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Ask Me How I Got Here by [Christine Heppermann]

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Christine Heppermann

Ask Me How I Got Here Kindle Edition

by Christine Heppermann (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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How do you define yourself? By your friends? Your family? Your boyfriend? Your grades? Your trophies? Your choices? By a single choice? From the author of the acclaimed Poisoned Apples comes a novel in verse about a young woman and the aftermath of a life-altering decision. Fans of Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins will find the powerful questions, the difficult truths, and the inner strength that speak to them in Ask Me How I Got Here.

Addie has always known what she was running toward, whether in cross country, in her all-girls Catholic school, or in love. Until she and her boyfriend—her sensitive, good-guy boyfriend—are careless one night, and she gets pregnant. Addie makes the difficult choice to have an abortion. And after that—even though she knows it was the right decision for her—nothing is the same. She doesn’t want anyone besides her parents and her boyfriend to know what happened; she doesn’t want to run cross country anymore; she can’t bring herself to be excited about anything. Until she reconnects with Juliana, a former teammate who’s going through her own dark places. Once again, Christine Heppermann writes with an unflinching honesty and a deep sensitivity about the complexities of being a teenager, being a woman. Her free verse poems are moving, provocative, and often full of wry humor and a sharp wit.

Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Greenwillow Books
Publication date

May 3, 2016
Reading age

14 - 17 years
Grade level

9 - 12
File size

1044 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Not Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
UNSPSC-Code
See all details

Jandy Nelson
3,245
Kindle Edition
$9.99

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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up-Addie is a good student and the star of the cross-country team at her private Catholic school. When she discovers that she is pregnant, she gets an abortion with the support of her boyfriend and parents. Afterward, she struggles with what the pregnancy and her decision mean, both to her self-perception and those around her, leading Addie to discover more surprising things about herself. The spare yet meaningful verse shines, while the poems ascribed to Addie herself are particularly poignant. The narrative focuses on Addie's emotional journey while deftly avoiding the tired tropes of typical pregnant teen stories. This is not a story about making the decision to have an abortion but rather one about accepting how decisions shape who we are, for better or for worse. The only readers disappointed will be those looking for a black-and-white pronouncement about abortion and its consequences. Teens mature enough to appreciate Heppermann's subtlety will welcome this fresh, relatable novel that is bold enough to venture into relatively unexplored territory. VERDICT This standout of both craft and theme is recommended for high school and public libraries.-Elizabeth Saxton, Tiffin, OHα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

“Concise, passionate poems…Heppermann’s discerning and incisive verse elegantly conveys the heightened sensitivity and multilayered complexity of Addie’s emotions.” -- Publishers Weekly(starred review)

“The spare yet meaningful verse shines, while the poems ascribed to Addie herself are particularly poignant. ...Teens mature enough to appreciate Heppermann’s subtlety will welcome this fresh, relatable novel that is bold enough to venture into relatively unexplored territory. …Standout.” -- School Library Journal (starred review)

“[Addie’s] observations are thought-provoking, wry, and bitingly smart. With her vibrant voice and rich characterization, Addie easily outshines the “issues” in this remarkable verse novel.” -- Horn Book (starred review)

“The poetry is at times strikingly beautiful, as Addie reflects on her identification with Mary, works her way through her “cafeteria Catholicism,” and struggles to define her feelings toward the baby she chose not to have…a story with space for readers to fill in the gaps with their own interpretations.” -- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“This thought-provoking novel in verse is more about well-rounded Addie’s gratifying process of self-determination than her choice to end her pregnancy. This absorbing book would be an excellent choice for teen book groups.” -- Booklist

“Heppermann’s poetry is beautifully composed…thought-provoking.” -- Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B013PKDSE6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Greenwillow Books (May 3, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 3, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1044 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #821,402 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
21 ratings

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Christine Heppermann

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Christine Heppermann writes fiction, poetry, and criticism. Her books include Ask Me How I Got Here (2016), Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty (2014), City Chickens (2012), and the Backyard Witch series (with Ron Koertge). She currently reviews young adult books for the Chicago Tribune.

Christine grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where she attended an all-girls Catholic high school. As an undergraduate she studied philosophy and literature at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She has a masters degree in children's literature from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Christine lives in New York's Hudson Valley with her two daughters, two cats, and one husband.

Customer reviews

5 star		71%
4 star		11%
3 star		5%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		13%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Laurie H.

This was a short read but very powerful. Addie ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2017

Verified Purchase

This was a short read but very powerful. Addie is a cross-country runner who is forced to reconsider who she is -- to herself, to her boyfriend, to her parents, to the world -- after she gets pregnant. It's a verse novel, and I think it's one of my new favorites of the genre. The poems are short, but full of strong images. And fans of LGBTQ+ YA should take note of this one -- no huge spoilers, but there are hints of f/f attraction about halfway through the book.

Helpful

Meghan

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

Just lovely.

Helpful

Rowan Greene

FYI: This novel is written in free verse poetry...

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2016

Verified Purchase

DNF.
I didn't realize this novel was written in free verse poetry when I purchased and the format simply didn't work for me. I couldn't get past page 10 and thus the one star rating.

Helpful

Steph A.

So many great things going on, but shaky execution.

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2019

I admire so much what Christine Heppermann was trying to accomplish with this book. We see abortion, reproductive rights in general, faith, and sexuality all tied together with searing verse. It’s a lot to take on in not a lot of space, and unfortunately, it didn’t quite work for me. There were certain plot threads that cropped up toward the end of the book that I wish had been developed further, that probably could have if the book had been just a little bit longer.

I love how respectfully this book deals with faith, particularly the questioning of it. Addie goes to a Christian school, and over the course of the book, she starts to question the things she’s been taught. However, it’s never done in a way that trashes religion in general or Christianity in particular; rather, Addie tries to reconcile her personal beliefs and experiences with what she’s been taught to try to find a way forward. I appreciate that this is such a prominent part of the book, because I feel like adolescence is an age where people do start questioning the beliefs they’ve been taught in the process of developing their own worldview.

I also love that this isn’t just a book about abortion; it’s a book about choice and the consequences of those choices. When Addie discovers she’s pregnant, she chooses not to have her child, and her parents and boyfriend support that. And then, later on in the book, when reproduction is being discussed in school, and Addie’s classmates overwhelmingly support the position that abortion is wrong, Addie thinks about the choice she made, and how to reconcile that with what she’s been taught. The choice is never presented as easy or obvious; the whole rest of the book after Addie’s abortion (which is never shown on the page) is her coming to terms with it and trying to learn how to live with the choice she made.

Helpful

Diana R.

This book has obscene sexual content that should not be read by children & teens. Get it out of schools.

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2018

This may be entertaining to adults, but this has no place being read by children/young teens. I had to check this out after learning of Parents outraged that this verse book was being used in the Northwood 9th grade English class. Sexually suggestive/obscene materials have no place in the classroom. The subjects of abortion, masterbation and more are also being promoted/normalized to 14 year olds without parents first being informed that these subjects would be discussed with their children. This is happening because parents have learned to opt their children out of Sex-Ed curriculum and taking back their rights to be their child’s primary source for such information. Parents are standing up against Obscenity in the classroom, so they have to come up with more inventive ways to sexualize kids. This book needs to be removed from schools, and concerned parents need to reach out to legislators and demand they over turn the “Obscenity Exemption” now.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Suze Lavender

Beautiful

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2016

Addie has a great life. She's good at running and will certainly be able to go to college on a scholarship, she has a kind boyfriend and she has good friends. Then she gets pregnant and things start to unravel. A heartbreaking decision will change her life forever and she's lost. Even though her parents and boyfriend are supportive nothing can prepare her for what it makes her feel. Will someone be able to find her again so she can start to heal?

Ask Me How I Got Here is a beautiful heart rending story about a girl who loses her sense of self and the good in her life when she has to make a terribly difficult decision. Christine Heppermann describes the emotions in such a fantastic moving way that it left me speechless. This is a novel in verse and her writing is excellent. I had tears in my eyes while I was reading about Addie and everything she was going through. Sometimes nothing can prepare you for the kind of feelings you will have after a life changing experience. Addie's story is an example of what that's like, when nothing seems to be right any longer and everything that used to be normal has become alien all of a sudden.

I could feel what Addie was feeling, I saw what she was seeing and I understood her pain. That made this story so beautiful. It's a sad story, but one that had has to be told and read. It's about a sensitive topic and Christine Heppermann deals with it in a touching and thoughtful way. I highly recommend this book, it's really amazing.

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Kathleen Glasgow
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Whitney Gardner
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Julie Murphy
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Christine Heppermann
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Jandy Nelson
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