Just felt like this story has already been told countless times before and this wasn't adding anything interesting or new to the narrative.

TW: Abortion and suicide

We meet Gen as she is about to have an abortion and has been abandoned at the clinic by her boyfriend. Gen is also dealing with (or perhaps not dealing with) the suicide of her actor father and the subsequent mental health struggles of her mother. It’s a lot to deal with.


Gen’s love of the theatre is translated into some of the book being written as a play which is a really interesting stylistic choice and creates a bit of a distance between the characters and action which I really liked. I love that not only did it discuss abortion, but it wasn’t the main point of the story.

Not quite what I expected; while I commend the exploration of abortion, it seemed too wrapped up in other storylines to deliver the initial theme with enough meaning.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, This is a subject that can affect many teenagers, and most books you see about teenage pregnancy end with the baby arriving and everything turning out okay, but this was completely different. Genesis goes through with the termination and gets left at the clinic by her boyfriend, the baby’s father. Watching Genesis deal with being left alone after the termination was heartbreaking. Seeing her struggling with her family life ontop of this made the character more fleshed out, more relatable. It made her thought process more understandable. The storyline in New York wasn’t my favourite, but for the story’s sake I can understand why it was there.

4/5 stars

Aftercare Instructions follows Genesis who is deserted by her boyfriend after having an abortion. He literally leaves her stranded at the clinic. 

One thing i liked about the writing style of this book is how connected i felt to Genesis and her feelings so even when she makes some rash choices i did not feel annoyed like i typically would because i understood her character a bit. 

However i did feel that the book had too many different sub plots going on. This i felt overshadowed the original story and because there was so many things going on I could not enjoy the story. I did not care for the other characters and felt the romantic relationships between characters unneeded. 

Another thing i enjoyed was how the story was structured with the incorporation of the past in the format of a play, it was a nice way to link to the character's passion for acting and not as boring as featuring a typical flashbacks. 

However i did feel that the ending was rushed and did not see the relevance of the epilogue.

Book Review
Title: Aftercare Instructions
Author: Bonnie Pipkin
Genre: YA/Coming of Age
Rating: *****
Review: The opening of Aftercare Instructions was, we are introduced to Gen who is heading for an abortion when her boyfriend Peter abandons her outside and she has to cope with the aftermath alone. We then flashback to a scene where Gen and her best friend Rose are hanging out after the death of her father and they mention Peter who seems to be a good Christian boy before the pregnancy and Gen has a crush on him, but we aren’t sure how he goes from that boy to the one that abandon his pregnant girlfriend at Planned Parenthood.
As we jump back and forth between past and present it was interesting to see the changes Gen has gone through in such a short space of time. We learn of Gen’s home life as how she and Peter came to be a couple despite coming from completely different social circles although they do share the common hobby of reading. Peter obviously starts a seemingly nice guy from a good home which Gen is a quiet girl with tons of emotional baggage, but Peter has abandoned her not only at the clinic, but it also seems like he is dumping her as when she arrives at his house the following day he is out with Vanessa, a girl who obviously liked him romantically and after ditching his pregnant girlfriend at an abortion clinic it doesn’t look good for him. However, Gen isn’t dealing with this very well and she isn’t sure how to talk about it or process her own emotions.
When she finally gets hold of Peter he refuses to give her any sort of explanation and hangs up, Gen is response goes out and gets drunk but not before meeting Seth and ends up going back to his place before her sister, Rose and Will drag her away but I have a feeling the mysterious Seth might be good for Gen given the situation she is in right now and he might help her get her life back on track after Peter shoved it violently off course.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Gen isn’t sure where her life is going but she is drawn to Seth and spends more time with him than anyone else. It does come to light though that Vanessa was lying about being with Peter and that he isn’t seeing anyone else. Gen slowly begins to move on and we learn that the abortion wasn’t Peter’s idea but Gen’s as she wasn’t ready to have a baby and she wasn’t going to be pressured into keeping it by Peter’s religious mother who bans him from seeing her because of what she did.
In the end Peter and Gen truly go their separate ways but I can see a true relationship budding between Seth and Gen as he helps her get back into theatre, something she and her father shared before his death and although her mother ends up back in the psych ward she finally feels ok for the first time in a while and it is all thanks to Seth who opens her eyes letting her know she is still alive and kicking and needs to move on with all her being. And she does, she takes the leap and I hope it pays off, however, the novel ends here and despite all the darker themes I was smiling from ear to ear and Gen goes on such a long journey in such a small number of pages.

I want to give this 5 stars just because Pipkin was willing to tackle teenage abortion and did it in a responsible way that was neither blasé nor proscriptive. It was incredibly refreshing to have that aspect of the book presented as merely a choice rather than falling into tropes such as ‘teen girl changes her mind at last minute and discover joy of motherhood/ childless couple adopt kid’ or ‘small town grudgingly accepts it’s ok for innocent raped girl not to give birth to her attacker’s baby’. It really was just a choice, highlighting the importance of preserving the potential mother’s life in a way that pro-lifers just can’t seem to wrap their heads around! That being said Gen’s accidental pregnancy and its termination aren’t the main thrust of the story but the inciting incident for everything else that happens. This is a book about choices, grief, loss and emotional healing. Pipkin avoids most common YA pitfalls and produces something really original. The reason I gave it four stars is that I just wasn’t that fond of the structure, clever as it was. That aside I highly recommend this for fans of YA contemporary fiction.

<b>Disclaimer: Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</b>


I am so grateful to NetGalley and the Publishers, Legend Press, for giving me a copy of Aftercare Instructions by Bonnie Pipkin.

What first drew me into the book first was actually the cover that is featured on NetGalley, I actually much prefer this one, to the other two version because it relates more to the title of the book, plus it's also <i>different</i> and stands out better in my opinion.

The second thing that drew me into this book was obviously the description, it's different from books of a similar theme I've read previously, where they normally keep the baby. This book opens with the character of Genesis who is at Planned Parenthood to have an abortion, after the procedure she walks out and her boyfriend is gone.

His abandonment causes her to question not only her relationship but also in part, her dark past and the death of her father, these are the main themes of the book.

Genesis is supported by friends and family with a backdrop set in New York City, which I love because it gives the book a feel that anything can happen. Along with this, Genesis has a love of acting in theaters which is briefly explored in the book, because of this there is a change up in writing style that the past is written in the form of 4 acts and multiple scenes which give this book a unique feel.

Due to the fact, that Peter is the main source in of stability in her life plus the fact his abandonment was unforeseen, a major plot point throughout the book is: Why? Why did he just... <i>go?</i> Which I did find myself writing <b>multiple</b> notes about when reading and going through various scenarios in my head!

This book is about doing what is best for you, growing up, and maybe that First Love, doesn't always mean Forever. The characters are well written, engaging and I felt myself get sucked into their stories and <i>wanting</i> to know what happened to them. Even the supporting characters of her family and friends.

The only reason that I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the fact that the summary on other websites led me to believe that Genesis would be a <i>major</i> part of the theater scene, but that isn't the case - she is apart of it and it's probably more my fault for latching on to the idea. So really my rating is more 4.5!

However, this is still an incredible book and an amazing addition to the genre - a book I highly recommend to teens and young adults.

I'm a little confused because I got this book from Net Galley where is is apparently being released on the 3rd May 2018. However, Goodreads says it was published 27th June 2017. Oh well.

This is a bit of an odd read for me. Genesis (I hate that name so much) is a girl with many problems in her life-her dad died of an overdose, her mother is suicidal and her boyfriend ran out and left her at the abortion clinic. This book focuses on her dealing with the latter problem and adjusting to the idea of a life without her boyfriend. Despite the intense subject matter, this is actually a rather detached book which makes it easier reading than it might have otherwise been. The characters are okay but they don't really cross the line into feeling like real people, perhaps with the exception of Gen herself. This isn't necessarily a flaw-in a book like this, too much focus on character would have been very difficult to read and distracting from the main character. On the other hand, anyone who isn't Gen is a bit flat.

There isn't a whole lot of plot here but that's okay. I enjoyed the flashbacks to before the abortion being told through the medium of play scripts. It was a nice touch and it came across like Gen dealing with her pain through distancing herself from it by writing the scripts. I don't know if that was the intention but I appreciated it all the same.

So why isn't this rated higher? Honestly, it's mostly because of things it lacks rather than mistakes it makes. Not much attention is given to things like developing Gen's friends as characters and so when we do get vague details about them, it can be confusing. Ditto Gen's family situation. We know her sister moved out and Gen misses her but only because we are told these things explicitly. We're never shown Gen being close with her sister or missing her particularly. A similar thing happens with Peter's mum hating Gen. We get one script scene flashback but the rest is all told to us.

Overall, I don't regret reading this book. It's an interesting read and I wasn't really sure where it was going, both of which are good. It's a shame I couldn't rate it higher but it just doesn't have that life to it that makes me love a book.

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Genesis is an outsider, she sees herself this way and has generated a zone around her that not many folk want to cross. On the hardest day of her life so far she is abandoned by the boy she thinks she loves and has to find a way through.

This story starts with a list of after care instructions for any medical procedure. The book takes two paths after that. In prose we get Genesis’ point of view on the weeks after her abortion (not a spoiler, it’s in the first chapter you find she’s been to planned parenthood) mainly the first week. She has so many emotions and doesn’t really know how to feel. At one point she says gets directions and I see glad they are as simple as walk straight then turn left as she feels her brain can’t handle any more. She also describes her soul as broken with patches from the people she loves and thinks love her. The writing for these sections is wonderfully descriptive and emotive, I can see how she thinks and it feels like the reactions of a true teenager.
The prose is alternated with play script sections looking back at the relationship that led to her current state. Whilst this highlights the person she was before her dad died (massive theatre fan) I found it very disconcerting that all of the history was told in this form including stage directions. I think this is the bit of the book that wasn’t for me, I’m not a fan of reading scripts silently but when you are reading on the bus this is the only way to go and it loses a lot in telling. I found this created an emotional disconnect for me from the main story but I can see how it I intended to work and is well constructed to give you background as an outsider to the story.

Overall a good read & I look forward to reading more from this author.
With a view to student run book club I would use this only with older students (15+) as it covers some sensitive topics that I feel are age appropriate after that. The book would provide good discussion and is one that the boys should read as well.

I would like to thank the Legend Press and netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

I loved the concept of this book but found the execution a little dull in parts. A teenage girl goes to get an abortion and her boyfriend abandons her at the clinic. The writing is ok and it is a quick read but I don't really feel like it sparks much debate or thought. I didn't feel particularly engaged with the characters which isn't ideal for a character driven novel.

I don't usually read Young Adult fiction, so I was really interested to give this title a go to see if I could be swayed. Even though the book was addictive and I was definitely hooked, it has not changed me from my usual reading of Adult fiction.
The reason for this may be of my own personal opinion, but I did not like the main character, Genesis. I felt that she was extremely self centred, this can be fine for showing character developement, but I didn't feel she progressed at all, and all of the things I didn't like about her just contributed my disenjoyment of the plot.
The great thing of the book however, was the format, I absolutely loved the way this story was set out like a screenplay, I looked forward to every part that read like a play, and I feel grief and loss are very well handled by the author, I have luckily not dealt with any loss yet in my life, but I could really feel the emotions that emanated from the main character.

Overall, I would recommend this book to someone of a younger age, say 12-16, and anyone of that age going through a loss.

When Gen gets together with Peter neither of them could've been prepared for what happened next and now Gen is left with the consequences all alone after Peter abandoned her at the abortion clinic she had to go to.



We see from a split perspective of past and present events, from her meeting Peter a religious guy supposedly and now after the abortion struggling to understand how and why he won't get in touch.



After care sees her friend Rose looking out for her especially as word gets out Peter is now with his best friend Vanessa. It just so happens Vanessa used to be Gens old best friend. Struggling to move on, she suddenly meets Seth at a party held at her cousin Delilah and a spark is instant between them, only the next day

Gen and Seth's lives collide once again when he introduces her to the idea of auditioning in New York as he is also a theatre lover and urges her to perform again as her dad would want her to.

We also see everything come full circle for Gen when Peter suddenly shows up out of the blue once again and a family tragedy reunited the cousins after a fall out.



In Gen's life we see her lack of parenting for her or her sister as her dad does from a heroin overdose due to a life long battle with drugs in the scene of him being a playwright and their Mum suffers with her mental health and isn't always reliable to be around. The themes of abortion, pregnancy and suicide/mental health are dealt with in a way we see how it causes pain for each involved and those around them and just how much a support network can help as well as a good shoulder to cry on as Rose is a strong and supporting friend of Gen's. I also loved how each chapter started with a title from the list of after abortion care and how it plays a part in the story.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!