The Pregnancy Project: A Memoir [Hardcover]

Gaby Rodriguez (Author), Jenna Glatzer (Contributor)

Book Description

Release date: January 17, 2012

The true story of a high school senior whose faked pregnancy rocked her community and made international headlines.

It started as a school project…but turned into so much more.

Growing up, Gaby Rodriguez was often told she would end up a teen mom. After all, her mother and her older sisters had gotten pregnant as teenagers; from an outsider’s perspective, it was practically a family tradition. Gaby had ambitions that didn’t include teen motherhood. But she wondered: how would she be treated if she “lived down” to others' expectations? Would everyone ignore the years she put into being a good student and see her as just another pregnant teen statistic with no future? These questions sparked Gaby’s school project: faking her own pregnancy as a high school senior to see how her family, friends, and community would react. What she learned changed her life forever, and made international headlines in the process.

In The Pregnancy Project, Gaby details how she was able to fake her own pregnancy—hiding the truth from even her siblings and boyfriend’s parents—and reveals all that she learned from the experience. But more than that, Gaby’s story is about fighting stereotypes, and how one girl found the strength to come out from the shadow of low expectations to forge a bright future for herself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…Gaby’s story is vividly told with a strong voice and a great story arc that begins with her parents and ends with a call to other teens and adults to stop the cycle of teen pregnancy, motherhood and poverty. THE PREGNANCY PROJECT is not just a good read, but an important one as well.” – BookReporter.com

About the Author

Gaby Rodriguez made national headlines in 2011 when, as a seventeen-year-old high school senior from Toppenish, Washington, she revealed she had faked a pregnancy for a class project. Her grades were in the top 5 percent of her graduating class, and she was a commencement speaker. She was also in the ASB Leadership group and president of the school's chapter of M.E.Ch.A (Movimiento Estudiantil de Chicanos de Aztlan: Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan). She was raised by her single mom, has seven brothers and sisters, and has been dating her boyfriend Jorge since 2008. She is currently attending college.

Jenna Glatzer is the author or ghostwriter of nineteen books, including The Marilyn Monroe Treasures; My Stolen Son with Susan Markowitz;Bullyproof Your Child for Life with Joel Haber, Ph.D.; and the authorized biography Celine Dion: For Keeps. She has written hundreds of articles for publications such as Woman’s World, Salon, AOL, and MSN, and is a frequent contributor to Writer’s Digest. She lives in New York with her daughter. Visit her at JennaGlatzer.com.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition (January 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442446226
• ISBN-13: 978-1442446229
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Teens > Education & Reference > Social Science

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting insight into teen pregnancy January 22, 2012

By For Love and Books

Format:Hardcover

I remember first hearing about Gaby Rodriguez and her pregnancy project on the Today show when her story first broke. I was actually on a play date with one of my good friends, who also happened to have been a teen mom. I was intrigued by Gaby's project, and was able to hear more of my friends personal experience as well.

When I was walking through the bookstore last week, I saw a display for The Pregnancy Project and my curiosity got me. I wanted more of Gaby's story. Why she did this, what reactions she got. In those cases, this book did not disappoint.

The first third of the book is more background, and while I know it needed to be told? I was just anxious to get into the story. Gaby's mother has lived an incredible life - filled with hardship and abuse. After becoming pregnant at 14, she went on to marry her boyfriend and have seven children with him. As I said? Her story was heartbreaking, but By page 60 (of 216) I found myself asking when the story of her project would actually start.

The recount of the project itself was fascinating, and I found myself texting my friend and her husband asking "we're people this mean to you?" My heart broke for her and her husband (who happen to be one of the most levelheaded and in love couples, despite having married and has their first child at 16 & 17.) Gaby and her boyfriend went through a lot, his parents were unhappy (they were not in on the project and thought she was pregnant like everyone else) her siblings were disappointed in her. Her peers were downright mean at times.

In the end, I really enjoyed The Pregnancy Project. I knew when I picked it up that the writing would probably be rough, but many memoirs tend to be that way. The one thing I really found lacking was that I would have liked to know more about their interactions with her boyfriends parents during the six month project, if they ever started to warm up to the idea of a grandchild or not. Also, I would have loved to learn more of her mentor through the pregnant teen program.

I would recommend The Pregnancy Project to anyone who enjoys memoirs, but more importantly? I think it would be a great read for any 15 or 16 year old girls, showing some of the consequences of the pregnancy - before the hard part of parenting even really begins. But also the side effects of gossip in a way you might not see them.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful January 26, 2012

By KAMARIA NURSE

Format:Hardcover

Gaby Rodriguez set out to investigate and confront many of the stereotypes of the Latina. Her mother was pregnant at 14, her older sisters followed in their mother's footsteps and became young mothers as well. Getting pregnant young seemed to be family tradition. Gaby seeing her mother and siblings could have fallen into the same trap of young motherhood. However, seeing the struggles of her mother and sibilings provided Gaby with the impetus to do something different. She took to her schooling and wanted to be educated to help others.
Her pregnancy project was useful since it gave her perspective into the world of the teen mother. Gaby used her project to gauge not only the perspectives of others on her but it gave her insight into the quirky social aspects of high school culture where gossip and rumor are sometimes better than facts. Much of her success came through the work and support of her mother and boyfriend who knew the truth and supported her through her whole time she was "pregnant." Confronting the stereotypes of the Latina she used her project to speak to prejudices that are held about the Latina. This is relatable to prejudices held about other types of young women in similar situations of racial minority and poverty.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Gaby's Pregnancy Test January 28, 2012

By Little Willow

Format:Hardcover

At age 17, Gaby Rodriguez was an excellent student, ranking in the top 5 percent of her graduating class and holding high position in school clubs and leadership organizations in her hometown of Toppenish, Washington.

She is also the youngest child in a large family. Very large. Gaby has seven siblings - and more than thirty nieces and nephews, some of which are older than she is, some closer in age. Her family history was filled with teenage pregnancy: Her mother had been a teen mother. Her older sisters were teen moms. Many of her older brothers were teen fathers. So, sadly, there were those who looked down on Gaby, despite her achievements - and then she announced that she was pregnant, thereby "living down to their expectations."

But she wasn't. Not at all. Because she wasn't really pregnant.

Gaby's pregnancy was a project. It was an idea she came up with herself and shared with very few others: her mother, her boyfriend, one close friend, a few administrators who had to give her project their approval, and only one of her siblings. Everyone else - including the rest of her family and her boyfriend's parents - thought that Gaby and her boyfriend, Jorge, were about to become teen parents.

Gaby's pregnancy was also a test. A test for Gaby, to see if people would actually believe that she was pregnant. If her friends and loved ones would stand by her when she needed them. If the fake belly she wore under her clothes, created by her mom, looked real. If she could keep the project a secret. If she could pull it off, emotionally and physically.

Six long months later, Gaby revealed everything in an all-school assembly. She started her presentation off with facts and figures, with statistics and stories about teenage pregnancies and stereotypes. Then she announced that she was not pregnant. People audibly gasped as she took off the fake belly and continued talking, telling them what this project meant to her.

Gaby's presentation was captured on camera, leading the story to be picked up not only by local papers but also the Associated Press, which in turn led to national and international news broadcasts. It also led to a book deal and a movie deal. Lifetime's made-for-TV movie based on Gaby's story aired shortly after the book was released.

Gaby's memoir, co-written with Jenna Glatzer, offers insight into Gaby's home life. She's not afraid to get personal, describing her home life and siblings in detail. She discloses details about her mother's abusive first marriage. Gaby is clearly close to her mother and treats her with honor and respect. Gaby never sounds ashamed of her mother, or her upbringing. She is frank about her school and her hometown.

Gaby's memoir doesn't glamorize teen pregnancy. Not in the least. She mentions shows like Teen Mom She discusses the hurdles she encountered and stats that she learned during her study as well as the problems her mom and siblings went through when they had kids. She talks about her mom's struggles to make ends meet. She shares the dreams she has for herself, her desire to "make a real difference in people's lives."

Gaby could have stopped her project at any time, but she didn't. She went through with it. She stuck it out. She did want she planned to do. That took a lot of strength. That took a lot of guts. After the project, she was chased by the media and saw her name in headlines, but more importantly, she graduated from high school with honors. Now, while she's been hitting the books for college, her own book is hitting stores. Hopefully, her project makes the difference she wants it to make - and she'll make a difference in the world.