[Review] The Inconceivable Life of Quinn - Marianna Baer

Summary: Quinn Cutler is sixteen and the daughter of a high-profile Brooklyn politician. She’s also pregnant, a crisis made infinitely more shocking by the fact that she has no memory of ever having sex. Before Quinn can solve this deeply troubling mystery, her story becomes public. Rumors spread, jeopardizing her reputation, her relationship with a boyfriend she adores, and her father’s campaign for Congress. Religious fanatics gather at the Cutlers’ home, believing Quinn is a virgin, pregnant with the next messiah. Quinn’s desperate search for answers uncovers lies and family secrets—strange, possibly supernatural ones. Might she, in fact, be a virgin? (Pub Date: Apr 4, 2017)


Review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. I want to also thank the publisher for giving me this opportunity.

I'd rate it 3.5. This lacked that shine of a true 4-star. On the other hand, this is in no way an ordinary YA.

Quinn is your everyday teenager, who has finally turned the crush on Jesse her best friend into a full-on relationship, and now is afraid to lose him. She has no idea how she got pregnant when the two still haven't gone far. Could it have been a suppressed trauma? Or are the fanatics right and her virgin pregnancy really doesn't have a natural cause? By the way, this isn't a religious story.

The book is mainly from Quinn's point of view, with occasional minichapters featuring other characters. And I enjoyed the resource, especially when they were one of the followers. The biggest waste about this story was not going crazy enough when they had such a plot but during those few chapters the author dared more, making the plot more unique. Unfortunately, the author didn't always seem as comfortable to run free. Although the overall result is still something different, she always kept a calm approach, which made you wonder until almost the ending if the answer to Quinn's predicament is supernatural or psychological.

Even so carefully written, the book wasn't free of plot holes. The one that bothered me the most was her doctor not checking whether she was really a virgin. Considering how fundamental that question was, couldn't they have done it? Of course, tests like that aren't definite but at least they would have tried.

Now character-wise, we have many here. I confess I wasn't too into them in the beginning but they really grew as I kept going. my favorite is still her little sister, Lydia. I wish she had participated even more—any chance of a spin-off? Quinn is very confused, of course, but I liked the way she thought. Poor girl...

It seems her father was the most polemical and I kept wondering how far he would go but was he really that bad? He did everything to protect her in some irrational, exaggerated manner, but I couldn't hate him in the end. For one, had she followed his instructions nothing would have happened, and also he did show regret for his bad choices. Moreover, all he had suffered with his mother allowed me to understand his frantic ways. I wish the whole family had reacted better but it wasn't that bad. To be honest, it felt realistic.

Now Jesse, her boyfriend, made me feel iffy about him to the end. Still, while I wouldn't say he's the ideal book boyfriend, he did have his moments. I loved how he'd agree to helping Quinn at all times. I wish I had felt more attracted to him but he fared better than I was sure he would considering how his own girlfriend ended up inexplicably pregnant.

Overall, this book needed to have gone beyond. Despite preferring to take itself too seriously, the story was sweet. You have a family with problems, magical creatures, myths, secrets... Also, there were scenes so well described I could feel them in me. This is a book I won't forget anytime soon, and it came with a great lesson on believing.

Rating: 4 out of 5.