Sixteen
year-old Juno MacGuff is the type of girl that beats
to her own drummer, and doesn't really care what
others may think of her. She learns that she's
pregnant from a one-time sexual encounter with her
best friend, Paulie Bleeker. Juno and Paulie like
each other, but don't consider themselves to be
exclusive boyfriend/girlfriend let alone be ready to
be a family complete with child. Although she would
rather not be pregnant, Juno is fairly pragmatic
about her situation. Although there, Paulie really
leaves all the decisions about the baby to Juno.
Initially she decides that she will have an
abortion, but that's something that she ultimately
cannot go through with. So she decides to have the
baby and give it up for adoption. But first she has
to tell her father, Mac, and stepmother, Bren, that
she is pregnant. Although they would have preferred
if Juno was on hard drugs or expelled from school,
Mac and Bren too are pragmatic about Juno's
situation. The next step is to find prospective
parents for the yet unborn child. In the Pennysaver
ad section, Juno finds Mark and Vanessa Loring, a
yuppie couple living in the suburbs. Juno likes the
Lorings, and in some respects has found who looks to
be a kindred spirit in Mark, with whom she shares a
love of grunge music and horror films. Vanessa is a
little more uptight and is the one in the
relationship seemingly most eager to have a baby. On
her own choosing, Juno enters into a closed rather
than open adoption contract with the Lorings -
meaning she will have no contact with the baby after
she gives it up. During the second and third
trimesters of Juno's pregnancy which she treats with
care but detachment, Juno's relationships with her
family, with Paulie, and with the Lorings develop,
the latter whose on the surface perfect life masks
some hidden problems.
