Book Review – Lean on Me by Candy Crum

synopsis

Sixteen year old Bri comes from a wealthy family, allowing her an expensive pass into the popular crowd, though it never much mattered to her. She’s on the basketball team and track and is the top in both.

Bri has everything a girl could want, but she longs for loving and emotionally available parents. She longs for a traditional family instead of the one she was gifted – cold and very distant.

Bri’s parents pressure her to be the best at everything instead of just being the best that she can be. As a result of trying for the perfect life for her parents, Bri finds herself in an abusive relationship and pressured into doing what a lot of teenagers are pressured into doing.

When Bri becomes pregnant, her entire world is turned upside down and she has no idea who she can trust anymore. Bri struggles to find a place in this world for herself and for her baby – the baby that she is desperate to have and watch grow. Along the way, Bri is given an opportunity to completely change her life and the life of her child – but it may hinder the life of another… binding him to a future he was never meant to have, just for her. Bri is forced to grow and grow stronger as she fights for her baby and learns how to be a good mother – and remain a pure soul.

What a beautiful and uplifting story! It is an escape from reality, when a beautiful girl with an unexpected pregnancy finds the support she needs and is able to overcome so many obstacles. It is not usually like this in real life, but a boy like Matt is exactly who I hope my own daughter falls in love with someday!

Bri is sixteen years old and from the outside it seems like she has it all. Wealthy parents, star basketball player, popular student, and she’s dating the high school football star. But things aren’t always how they seem. Her parents have always been cold and distant and left Bri to raise herself, while still maintaining their standards.

“She’d loved him until the moment when he’d struck her, ultimately betraying her trust.”

She thought she was in love, but then she found herself in an abusive relationship and was pressured into having sex. Which ultimately left her pregnant, abused, and alone. When her parents abandon her, she is left alone to figure out who she can turn to. Matt has been her best friend forever. They have always had a special bond and she adores his family. Matt is there for her when no one else is.

“God, I’d forgotten how you were when your mom was pregnant. You’re a worrier.” He smiled. “I worry about my girls. What can I say?”

Bri wants to stay in school and keep her pregnancy a secret so she doesn’t get hurt. She is already in love with her baby and will do everything it takes to keep her safe. Matt is always there at every turn to protect her and soon new feelings begin to blur the lines between them. She doesn’t want to hold him back and drag him down by having him take care of her and her baby. But Matt won’t give up.

“You look just as beautiful to me as you always have. The wounds will heal and the baby will grow, your belly will grow, and your beauty will grow. Never think otherwise.”

Can Bri protect herself and her baby? Will she be able to stand up for herself and heal the physical and emotional damage others have caused? Will she let Matt be there for her, or will she run away to keep him from a future he was never meant to have?

This story will probably never happen in the real world, but I have to believe good things CAN happen. And a book is meant to be an escape from reality. I loved all of the characters in this book, and I am a sucker for a story about best friends who fall in love!