The amount of fiction which examines the experience of unmarried adolescent mothers has increased in recent times, but novels considering the situation of teenage fathers are far fewer, Berlie Doherty's Dear Nobody (1991) being one of the better known. If for no other reason then, Margaret Bechard's novel would be notable for providing another work in this under-represented area. However Hanging on to Max does much more than fill a yawning gap, providing a thoughtful, funny and tender text which challenges many preconceptions about gender in relation to child rearing, and deconstructs, with sympathy and honesty, the implications of teenage parenthood on ambition and happiness.

In Sam, Bechard creates a character whose home background is already challenging, but who opts to rear his child himself when the mother, Brittany, herself from a more privileged home, decides on adoption. We feel little sympathy for Brittany, but a great deal for Max, who has to face the curious gaze of his peers and his elders, his unusual situation underlined by comparison with that of his friend Claire, also a single parent, but viewed quite differently by others because she is a female raising a child. Max struggles on, juggling his studies, relationships and the possibilities for his future, with the responsibilties Max brings.

The book's conclusion comes as a shock, and opens up for discussion a vast area of complex decision making, ethics and responsibilty. A deceptively easily read book which nevertheless a profoundly absorbing, affecting and challenging subject for readers in upper Key Stage 3 and above.

2007-12-30