What Friends Are for

By Harriet Zaidman

Set in 1983, at the height of Canada's abortion debate, this powerful, nuanced YA novel follows fifteen-year-old Leesa as she grapples with an unplanned pregnancy.

At fifteen, Leesa is preoccupied with friends, crushes, and schoolwork and looking forward to the freedom of earning her own money and learning to drive. Although she doesn't think much about politics, she has marched alongside her mother and friend Jenny, protesting the planned opening of an abortion clinic in her city. In her traditional, close-knit community, abortion feels like a black-and-white issue, with little connection to her real life. But after she is raped at a party, Leesa's life suddenly merges with the headlines of the day. Now she is the one dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, and everything she ever believed is turned upside down. As she struggles to make a decision that could determine her whole future, Leesa comes to realize that she is only one who should have the right to make a choice about her own body. But will opening up to her family and friends mean losing them forever?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 177203553X
• ISBN13: 9781772035537
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Heritage House
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 14 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 9 to Postsecondary