along the way. There wasn’t a moment that lead me to think “that’s ridiculous” or “she would never say that”.  

TL;DR: Trouble is like a UK combo of a Hannah Harrington novel mixed with a Kody Keplinger one. Full of wit and authenticity, Trouble is a book that really touches on what it means to be a teenager. It’s full of messiness, sadness and anger, but also humour, warmth and charm and it is absolutely wonderful.