Summary/Cover Image From Publisher's Website: ME: Evelyn, closeted good girl turned bad.
HIM: Todd, her supposed Friend with Benefits.
THEM: Her cold, distant parents.
IT: The baby that's growing inside her.
When Evelyn decided to piss off her parents with a bad reputation, she wasn't planning to ruin her valedictorian status. She also wasn't planning to fall for Todd-the guy she was just using for sex. And she definitely wasn't planning on getting pregnant. When Todd turns his back on her, Evelyn's not sure where to go. Can a distant mother, a cheating father, an angry best friend, and a (thankfully) loving aunt with adopted daughters of her own help Evelyn make the heart-wrenching decisions that follow?
Review:
Me, Him, Them and It has been in my TBR pile longer than I'd like to admit, and recently, I decided that I needed to finally read it. The result? Me, Him, Them, and It truly managed to surprise me in the best way possible.
Everything began to fall apart in Evelyn's life the day her dad announced he was leaving his family for his dentist. Suddenly, her home turned into just a house, she lost the one parent she could truly relate to, and her mother crawled back into her shell, using her job as a constant excuse for everything. Evelyn figured the only way to truly get revenge on her parents, and maybe, just maybe, get them to pay attention to her was to become a "bad girl." She drank, she smoked, she went to parties, and she started up a friends-with-benefits relationship. Everything changes, though, the minute a regular visit at Planned Parenthood brings about a positive pregnancy test. Evelyn isn't just Evelyn anymore - she's Evelyn plus a little "bean." Evelyn doesn't know what to do. It doesn't help that Todd, the baby daddy, will talk to her about anything but the baby, or that her mom wants to ship her away, or that her best friend is angry with her than ever. Evelyn is at a loss so when she's given a way out - move in with her eccentric yet loving aunt - she goes for it. What she doesn't fully realize, though, is that even in a different world she's still going to have make some tough decisions...
One of my favorites parts of this book was the narration. It's split up into several different sections - one counting down the days into her decisions, another counting how long into her pregnancy she is, and a couple revisiting the past (i.e. how Todd and her got together, etc.). It was very journal like in a sense, and most importantly, it felt very personal. I was really able to get to know Evelyn well as well as connect to her story.
From the first page, it was incredibly easy to see how lost Evelyn was. Here's this girl that used to the definition of a good girl - she got straight As, ran track, dressed nicely - but now is the complete opposite of that. It was simply heartbreaking, she was literally and figuratively breaking in front of my eyes for a large part of the story. My favorite aspect of her character, though, was watching her transform - to accept responsibility for her actions, to finally demand that she should matter in her parents eyes, to open up to the people who so desperately wanted to know her. It was amazing transformation. I especially liked the bond she began to form with "bean." It was sweet. It made me smile. However, it also managed to break my heart time and time again.
I also really enjoyed the entire cast of characters. Her aunts and two cousins added a great family aspect to the book - it was adorable to see the little girls, in particular, interact with Evelyn. I also enjoyed the addition of her teen pregnancy support group. It was interesting to see how Caela intertwined other's dealings with teen pregnancy within it - it showed that truly no situation is the same. I had a lot of mixed feelings over Evelyn's parents. I felt that they were incredibly selfish in some respects; however, I did see that they did begin to try.
The plot in this mainly revolves around Evelyn's pregnancy and the many questions and decisions that entails. I thought it was great that Caela had Evelyn explore every route she could take - abortion, adoption, keeping the baby. I especially liked how never once was the book pushy about one particular option; instead, you Evelyn decide over the course of the book which one is for her.
In all, Me, Him, Them and It is raw and heartbreaking. It punches you in the gut hard. Mostly importantly, it's a beautifully told story about how sometimes the hardest decisions, the ones that want to make you want to tear out your hear and be a child again, are the ones that make you the person you are - for better or for worse.
Me, Him, Them and It has been in my TBR pile longer than I'd like to admit, and recently, I decided that I needed to finally read it. The result? Me, Him, Them, and It truly managed to surprise me in the best way possible.
Everything began to fall apart in Evelyn's life the day her dad announced he was leaving his family for his dentist. Suddenly, her home turned into just a house, she lost the one parent she could truly relate to, and her mother crawled back into her shell, using her job as a constant excuse for everything. Evelyn figured the only way to truly get revenge on her parents, and maybe, just maybe, get them to pay attention to her was to become a "bad girl." She drank, she smoked, she went to parties, and she started up a friends-with-benefits relationship. Everything changes, though, the minute a regular visit at Planned Parenthood brings about a positive pregnancy test. Evelyn isn't just Evelyn anymore - she's Evelyn plus a little "bean." Evelyn doesn't know what to do. It doesn't help that Todd, the baby daddy, will talk to her about anything but the baby, or that her mom wants to ship her away, or that her best friend is angry with her than ever. Evelyn is at a loss so when she's given a way out - move in with her eccentric yet loving aunt - she goes for it. What she doesn't fully realize, though, is that even in a different world she's still going to have make some tough decisions...
One of my favorites parts of this book was the narration. It's split up into several different sections - one counting down the days into her decisions, another counting how long into her pregnancy she is, and a couple revisiting the past (i.e. how Todd and her got together, etc.). It was very journal like in a sense, and most importantly, it felt very personal. I was really able to get to know Evelyn well as well as connect to her story.
From the first page, it was incredibly easy to see how lost Evelyn was. Here's this girl that used to the definition of a good girl - she got straight As, ran track, dressed nicely - but now is the complete opposite of that. It was simply heartbreaking, she was literally and figuratively breaking in front of my eyes for a large part of the story. My favorite aspect of her character, though, was watching her transform - to accept responsibility for her actions, to finally demand that she should matter in her parents eyes, to open up to the people who so desperately wanted to know her. It was amazing transformation. I especially liked the bond she began to form with "bean." It was sweet. It made me smile. However, it also managed to break my heart time and time again.
I also really enjoyed the entire cast of characters. Her aunts and two cousins added a great family aspect to the book - it was adorable to see the little girls, in particular, interact with Evelyn. I also enjoyed the addition of her teen pregnancy support group. It was interesting to see how Caela intertwined other's dealings with teen pregnancy within it - it showed that truly no situation is the same. I had a lot of mixed feelings over Evelyn's parents. I felt that they were incredibly selfish in some respects; however, I did see that they did begin to try.
The plot in this mainly revolves around Evelyn's pregnancy and the many questions and decisions that entails. I thought it was great that Caela had Evelyn explore every route she could take - abortion, adoption, keeping the baby. I especially liked how never once was the book pushy about one particular option; instead, you Evelyn decide over the course of the book which one is for her.
In all, Me, Him, Them and It is raw and heartbreaking. It punches you in the gut hard. Mostly importantly, it's a beautifully told story about how sometimes the hardest decisions, the ones that want to make you want to tear out your hear and be a child again, are the ones that make you the person you are - for better or for worse.
Grade: A
Me, Him, Them, and It is now out in paperback!
Source: ARC provided by publisher
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This sounds like such a gut wrenching read. Evelyn sounds like a great character too, one that I could really see myself getting attached to. This book is actually new to me, so I think I'm going to have to check it out. Great review!
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