Pregnancy (Spoilers)

Use this forum to discuss the June 2019 Book of the month, "Cynthia and Dan: Cyber War" by Dorothy May Mercer.
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maggi3
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Pregnancy (Spoilers)

Post by maggi3 »

How did you feel about Cynthia's pregnancy and miscarriage? Did you think the events and reactions of the characters were portrayed accurately? Did they add to the story or take away from it?
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Post by Stephanie Elizabeth »

I thought it was strange that she seemed to keep the pregnancy a secret. It was clear that she was in shock when she found out. I thought the miscarriage was sad for Cynthia, but it was nice she was able to recover at a women's center until she felt better. She was obviously sad. To me, I think the whole experience took away from the story.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

I think the experience was used in order to show how Cynthia as a character could grow in the course of the book. Her character's reaction to the entire ordeal was realistic and moving....including the need to keep it a secret, just to contain the knowledge-as unrealistic ad it seemed. That was Cynthia as a complex 'humane' character.
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Post by Ruba Abu Ali »

Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 01 Jun 2019, 09:46 I think the experience was used in order to show how Cynthia as a character could grow in the course of the book. Her character's reaction to the entire ordeal was realistic and moving....including the need to keep it a secret, just to contain the knowledge-as unrealistic ad it seemed. That was Cynthia as a complex 'humane' character.
I agree. Cynthia's reaction, as flawed as it may seem, but it's utterly human. I can understand where she's coming from. Thank you for the insight.
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Post by heatherashley7 »

I personally think it was Dan, this may sound far fetched but he did change her sheets so he had to see the letters. One of the letters mentioned the pregnancy and then he was in her bathroom and could have easily crushed the one prescription to mix it in with medicine. I think the author missed a golden opportunity to pin it on the villain in this book.

The situation as a whole was very hard to read after already reading about the Plan B and the second prescription. This plot line was HORRIBLE in my opinion.
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Post by erinrb13 »

I thought the pregnancy and miscarriage was an unnecessary plot line. It didn't improve relationships between characters or cause any further conflicts
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Post by cpru68 »

The whole situation was odd. I actually got a little upset when it was pretty clear to me with enough clues from the author that she was pregnant and she drank alcohol! That irritated me. While Cynthia kept “forgetting” she could be pregnant, I didn’t due to the constant references to it in the book. I didn’t like it at all.
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Post by Verna Coy »

I too, thought that it was odd that Cynthia drank while pregnant. I also felt that the veiled references to the "syrup' medicine she took could have had something to do with it. Especially after Sky practically offered her the 'abortion/miscarriage option on a silver platter (even going so far as to provide the drugs for it). This part of the plot was my least favorite part of the book.
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Post by briellejee »

Just like most here, I do think it was to build up Cynthia's character. It made her relatable and more emotional, but I also do think it wasn't that much charming and enriching for the whole story. Not because it was one of those "grueling truths", it's just that the way the author wrote it and inserted that part that hasn't have anything to do with the plot.
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Post by Renee_Prior1995 »

I thought it didnt add to the plot and I overall didnt care. I didnt think it took away anything from the main story bits.
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Post by dtb »

cpru68 wrote: 03 Jun 2019, 01:58 The whole situation was odd. I actually got a little upset when it was pretty clear to me with enough clues from the author that she was pregnant and she drank alcohol! That irritated me. While Cynthia kept “forgetting” she could be pregnant, I didn’t due to the constant references to it in the book. I didn’t like it at all.
Yeah, it is unlikely one would forget a thing like being pregnant.
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Post by DC Brown »

maggi3 wrote: 01 Jun 2019, 00:53 How did you feel about Cynthia's pregnancy and miscarriage? Did you think the events and reactions of the characters were portrayed accurately? Did they add to the story or take away from it?
I felt the whole pregnancy part of the book was ridiculous. There were too many inconsistencies, and the whole situation didn't add anything to the book. The book would've been better without that part of the storyline.
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Post by DC Brown »

dtb wrote: 04 Jun 2019, 12:21
cpru68 wrote: 03 Jun 2019, 01:58 The whole situation was odd. I actually got a little upset when it was pretty clear to me with enough clues from the author that she was pregnant and she drank alcohol! That irritated me. While Cynthia kept “forgetting” she could be pregnant, I didn’t due to the constant references to it in the book. I didn’t like it at all.
Yeah, it is unlikely one would forget a thing like being pregnant.
Yes, the whole thing was odd, from Cynthia having sex with a virtual stranger to everything that followed. The author warned about the section with an 'R' rating. I wonder why the author felt compelled to put any sex in the book?
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Post by Shilpa Paul »

I felt that the part of pregnancy and the miscarriage was insignificant for the story. More focus could have been given to the cyber war and the unsuccessful drone attacks.
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Post by Shelly Caetano »

I thought this was a very peculiar subplot that took away from the story. What was even stranger to me was how Mike was the expert on the subject. I found it peculiar that a woman, who knew she was pregnant, experienced very painful abdominal cramps and vaginal bleeding and did not freak out but instead went to work. Overall, I think the author tried to use this subplot as a character development or growth tool. In my opinion, it did not quite hit the mark.
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