Growing Up in a Hurry

It's unfortunate that stories like this one are no longer "acceptable" in today's conservative social climate. This is another "teen pregnancy" story, one that does not automatically assume that all teen mothers keep their babies - in fact, when this was written about 25 years ago teens actually had a choice about this matter, without fear of censure from intolerant religious groups. This story is handled sensitively and from the viewpoint of a very innocent girl. Her choice is hard, but it's one she must make to insure that her future life will be a better one. I wish this book was available to all girls today. It is important for every woman to know that she still has a choice about her own life and future.

Madison has masterfully woven the nuances of relationship evolution into her first-person narrative. After having the abortion Karen says, "But I wept. I cried as if I would never stop. I wept for me, I wept for Martha and Ross, I wept for Steve whom I'd never see again, and I wept for his sad grandfather, I wept for everyone, but mostly for the tiny life that had just been snuffed out" (p. 167).Winifred Madison does not moralize, proselytize, or judge in this novel. She ends on a hopeful note -- Karen is not only closer to her mother, she is closer to her little sister too, and she has learned something about life and herself.