Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones

MR. AND MRS. BO JO JONES: Ann Head: Signet: Young Adult: 202 pgs

Bo Jo Jones and July Greher are high school students who decide to get married after finding out that July is pregnant. Both teens quit school to work and prepare for the baby, while trying to adjust to a new social situation and to handle parents battling over the proper course of action for their children.

This book was published in the late 1960s (reissued in 2006), so some of the language is dated and the entire handling of an unexpected pregnancy is very different from contemporary teen pregnancy novels. It's a nice book, though. The characters are well-developed, and the story is realistic. A lot of the plot revolves around the reactions of secondary characters to the pregnancy and, by extension, the teens: July's grandmother, her best friend, Bo Jo's ex-girlfriend, another young wife July befriends in the grocery store, the couple's landlord.

I first read this book when I was about fourteen and I thought it was fantastic. I find it less fantastic now, but I do think it's a worthwhile look at teen pregnancy and relationships. An easy, enjoyable read.

MBC