Johanna Kelly's Book Review

Bonnie Jo, Go Home

Jeanette Eyerly

*****stars

One event can ruin someone’s life, one terrifying night destroyed Bonnie Jo. Now she is pregnant. The year is 1973, just after Roe V. Wade passed, the Supreme court case which made abortions legal in the United States. An abortion is what Bonnie Jo is after. This was still a time where young unwed mothers were very much looked down upon in society, especially in the little town in Iowa where Bonnie Jo lives. She does not want to go away and have her baby, and she wants to keep as much of her life together as she can, even though it will never be the same. She must go to New York for an abortion. Once she gets there, she realizes that everything is harder and more complicated than she thought. Will she go through with her plan?

Wonderful book. Especially since it was written in 1973, I read about teen issues back then, and I realize how similar they are to issues today. This book was written with a very open mind, it was neither pro choice or pro life, it simply told Bonnie Jo’s story. It was written in third person, so it wasn’t told by any character viewpoint, for this book it was perfect. I wish people on both sides of the abortion issue would read this book. Personally, I am pro life, but I had a greater understanding of why a girl would think that abortion was the only way out. This book also has details of how insensitive abortion providers can be. It made me think about the abortion issue more deeply than I ever have before. In no way is this book outdated--I enjoyed it thoroughly. Sadly, it is no longer in the O’Hara library due to the condition it was in as an old book which was checked out often. I encourage you to check it out from the Mid-Continent library--ask Mrs. Crawford to order it for you!