I really enjoyed reading this. It sucked me in and I didn't want to stop reading. 
I can see how those who didn't read the entire GR summary could be sucked into thinking this was a straight contemporary about a 16 and pregnant girl who has mental illness. There's no doubt that Quinn seems like an unreliable narrator. That thought is augmented by the other points of view that occur every few chapters - the nurse who drew her initial blood work, Quinn's therapist, her boyfriend and others. They were integral for adding the doubt necessary to keep you reading. 
The truth is that this is a magical realism novel with messages about choice and faith. Quinn's father is currently running for Congress when she finds out about her pregnancy. He is very pro-choice and assumes she will get an abortion. When Quinn decides she wants to keep the baby Quinn and her mother have to explain to him that pro-choice indicates a choice. 
Needless to say, Quinn's decision to continue the pregnancy has repercussions for everyone. The media are relentless, the religious fanatics are thinking she's carrying the Messiah, her little sister is stuck in the middle not understanding; Quinn is cut off from everyone and everything because her parents believe it's for the best - her friends, her boyfriend, social media, TV.

The Inconceivable Life of Quinn by Marianna Baer. This comes out April 4th of this year. I received it from netgally in exchange for an honest review. I picked this up thinking it would be this cute little political mystery. The premise is that Quinn has just found out she is pregnant. This is problem for two reasons. One her dad is up for election for congress. And two she is a virgin. The whole book you are trying to find out how she got pregnant without remembering the act that blessed her in this way.

There isn't a lot I can say about this book without majorly spoiling the ending. I will say that I was only invested in Quinn's story up to the 25% mark because not a lot was happening to move the story forward. Also the POV wasn't my favorite. It was told mostly from Quinn's POV in first person. But every like third chapter would be first person from a barely connected to the story secondary character. I thought that was sidetracking from the story rather than helping. You are given this impression that she is very close with her mother and her father is distant. But through these 1-2 page long other POVs you are supposed to see that her family is actually screwed up? Don't get me wrong, I love a screwed up family. But Quinn was the unreliable narrator wasn't my favorite. The biggest thing that didn't work for me was the ending. The goodreads description alludes to something supernatural being the cause of Quinn's pregnancy. I thought it would be urban fantasy. It was actually magical realism which I'm just not on board with. It kind of upset me actually because I really wanted to love this book.

I honestly think you would love this book, if it was apparent to the reader that this was magical realism. Some people love that stuff. I tend to like my fantasy and contemporary separated. But that's me. If you like a story with a bit of random thrown in there, then I highly recommend this book. If you want to know how Quinn got pregnant yet remained a virgin and welcoming theories from out in left field then please read this book. If you like the family that thinks they are close but in fact doesn't know how to communicate properly then run out on April 4th and support this author at your local bookshop.

2.5

Quinn is pregnant, but being a virgin, she doesn’t understand how that can be so. Although, she and her boyfriend, Jesse, are something close to intimate, they’ve never been factually intimate.

Quinn The Virgin goes to the OB-GYN, unable to come to terms with her alleged pregnancy, and it’s confirmed truth. She’s an official stereotype: sixteen and pregnant. Someone call MTV. Worse for her, her father is a high-and-mighty politician, preparing for an upcoming election, and he doesn’t have time for her BS. As if it could get any worse for their family, Quinn starts to be seen as a religious messiah, a fertility god of sorts, and people gather outside their home, believing she can cure their infertility and/or child's sickness.

This book has a whimsical Jandy Nelson-esque quality to it, and fans of Immaculate and Juno will go wild over it. It’s never fully known who the father of Quinn’s baby is, or how she got pregnant? Not to be constantly sipping the Haterade, but that bothered me. Plus, Quinn waits until she has almost every symptom of a pregnancy before she heads to the doctor. CHEESUS, child. 

I think Jesse, Quinn’s boyfriend, was ready to be the father of her child, anyway? Even though he was doubtful of her pregnancy, he was still hanging out with her and wanting to be around her. Personally, I thought he was a loser, but they shared a scene I enjoyed. 

Quinn's parents are addressed by their official names and I've never been annoyed by anything more: Gabe and Katherine. I had no clue who they even were, at first, and I didn't get it until the end. I have no clue why that was even so, but neither of them treat her horribly. (Her father is disbelieving of pretty much everything, but given the circumstances, it's understandable.) 

I enjoyed the mix of the children's book/lullaby and the watery-waterfall-lilting feel mashup of the book, which is why I mainly adored this book and kept the rating as is. It's so unexpectedly, gorgeously written, and the ending was a surprising, realistic touch, but I enjoyed it and it was *especially* reminiscent of Juno, and I'm almost hoping people will enjoy that sweep of realism.

I loved this book! Such a compelling premise, and it's full of richly developed characters, beautiful writing, vibrant settings, and so much suspense. I was so captivated by Quinn and her quest to figure out what was going on that I wanted to drop everything to finish reading. The resolution is unexpected in the best way, in my opinion--I didn't see it coming, but there are clues deftly woven through Quinn's dreams and memories, so I found it satisfying rather than jarring. Sometimes people talk about books being high-concept or literary, or plot-driven or character-driven, and I think this book is all of those things. As a former Brooklyn resident, it was also fun to read something set in places I recognized...and how gorgeous is that cover??

This was such a strange book. Mostly in a good way but it was also in a not so good way. I thought the 
synopsis was incredibly interesting and I really, really wanted to know what happened and I lowkey needed to know how Quinn became pregnant. I got a bit of a Unbecoming of Mara Dyer vibe from this book so if you loved Mara Dyer, you might love The Inconceivable Life of Quinn as well. 
I'm not a huge fan of magical realism. I didn't expect magical realism in this book so that was kind of out of left field for me. It came a little late in the book for me to adjust to it and it just didn't hit me right. 
I did really love the writing style. I thought it was really well written so the writing was my favorite thing about The Inconceivable Life of Quinn. 
Overall, the writing was great but the magical realism just wasn't for me. I think this is a really cool book and a lot of people, especially fans of Mara Dyer, will really enjoy it.

This is one of those reads where the ending is not expected at all. Quinn who swears never had any intimate relations with her boyfriend Jesse, or anyone else, turns out to be pregnant. She holds strongly to that statement, even when everyone around her is doubtful. The media has a field day with this revelation, twisting things around, letting the public take a nab at it. Then we are introduced to an extremely zealous group who believe her to be carrying the next messiah. 

And what a boyfriend she has. Jesse has been a best friend to her since the fifth grade, and recently becoming more than just platonic. So finding out that his girlfriend, whom he completely trusts, is pregnant turns his world upside down. And several of his reactions are priceless.  
"That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying that... that I have no idea what to say! I was in shock. It was like you threw a grenade in my head and I had to piece my brain back together before speaking to you.' He pantomimed his head exploding, with sound effects."

Quinn goes through a series of backlash and admiration. Never knowing what is going to be done or said next. She has constant bouts with herself and what she can and can't remember. What possibly could have happened? Did she do something, did something happen to her? Why is this a part of her life now? Everyone wants answers, but she can't give an answer to something she truly can't comprehend. 

Don't get me started with the kind of parents she has. It seems to everyone that they care, that they are honestly concerned with their daughter's mental state. Sadly, they are anything but. These two care only about how society sees them, what it means for his campaign, and who this information will reach. When she confides in them about her theories on the matter, both of them think she has gone off the deep end with no return in sight. And when she is at her worst, feeling guilty for their predicament, her father, Cutler, doesn't care to make her feel any better. 

"...Quinn- of course it's a big thing! It's the biggest disappointment of my life."

"Cutler reportedly received a seven-figure advance for his upcoming memoir Political Virgin: The Disillusionment and (Near) Destruction of an American Candidate."

There is much that goes on in this read. Followers that won't let her be. Waiting for the arrival of her child into this world. Doctors who believe she has become unhinged and delusional. Media outlets that are unrelenting. A truth to her pregnancy no one sees coming. And hidden stories from the past that soon become embedded within her future. When the reader thinks they might have this novel figured out, it throws another curveball into the mix.  

***I received this copy from Amulet Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***

Quinn Cutler is 16-years-old and pregnant.  That's what her doctor says.  Quinn finds this hilarious, as she's never had sex.  Of course, since she's pregnant, no one believes her-- certainly not her father, who's campaigning for Congress.  As Quinn tries to work out what could have happened to her, she starts questioning whether she could be the next Virgin Mary, as does the group that forms outside of her Brooklyn home.  All along, Quinn finds comfort in water and longs for her childhood home of coastal Maine.  She's sure the answer is there.

The Inconceivable Life of Quinn is different and special.  It's funny and well-written.  It's a little mystery infused with magical realism.  Layered in this beautiful tale are family dynamics, secrets, and a little folklore.

I loved Quinn, as a character.  Though others around her are sure she's losing it, I never once doubted Quinn's sanity.  I felt her frustration throughout of not being able to figure out what had happened, and confinement by her parents.  It can be frustrating at times to see so much wrong with Quinn's situation, but the end of this book 100% pays off for me.  I can see how others may not feel that way, but I have a real affinity for the ocean, so I loved it.

I will be telling everyone to read this one!

The inconceivable life of Quinn by Marianna Barr was surprising. I really thought I would love it, and it's not that I didn't, it's just that the ending came way out of left field. So much so, that it left me feeling unsatisfied. Which is a massive shame, because the rest of the book was awesome.

Plot

The premise of this book is that a 16-year-old girl, who happens to be a virgin and the daughter of a political candidate,  ends up pregnant. Nobody knows how or why she's pregnant, and throughout the book she maintains her position that she is a virgin.

The premise was great, when I read the blurb I was really intrigued as to how this would play out. I really wanted to know how she got pregnant. And the thing is, I really thought I would find out, and in a way I did, but also I didn't. 

The style of the book is written in, is a really easy to read, nice and quick, flowing prose. I was sucked in, and despite the plot not being particularly fast or complicated, the characters had a lot of depth and I really enjoyed reading the story.

Chekhov's Gun

The biggest problem for me was that the author made an omission. There is a lesson for writers here around Chekhov's gun. Chekhov's gun is a theory that says don't show the readers a gun in a scene, unless later on the gun will be used or have a purpose.

Now, the whole book was based on a pregnancy that we wanted to find out the answer to who the father was. It was set in a real world with no fantastical elements. So when Barr pulled out a DNA test, and tested two of the lads that were probable candidates, I expected to find out who the father was (at some point). Without giving too much away, the ending did not explicitly tell us who the father was. Instead it used mythology and an extraordinary mythological based reason for the pregnancy.

Personally, I couldn't equate the DNA test with the mythology. Either tell us who the father was via DNA, or leave it out. It was very distracting given the books ending an explanation for the pregnancy. I was just left feeling frustrated and like I hadn't really got an answer. It felt, unfinished.

Characters

The characters were good,  I felt for the main character, I liked the protagonists parents and how they shit they were as parents. But I would have liked to seen a bit more depth to the father in particular because he was such a great complex character, and I didn't quite get enough page time from him.

Overall

I think this author, is a great writer. I really like her style, her prose, and the way she sucks you into the story. Unfortunately, the ending really didn't do it for me, and I felt there was a huge dissonance between the real-life setting of the rest of the book, and the fantastical ending. That being said, I would definitely read other books written by this author, she's really engaging and one to look out for.

Blog posted on Tuesday 28th Feb here: http://wp.me/p8a9GB-27
Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1866122533

The Inconceivable Life of Quinn was an okay book. This novel started out strong with great writing and a story plot line. But i found myself just getting bored with the story as the book progressed. There were some parts that were just repetitive and I also didn't really care for the ending to much. I found that I really what I wanted to know what happened and that compelled me to finish the story but it was by no means the best book ever. Overall this book was an okay read.

This was really not a great book. I kept expecting there to be more, an explanation as to how she got pregnant that wasn't "magical". It didn't deliver and felt so flat and unfinished.