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    Ask Me How I Got Here
    Ask Me How I Got Here
    Ask Me How I Got Here
    Ebook230 pages59 minutes

    Ask Me How I Got Here

    By Christine Heppermann

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    How do you define yourself? By your friends? Your family? Your boyfriend? Your grades? Your trophies? Your choices? By a single choice? From the author of the acclaimed Poisoned Apples comes a novel in verse about a young woman and the aftermath of a life-altering decision. Fans of Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins will find the powerful questions, the difficult truths, and the inner strength that speak to them in Ask Me How I Got Here.

    Addie has always known what she was running toward, whether in cross country, in her all-girls Catholic school, or in love. Until she and her boyfriend—her sensitive, good-guy boyfriend—are careless one night, and she gets pregnant. Addie makes the difficult choice to have an abortion. And after that—even though she knows it was the right decision for her—nothing is the same. She doesn’t want anyone besides her parents and her boyfriend to know what happened; she doesn’t want to run cross country anymore; she can’t bring herself to be excited about anything. Until she reconnects with Juliana, a former teammate who’s going through her own dark places. Once again, Christine Heppermann writes with an unflinching honesty and a deep sensitivity about the complexities of being a teenager, being a woman. Her free verse poems are moving, provocative, and often full of wry humor and a sharp wit.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMay 3, 2016
    ISBN9780062387974
    Ask Me How I Got Here
    Author

    Christine Heppermann

    Christine Heppermann is the author of Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty, which received five starred reviews and was named to five best of the year lists in 2014, and Ask Me How I Got Here. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Highland, New York.

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    Reviews for Ask Me How I Got Here

    3.5/5

    26 ratings4 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      I wanted read this because I'm drawn to the emotional stories especially ones that deal with teen pregnancy. However going and I had no idea that it was actually written in poems. honestly I usually avoid books like this because for some reason it's harder for me to connect with the main character. and the more poetic and lyrical writing sometimes doesn't get through to me but for some reason I just wanted to read a little bit of this one to see how it went and I found myself finishing. It's pretty short and I read it all in one sitting. I was able to really connect with the main character and understand what she was going through. the writing was in prose of course but something about her voice the way that she had this dark humor and this concise way of summing up what she's feeling I just kept reading. It not only dealt with the pregnancy and her decision to have an abortion but also about her love of running and how she gave that up for a while because it just didn't feel the same afterwards. it also dealt with friendship there's the girl that's been in your life and run with her and then there's another one that also quit running and was dealing with her own stuff. it was also the musical and lyric aspect of it her boyfriend she was in a band and liked for her to write stuff for them. family was also present in this one her parents were disappointed of course but they were there for her and they took the news in stride and they tried to make her feel betterBottom Line: Short but emotional story written in poems focused on life before and after an abortion.
    • 3/5
      I didn't know this was a story told in prose originally, but the writing was solid and heartfelt and told a cute little story. I liked the build-up between Addie and Juliana and the changes that Addie went through with herself, boyfriend, and family.
    • 3/5
      In the novel-in-verse Ask Me How I Got Here, Addie is a high school cross country runner at an all girls’ Catholic school who learns she is pregnant. She chooses to have an abortion. While her family and boyfriend are supportive throughout the process, Addie still deals with confusing emotions and changing relationships with her poetry. Heppermann uses poetry to set a frantic pace in the novel. The verses are all from Addie’s point-of-view and move from written notes and assignments to typed text messages. The novel deals with heavy themes for teens, including abortion, religion, sex and sexuality. Recommended for grades 10 and up.
    • 4/5
      This is a look at how teenager Addie’s decision to have an abortion has affected her life. Told in prose, it is a compelling look at how difficult this decision is and how it impacts a person’s life forever.

    Book preview

    Ask Me How I Got Here - Christine Heppermann

    APRIL

    Public School Kids Always Ask

    How do you meet guys

    if you go to an all-girls school?

    Immaculate Heart Academy

    is named for the pure love of God

    that flows through Mary’s heart.

    But here’s the real reason why

    our logo is a hunk of dripping muscle:

    five hundred girls in red plaid skirts.

    Even if we brushed with garlic toothpaste

    we couldn’t keep the vampires away.

    Not That All of Them Are Monsters

    Sophomore year and I’m dating a junior

    from our brother school, St. Luke’s.

    Craig is cute but kind of a jerk,

    always getting too drunk.

    Kissing him is like licking

    the inside of a keg.

    Nick is Craig’s best friend.

    He waits with me at Josie Hemple’s party

    while Craig pees in the bushes.

    He lets me wear his sweatshirt

    after Craig soaks me in Old Milwaukee.

    Later he sits with me in Craig’s car at Lake Calhoun

    where the hockey team has decided

    only pussies think it’s too cold to swim.

    He tells me Craig’s a really great guy

    when he isn’t shit-faced.

    We watch Craig whoop it up

    in soggy boxer briefs,

    and suddenly we both want

    not to see that anymore,

    so we slouch down in the seat,

    and while we’re there

    a kiss just seems

    to happen

    which makes us sit up

    straight

    fast.

    If We Tell Him

    We should wait

    until he sobers up.

    Nick agrees. "Might be a good idea

    for him to be conscious first."

    God, those dimples are sweet.

    He drives with one hand

    on the steering wheel,

    takes his other hand off my thigh

    to turn down the heat Craig blasted

    before he passed out.

    In my driveway,

    it’s like we’re the parents,

    and Craig is our big drooly baby

    asleep in the backseat.

    Think he’s going to be pissed?

    More like relieved.

    What?

    "Look, Addie, try not to be

    too mad, okay? He’s been

    feeling super guilty.

    He didn’t know how to tell you

    about him and Iris."

    I Take It Back

    All of them are monsters.

    But Dammit

    This one is adorable

    as he presses his warm

    forehead into mine,

    wraps me in his

    delicious demon breath,

    whispers, "I’m sorry

    Craig has been such a dick.

    You deserve better."

    I whisper back, "No kidding.

    So give it to me."

    Right now? he teases. "What if

    Craig wakes up?"

    "Then he gets one last look

    at what he’ll be missing."

    Night Light

    An hour later,

    brushing my teeth,

    I’m still glowing

    in the dark.

    MAY

    First Love

    It’s hot.

    It’s sweaty.

    It hurts so much.

    I tune out my brain,

    push through the pain,

    until every part of me

    craves it.

    I want this feeling

    to last forever

    or at least for

    another mile,

    so I readjust

    my earbuds and keep

    running.

    You Sure?

    Sure I’m sure.

    You’re not doing this just because Craig said I’d kick your ass?

    Addie, there is no way you will kick my ass. And Craig can kiss it.

    Iris won’t give his lips the time off.

    We should both be thankful that his lips have a constructive new hobby.

    I think you should wait for me over by the fountain.

    Now I’m insulted.

    Says the guy who hasn’t run since eighth grade.

    I’ve been conserving my strength.

    Right.

    Look, we’re not climbing Mount Everest.

    We’re going up and down a dinky hill at the park a few times.

    Ten times. Ten.

    Numbers don’t scare me.

    Okay then, Mr. Mathlete. Run hard to the top. Coast to the bottom.

    Got it.

    You can stop anytime.

    In your dreams!

    You Sure? Part II

    Nick?

    . . . . . . . .

    Don’t just nod. Speak.

    I . . . think . . .

    Try to add a word next time.

    I . . . think . . . I . . .

    Good job! Another word?

    willwaitforyoubythefountain.

    Practice

    Nick teaches bass at his uncle’s music store.

    I like to hang out there and wait for him.

    Yesterday I was sitting at the back of the lesson room,

    sort of studying for my biology final, sort of

    staring into space while he worked with a squirmy kid

    whose fingernails kept snagging on the strings.

    Finally Nick said, Let’s give you a manicure, dude.

    He opened up the scissors on his pocketknife,

    and the kid sat completely still

    while Nick trimmed each little nail.

    And then they jammed.

    It’s No Wonder

    the band Nick plays in is called Side Effects

    because ingesting Milo’s songs

    has been known to cause nausea, eye

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