Plan A

Plot Summary

Ivy didn’t think it was possible to get pregnant that way, yet here she is, sixteen and pregnant. But she doesn’t want to be. She wants to go to college and explore the world, but living in Paris, Texas, her options are limited. Thankfully, Ivy has a grandmother in Oregon and a gorgeous and kind boyfriend willing to take her there to get the abortion she wants. Together, Ivy and Lorenzo leave the Puritanical judgment of the people of Paris and make their way to Oregon, traveling across the world to get there from Moscow, Kansas, to Rome, Oregon. On the way, Ivy becomes more determined that this is her choice, and she learns that she isn’t the only one who’s made it. 

Critical Evaluation

Plan A does a wonderful job of tackling the complex topic of abortion. We see the inner turmoil that Ivy faces, and we get a variety of opinions and experiences expressed throughout the story regarding abortion, Ivy’s choice, and other women’s choices. What stuck out the most to me, however, was how well crafted the story was. Ivy’s trip follows the Hero’s Journey very closely. She carries out an Odyssey of her own, traveling from home, meeting mentors and advisors, facing challenges, accomplishing her goal, and then returning home. It’s the return home and the extended denouement that I found to be the most powerful. 

**Spoilers ahead!** 

I will be discussing the end of the book in the rest of this section!

Ivy returns home after an anticlimax that was her abortion (it was just a doctor's appointment essentially. There was no fanfare or even obstacles to her reaching the clinic. It was mundane), and she has learned and changed greatly while Paris, Texas has stayed the same. Ivy’s home has changed for her because she’s changed. The story spends a good amount of time (the last quarter) of the book in the “after” of the abortion. At first, Ivy decides to stay in Paris, Texas, despite the hate and vitriol that she and her family face as a result of her choice. She refuses to leave and let the social pressures of everyone else run her away or make her feel ashamed. She is also aware that it’s a privilege that her family can even consider moving, and she wants to prove that she can be strong and that it is the rest of the town who should be ashamed. 

As much as I wanted to stay in the peace and joy after the relief that Ivy feels after getting the abortion, the return journey grounded the story back in reality. I was fueled with the same rage as Ivy at the relentless power used against her, starting from political pressure and trickling down into the actions of the other teens and even children of the town. In the end, however, she chooses to leave– for her and her family– because, as the book shows, the power of social isolation and shame is powerful and pervasive, and no one should have to endure it. This extended denouement was necessary to finish Ivy’s story and for Deb Caletti’s discussion on the social and psychological effects of people’s strong responses to abortion. As someone who is a fan of "the return home" aspect of the hero's journey and the return to the mundane, Plan A showed the power of a journey to change the individual and their perspective and how the individual can then go on to change everyone else. (or sometimes fail to do so). This book is a good reminder that abortions will happen, and the best thing that a society can do is to support the women who have them.

Creative Use for a Library Program

There are many things I’d like to do inspired by this book. I’m not sure what I’d be able to get away with as the topic of abortion is heavily politicized, and as libraries are supposed to be neutral places of information, I’d have to be careful with my actions. But a few ideas I’d like to do include

1. History of abortions information session/pamphlet/class. Plan A showed me that there is more to the history of abortions than I ever knew. For most of human history, abortion was practiced without being criminalized and quite safely (Planned Parenthood, n.d.). I think this is a topic that others would be interested in learning as well. 

2. Hosting a sex safety class/providing sex resources. Teens have sex, so it’s best to provide good, reliable, and safe information for them. Depending on where you live, the quality of sex education in schools is dubious. It would be good to have information sessions or information books that are readily available to teens. This would be particularly helpful if the teens could access the material anonymously or without needing to ask explicitly. (This is probably very difficult to get approved!). 

3. How to plan a road trip. Teens are just learning to drive, and the concept of a road trip is fun for anyone! But planning a good road trip is hard, from choosing the best stops to planning gas breaks to bringing the right supplies. It could be fun for teens to practice by planning their ideal road trip in a program! 

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation

In an era after the overturning of Roe v Wade, where there are 11 states where physicians can be put into prison for performing abortions, and 6 states don’t even have health exceptions for abortions, this book will most definitely be challenged for its message (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2025). Plan A is the story about a sixteen-year-old girl who unapologetically seeks out and gets an abortion, having to travel from Texas to Oregon to get it. Along the way, Ivy criticizes the power structures, both social and political, that have put her in that situation. The book tends to not show people with anti-abortion views in a positive light, preferring to emphasize the message that a person has a right to bodily autonomy. There are, however, examples of Christians in both a positive and negative light, showing the hypocrisies of some and the support of others. This book would be easier to defend in my current state of California, where abortion was recently protected, but I can imagine that it would be more difficult to defend in other states where the law does not support the message of this book. 

The best defense would be the general statements that need to be taken regarding any controversial topic: it is the role of the library to curate books from a variety of views and perspectives. Pro-choice is one of those perspectives that deserves to be shown. As this book shows, too, dealing with abortion is something that affects a large portion of the population. Those people deserve the right to read books that reflect and validate their experiences. 

Reason for Inclusion

I enjoyed this book immensely. I picked it up because the concept of an abortion story with the happy and positive spin of a road trip with her boyfriend was a refreshing take compared to the doom and gloom of most teen pregnancy and abortion books. Plus, as someone who took a road trip with their boyfriend from Texas to the Pacific Coast, I wanted to relive a part of that. I was not disappointed by this book. While there are still tough and terrible moments where realism and social pressures dominate the narrative, this was a fun and enjoyable read. Ivy and Lorenzo’s relationship was beautiful to experience, along with the stories of each of the women Ivy interacts with on her journey. I learned a lot about abortion through this book, so I think it more than deserves its place at the library as a source of information as well as entertainment.