The story starts with a 17th birthday party for Olivia at her home, and moves quickly to the totally unexpected delivery of a baby on the bathroom floor by her best friend,  Nicola, who didn’t even know she was pregnant. Nicola is not at all ready to be a mom. As the story progresses, Nicola expects Olivia’s help, but Olivia has her own problems to deal with, including her bullying boyfriend, Jonty, and keeping an eye on younger sister Alice. There is also Nicola’s friend Ben, who is struggling with secrets of his own.

Written from the various points of view of the five main characters, each chapter covers one month from February through June. The author, Lisa Drakeford, is British and the book is set in England.  This is a well written YA book exploring the impact and consequences of an unplanned baby on a group of friends, their families and their futures.  Teenage pregnancy, and especially teenage parenthood, is an important issue which doesn’t appear very often in YA literature. In The Baby the focus is on not only teen pregnancy but also about being a parent, experiencing bullying, domestic violence, and friendship.