★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention
(Near-Future SF) Melanie panics when she discovers she’s pregnant before she and her husband have completed the parenting license. (3,556 words; Time: 11m)
"Parenting License," by Leah Cypess [bio] (edited by Trevor Quachri), appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact issue 03-04|19, published on February 15, 2019 by Penny Publications.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.112 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: On one level, this is about how Melanie and Matt cope with the challenge that comes from the fact that their insurance won’t cover an unlicensed pregnancy or a child. On another level, it’s about how this challenges their relationship and how they grow from the experience.
I should put in that my husband and I are in the process of getting licensed to be foster parents, and everyone jokes about how much better the world would be if biological parents were required to take these classes too. But that’s just 40 hours of classes; Melanie and Matt seem to be looking at ten times that much or more.
The characters in the story are all very believable. Even the air-headed friend who “had difficulty processing words that didn’t fit her worldview” ends up having value too when she finds them a pediatrician who’ll take them even with all the holes in their license.
Con: Very little actually happens in the story.
It’s a little unrealistic that they never even discuss whether Melanie wants to keep the child.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Leah Cypess Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: On one level, this is about how Melanie and Matt cope with the challenge that comes from the fact that their insurance won’t cover an unlicensed pregnancy or a child. On another level, it’s about how this challenges their relationship and how they grow from the experience.
I should put in that my husband and I are in the process of getting licensed to be foster parents, and everyone jokes about how much better the world would be if biological parents were required to take these classes too. But that’s just 40 hours of classes; Melanie and Matt seem to be looking at ten times that much or more.
The characters in the story are all very believable. Even the air-headed friend who “had difficulty processing words that didn’t fit her worldview” ends up having value too when she finds them a pediatrician who’ll take them even with all the holes in their license.
Con: Very little actually happens in the story.
It’s a little unrealistic that they never even discuss whether Melanie wants to keep the child.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Leah Cypess Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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