Because I Love You by Tori Rigby

Because I Love You by Tory Rigby

Published: May 17th 2016 by Blaze Publishing, LLC

Eight weeks after sixteen-year-old Andie Hamilton gives her virginity to her best friend, “the stick” says she’s pregnant. 

Her friends treat her like she’s carrying the plague, her classmates torture and ridicule her, and the boy she thought loved her doesn’t even care. Afraid to experience the next seven months alone, she turns to her ex-boyfriend, Neil Donaghue, a dark-haired, blue-eyed player. With him, she finds comfort and the support she desperately needs to make the hardest decision of her life: whether or not to keep the baby.

Then a tragic accident leads Andie to discover Neil’s keeping a secret that could dramatically alter their lives, and she’s forced to make a choice. But after hearing her son’s heartbeat for the first time, she doesn’t know how she’ll ever be able to let go.

Note: I received a review copy of this book via Netgalley. This in no way influences my opinion.

I requested this book from Netgalley on a whim. I hadn’t seen it before on Goodreads, but I loved the quirky cover and, when I read the premise, I was interested to see how the author would tackle a subject that is so relevant in today’s society. I absolutely loved it. It was an emotional roller coaster that had me laughing and balling my eyes out and everything in between!

The beginning had me hooked. There was no fluff accompanying it – and it started off with the MC buying a test. So everything has already gone down! Already from the beginning of the book, I felt invested in Andie’s life and what was going to happen to her after she finds out that she is pregnant I could feel the feelings that she was having of anxiety and hopelessness which helped me to connect with the book on a more personal level.

I think the author dealt with the various reactions that such a news would bring pretty well, especially as a 16 year old trying to finish secondary school! I definitely believe you would find out who your true friends were in such a situation because they would stick by your side, no matter what – which is the exact opposite of what the MC’s “best friends” didn’t do. I felt sorry for Andie when they abandoned her (especially because one of them was the father) and I was glad when she found someone that she could lean on. Who needs friends like that, anyway??

I also loved the fact that this book dealt with more than just teen pregnancy. We faced issues of adoption, abortion, domestic violence, alcohol abuse, cancer, death, crime etc. There was a lot of societal issues in one book and I think that, while some of the issues could have been more in depth, a lot of them were explored well and were true to society! Some of these issues had me reeling, whilst other had me bawling my eyes out. Each one brought a new reaction from me and I think that is essential to great story telling.

However, I will say that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the way the romance side of things went down. Don’t get me wrong, I totally ship Neil and Andie, but I felt a little too much like it was insta – love. Despite the fact that they had a back story and a history together, I think it went a little too far and I think maybe it could have gone slower.

I loved reading the pregnancy symptoms Andie was experiencing. It made me relive memories of when I was pregnant and I was just giggling to myself at random intervals throughout this book. There were other times where I felt really sorry for Andie because of the fact that I have my own child. I felt like I could relate to her on a personal level because I understand what it is like to be pregnant. I am just glad it never happened when I was 16! There were moments when I was bawling my eyes out for the MC because I could never imagine giving up my child in any form – so some of these issues were a struggle for me to read!

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and the various issues it raised. I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did, which made it all the more better! I gave this book 4/5 stars!

Have you read this book? Did you enjoy it?