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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Re: Pregnancy (Spoilers)

Post by a-b-c- »

Yes, I think that it did take away from the story in the book. I think that the book should have been written that she had Sky's baby.
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Post by Kansas City Teacher »

I thought that it was weird that Dan did not know! He knew a lot of other things, but couldn't put the pieces together? Also she seemed a little flippant about the tests......she thought about it, then said she would do it later...???
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Post by Kansas City Teacher »

J_odoyo wrote: 06 Jul 2019, 07:21
DC Brown wrote: 05 Jun 2019, 10:41
dtb wrote: 04 Jun 2019, 12:21

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?
I agree with you, the book could have still remained an enjoyable read even without including sexual content.
At the end it talks about her beliefs on women's health. Perhaps this was her way of addressing the issue? Either way, I thought it did add another layer of suspense...
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Post by mam_reader »

I felt for her during the miscarriage, but, the whole secret pregnancy and miscarriage did nothing but deviate from the main plot.
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Post by Tester013 »

As others have mentioned, it was certainly strange that she decided to keep it a secret, though it may perhaps be due to being scared of facing the truth/reality
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Post by Areej Tahir »

the writer could've used it to show some major character development in Cynthia's character but it was an utter disappointment and the whole thing just seemed unnecessary.
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Post by kristib44 »

I can't imagine why this plot line was necessary, especially Sky's overly verbose and slightly condescending conversation about her options should she be pregnant. It was a red herring, it seemed as if it should have been important but it didn't make the story move forward at all.

I agree with some others that it was a great opportunity to show a villainous side of Dan, but it wasn't realized. It seemed like it was just thrown in as a plot twist that went nowhere and didn't impact her life at all.
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Post by Bhaskins »

erinrb13 wrote: 02 Jun 2019, 23:10 I thought the pregnancy and miscarriage was an unnecessary plot line. It didn't improve relationships between characters or cause any further conflicts
I agree. It was distracting and not necessary.
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Post by Ghost11111 »

The entire plot line that revolved around the pregnancy and miscarriage was totally at odds with the rest of the book. How can someone who claims to be a spy that specializes in top of the line security measures by day but has no idea how to protect her own body or how reproduction works. There is no way that Cynthia would not have known what Plan B (aka the morning after pill) if she was half as smart as she is portrayed at work. This also falls into play with how Cynthia reacts once she realizes she's pregnant. I can understand being stressed out about everything and wanting to keep it a secret; however, the miscarriage wasn't a complete surprise since she downed a bottle of wine shortly after suspecting she might be pregnant. It isn't a good idea to consume alcohol during pregnancy and it would have been a better protection strategy to avoid alcohol if she even thought she was with child in the event she wanted to keep it. Again, this goes back to her being a complete moron about her own personal protection but being an expert in her field while at work. The book could have been split into two totally different books: one book about cyber terrorism and another book about a complicated love triangle. There was nothing in common with either aspect of this book and made it very hard to read without wanting to scream over the inconsistencies.
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Post by ReyvrexQuestor Reyes »

The topic of Cynthia's uncontrolled sex escapade and the consequence thereof might be construed to be there just to show the feminity of Cynthia, her frailty as a woman. And that could spice what otherwise would be just a war story, cyberwar, if you may, and could prove somewhat dull for women viewers. But on the other hand, it seems to downgrade the character of Cynthia, supposed to be a smart woman, with all that cyber techno, when she could not ward off just a simple unwanted pregnancy which ordinary women do casually every day. In a more upbeat lingo, the pregnancy incident is antithetical to her intellectual capabilities.
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Post by Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha »

An unnecessary subplot. It didn't do much for the entire storyline and perhaps should have been edited out of the whole story. As for Cynthia's reaction to the pregnancy, people could have mixed reactions to an unforeseen event or consequence.
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heatherashley7 wrote: 02 Jun 2019, 15:58 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.
I agree about Dan. I really thought when he went through all of her things he must have found SOME evidence of Sky. (The condoms he gave her, the tests, the perscripton, letters, etc) I was just waiting to see what he would do with his findings.
I was also a bit peeved (maybe jealous) that she was able to recover for 2 days in a care center. I suffered a miscarriage in March of this year and I had to buy pads and survive it at home.
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Post by Hugo_W »

heatherashley7 wrote: 02 Jun 2019, 15:58 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.
That is actually a REALLY good idea, and i don't think it would be far-fetched at all - i had actually been wondering while i was reading, like, if he went into her bathroom how did he not find the condoms OR the plan B OR the abortion medicine? it felt far-fetched, to me, that he wouldn't have noticed any of that. it almost seems like the author set it up to reveal that and just...forgot, LOL. for me, it would have made the plotline worth it, creating more empathy for Cynthia and hatred for Dan, but aside from that? take it OUUTTT.

p.s. i felt like her "forgetting" she was pregnant was such a bad move for several reasons, but for the sake of the story - it would have been so easy to make her take the test early and be happy that she was pregnant, maybe prepare for the baby in secret, to build up empathy. the miscarriage would have been so much more impactful!! it seemed sudden without that. and tbh, without the plot that Dan did it, and without some kind of event to have caused the miscarriage...it wasn't really impactful at all, y'know.
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Post by shravsi »

It didn't add anything, instead was the final nail in the coffin for anyone expecting any good development in Cynthia's character.
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Post by Agnes Masobeng »

Miscarrage is a terrible experience whethere portrayed or made up. At the end of the day I thought the miscarrage made Cynthia's character mlre relatable.
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