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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
***READ WITH EXTREME CAUTION IF YOU ARE CHILDLESS NOT BY CHOICE***
I am very conflicted by this book as a childless woman. Whilst the protagonist is exploring her own desires in regards to having children, I had hoped there would be more relatable moments, but what I found instead is that the divide between childFREE and childLESS is a vast chasm.
The book does a good job of exploring how friendships change over time and with the introductions of children into the mix, and for women who are childfree by choice this may be an important read in order to see that there are others who feel the same. For childless women, there are definitely some moments with which we can empathise, relate and recognise. The problem is, the book is so heavily focussed around pregnancies and babies that for a person who is childfree NOT by choice, there are an abundance of triggers and reading this book could be very painful.
There is an expectation throughout the book that there will be a miracle baby as one of the group is having fertility issues. This does not happen which is great, but is totally ruined by the character saying 'we can always adopt' - this is the kind of thing people say to childless women and it is not helpful at all because no, we cannot 'always adopt' for a myriad of reasons! We also learned of the fact that the miracle baby didn't happen whilst another character announced their pregnancy. The fact that Olive did in fact have a child give her "responsibility" towards the end of the book was infuriating. Yes, have a great relationship with your stepkids, but you can also be an adult without having to look after a smaller human.
I am very conflicted by this book as a childless woman. Whilst the protagonist is exploring her own desires in regards to having children, I had hoped there would be more relatable moments, but what I found instead is that the divide between childFREE and childLESS is a vast chasm.
The book does a good job of exploring how friendships change over time and with the introductions of children into the mix, and for women who are childfree by choice this may be an important read in order to see that there are others who feel the same. For childless women, there are definitely some moments with which we can empathise, relate and recognise. The problem is, the book is so heavily focussed around pregnancies and babies that for a person who is childfree NOT by choice, there are an abundance of triggers and reading this book could be very painful.
There is an expectation throughout the book that there will be a miracle baby as one of the group is having fertility issues. This does not happen which is great, but is totally ruined by the character saying 'we can always adopt' - this is the kind of thing people say to childless women and it is not helpful at all because no, we cannot 'always adopt' for a myriad of reasons! We also learned of the fact that the miracle baby didn't happen whilst another character announced their pregnancy. The fact that Olive did in fact have a child give her "responsibility" towards the end of the book was infuriating. Yes, have a great relationship with your stepkids, but you can also be an adult without having to look after a smaller human.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
boring + annoying main character
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Lacks nuance and a decent storyline
Honestly I thought I'd enjoy this but I had to drag my way through this quite poorly written book! The characters were very one dimensional and I found Olive quite dull. The premise had promise but it just felt like an enormous ill disguised rant about having kids.
Honestly I thought I'd enjoy this but I had to drag my way through this quite poorly written book! The characters were very one dimensional and I found Olive quite dull. The premise had promise but it just felt like an enormous ill disguised rant about having kids.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Everything I needed to hear and feel. So glad this book found me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility
A big feelings focused chick-lit novel exploring motherhood and the choice to be child-free, centred around a close knit group of friends. I did enjoy the plot and admired the way it educates you on this important topic. I happily took in the various points of view and was cheering on the women who make the choice to be child-free in the book. But I also found the tight friendship circle a little suffocating- but that’s just me. The choice to be child-free will be an important and more talked about topic in future so this book could be a dip toes in look into the reasons to or not to choose children.