English

Reading log #4
Text title: Baby father
Text type: Short text

This book is a fast reads so is basically just a short piece of writing. 'Baby father' is written by Joanna Kendrick. It tells the story of a 15 year old couple, who are going to become parents. Joanna tries to tell us throughout the text what impact this has on both girls and boys.

Mickey, who is a 15 year old teen begins dating Emma. Not long after they begin dating, Emma becomes pregnant. Emma doesn't tell Mickey in person, she rings instead. He couldn't believe the news that he had just received, he thought she was speaking absolute nonsense and starts laughing. Emma gets emotional due to his lack of support and aggressively slams down the phone. I was annoyed at the fact that he laughed but was also confused as to why Emma didn't confront Mickey in person. The news immediately spread around their school which results into Mickey having an appointment with the school counsellor. The counsellor explains to Mickey how he is going to grow up very fast and should quit behaving like a child.

I don't think Mickey was quite aware of the situation he was now in because he made out as if it was a joke. Reality had not yet hit Mickey, for instance, when he spoke with the school counsellor he said "This was still such a weird idea that I laughed" which gave me the impression that he didn't really care at the moment. But the truth of the matter was that Mickey was going to be a father, whether he liked it or not. Mickey still didn't want to accept the fact, so he begins to isolate himself. I think Mickey had to realise that he was not the only one hurting during the situation. During this time, it's important for both Mickey and Emma to support one another.

This text made me feel sympathetic towards Emma because people were talking behind her back and giving her looks of disgust when she would walk pass. I am curious as to how Emma managed to cope with people like that, but she didn't let it get to her. She didn't waste her energy on the little things she knew she couldn't control. People were going to talk whether they knew her story or not. This made me admire Emma because it shows how strong of a person she is mentally. I think this is an important message for many young girls because despite all of the negative comments, Emma still stays true to herself no matter what. It reminds us of how strong us young girls really can be if we don't let the negativity get to us, and we have a positive mindset.

Teenage pregnancy is on the rise according to New Zealand statistics. For myself, I cannot relate to this text in anyway. But my mother, she was very young when she had me. She had to take on a major responsibility at a young age, just like Emma.

In conclusion the short text gave me more of an understanding on teen pregnancy. Although, it does make me feel a bit sad that others feel the need to bring down teen mothers because of the decision they've made, but also upsetting to see mothers abandoning children. Overall the text is something I do recommend to others.