Dear nobody - Berlie Doherty

Review

The title

The title of the book is Dear nobody written by Berlie Doherty. Dear nobody was published 1994 in America. I think the title Dear nobody is a perfect title to this book and the photo on the book is also very good. I've got the felling it's about a girl who is alone and afraid.

The plot

Helen and Chris are together, they are both seventeen and living in Sheffield. They have a perfect relationship and they love each other very much, until the day Helen discovers she is expecting a baby, with Chris. They broke up and both get very confused. They both are very young and Helen doesn't know whom to turn to. She knows that if she tells her mother, her reaction will be awful. But Helen tells her mother and she tells her to get an abortion or an adoption. But Helen refuses and she keeps the baby. Before Helen got pregnant she had planned to go to university, but now with the baby it would be difficult. For Helen to explain her feelings, she turns to her baby, her "Nobody" and writes letters to the baby.

The characters

Helen and Chris are the main characters in the book. But there are also other important people, like Chris aunt, there  parents and grandparents. Even if they're characters is small, they are also important. The aunt who had an abortion is a sympathetic and helpful character. The characters are realistic and their points of view well-represented.

The settings

The story takes place in Sheffield, England. I think the nature and the environment is good described. I often get pictures in my head of the places or the events, and I think that is a big and important part of the book.

My opinion  

Dear nobody is a very good book. It's touching and reality-based story. The language is not complicated, it is easy to read and understand. When you're reading the book you get a feeling that something drastic will happen in the end, but it doesn't. That made me disappointed. I also thought that Berlie Doherty should have written more about what happened after the baby was born. This is a ...