Unexpecting

In the tradition of Juno, Bailey delivers an emotionally complex debut about a gay Milwaukee teen who accidentally gets his best friend pregnant. Though 16-year-old Ben has “suspected that I’m gay for a few years now,” his best friend Maxie agreed to have sex with him so he could be sure—a practical experiment, according to science-minded Maxie. Though the two use a condom, Maxie ends up pregnant, and she seems to agree with her parents to put the baby up for adoption upon its birth. Ben’s levelheaded mother and “Stepdad #3” take the news in stride, until the teen—motivated by a need to provide his future child with a stable homelife—reveals that he wants to raise the baby. Determined to prove that he has what it takes to support an infant, Ben attends parenting classes and gets a job waiting tables. But overwhelm from his newfound responsibilities and his increasingly strained relationship with Maxie cause Ben’s grades and participation on the robotics team to suffer. Poignantly rendered character dynamics—particularly between Ben and his stepfather, and Ben and Maxie—elevate timely messaging surrounding parenthood and healthy depictions of open and vulnerable communication in this freshly wrought teenage pregnancy story. Ben and Maxie read as white. Ages 13–up. (Aug.)