McInnes, Nicole. Brianna On The Brink.

McInnes, Nicole.  Brianna On The Brink.   Holiday House    2013  170p  $16.95  ISBN 978-0-8234-2741-3  hs  Realistic Fiction  VG-BN   

Brianna, pretty and popular, comes from a broken home.  Currently living with her sister Keisha and hanging out regularly with the in-crowd, she has freedoms for which she is ill-prepared.  One night, she picks up a man in a bar, and he dies during their sexual encounter.  Astounded, she prepares herself for her return to school, where her best friend, the ruthless rich girl Jules, rejects her.  Keisha also rejects her, and Brianna is suddenly homeless.  She is numb when she discovers that her one-night stand was with her English teacher’s husband.  Bri is even more surprised when the teacher, Jane Playne, shows up at a homeless shelter where Bri is staying and takes Bri home with her.  There she discovers forgiveness, family love, and acceptance the likes of which she has never known before.  The next conflict?  Bri is pregnant.  Jane must accept the triple conflict of her husband’s infidelity, his death, and Bri’s impregnation.  Both young women become newer and better versions of themselves.  What will interest young readers is the development of relationships and the contemporary plot, which has all of the requisites of a good story for young adults and high-school students: bullying, teen pregnancy, and female empowerment.  Author Nicole McInnes knows the voices of teenagers, and with her skills in producing narrative that is both exciting and poignant, she has a winner with this debut novel.   

Dysfunctional families, Teen pregnancy                      --Martha Squaresky