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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As someone who has straddled the fence regarding motherhood, I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. After much discussion, my husband and I decided the child-free life was for us. We don’t hate children, but we don’t want any of our own. I’ve since joined childfree forums and have read stories about people questioning the decision to be childfree, to the point of being rude. I’ve personally been told “you’ll change your mind, you’re young” more times than I care to count. There’s always this attitude that you don’t actually not want children, you’ll change your mind eventually, it’s just a phase, etc.
So how did Olive do with this subject? Well, it’s not so much a book about a woman’s choice to be childfree as it is what effect that decision has on her life and relationships. **spoilers** By deciding to be childfree she loses her long-term partner because he wants children. I think the portrayal of their breakup was very realistic and loving. They are two people who desperately love one another and know that they have to break up because of this one issue. Neither of them can compromise without risking a life of bitterness and regret. So they choose to break up, heartbreakingly. There’s the “are you sure you won’t change your mind” back and forth a bit, which I feel is also realistic. I wasn’t too excited about him going on to have another baby so soon after their breakup, it feels a bit rushed to me. You’d think that having such a spotlight on that life decision (parenthood), he would’ve been a bit more careful about it. But that’s a negligible complaint.
The other biggest part of the book is her relationship with her friends. They’re a group of four who have been friends forever, who have been through childhood, high school, and college together. One becomes a mother early and becomes a stay-at-home mother of 3 children, but her husband starts cheating. The other focuses on career first and then has a baby but struggles with postpartum depression, and her husband is nowhere to be seen when needed. The third is obsessed with having a baby and undergoing IVF treatments. Then there’s our protagonist, who has decided to buck the trend and go childfree. It’s easy to see how this decision could strain her relationships with her friends.
**end spoilers**
I think her friend group could’ve done with better communication. It seems they all got wrapped up in their own struggles, which are all very valid and important. But these are supposed to be lifelong best friends and they just start shutting each other out. But that’s the thing isn’t it? It’s so easy to just curl up within ourselves and pull away from those we love because we don’t want to bother them.
There were some things I didn’t like, actions the characters took. Like one friend says she’s sorry for not being there more, but then just leaves. Olive invites her friend over to stay but then never sees her. The two mothers sort of gang up on the other two. Truly, how Cec thought it was okay to ask Isla to come decorate for a baby shower is beyond me.
I’m also not fond of the ending, honestly. (spoilers again, sorry!). The whole thing for Olive is that she doesn’t want to be a mother. Not ever. Not to anyone, not a stepmother, doesn’t want to adopt. No kids. Yet the first guy she meets and has a connection with has kids. So what does she do? Well, become a stepmother, obviously. Which seems like such a cop-out of an ending. So you’re telling me, the whole time she’s trying to convince everyone that she won’t change her mind and then she does just that? It kind of felt like a slap in the face to childfree people. Like see, you *will* change your mind, you just need to find the right man. I thought for a minute Olive wouldn’t take on the stepmom kind of role, but would just be an aloof presence in the children’s lives. But no, she becomes a best friend, a confidante, and has a great moment of clarity when she realizes how much she loves the girls. It disappointed me, truly.
TL;DR: a decent book regarding the decision to be childfree and how it can affect your relationships with others as they navigate motherhood, though the ending doesn’t seem to quite fit with the rest of the book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book and give my feedback. Thanks for this opportunity!
So how did Olive do with this subject? Well, it’s not so much a book about a woman’s choice to be childfree as it is what effect that decision has on her life and relationships. **spoilers** By deciding to be childfree she loses her long-term partner because he wants children. I think the portrayal of their breakup was very realistic and loving. They are two people who desperately love one another and know that they have to break up because of this one issue. Neither of them can compromise without risking a life of bitterness and regret. So they choose to break up, heartbreakingly. There’s the “are you sure you won’t change your mind” back and forth a bit, which I feel is also realistic. I wasn’t too excited about him going on to have another baby so soon after their breakup, it feels a bit rushed to me. You’d think that having such a spotlight on that life decision (parenthood), he would’ve been a bit more careful about it. But that’s a negligible complaint.
The other biggest part of the book is her relationship with her friends. They’re a group of four who have been friends forever, who have been through childhood, high school, and college together. One becomes a mother early and becomes a stay-at-home mother of 3 children, but her husband starts cheating. The other focuses on career first and then has a baby but struggles with postpartum depression, and her husband is nowhere to be seen when needed. The third is obsessed with having a baby and undergoing IVF treatments. Then there’s our protagonist, who has decided to buck the trend and go childfree. It’s easy to see how this decision could strain her relationships with her friends.
**end spoilers**
I think her friend group could’ve done with better communication. It seems they all got wrapped up in their own struggles, which are all very valid and important. But these are supposed to be lifelong best friends and they just start shutting each other out. But that’s the thing isn’t it? It’s so easy to just curl up within ourselves and pull away from those we love because we don’t want to bother them.
There were some things I didn’t like, actions the characters took. Like one friend says she’s sorry for not being there more, but then just leaves. Olive invites her friend over to stay but then never sees her. The two mothers sort of gang up on the other two. Truly, how Cec thought it was okay to ask Isla to come decorate for a baby shower is beyond me.
I’m also not fond of the ending, honestly. (spoilers again, sorry!). The whole thing for Olive is that she doesn’t want to be a mother. Not ever. Not to anyone, not a stepmother, doesn’t want to adopt. No kids. Yet the first guy she meets and has a connection with has kids. So what does she do? Well, become a stepmother, obviously. Which seems like such a cop-out of an ending. So you’re telling me, the whole time she’s trying to convince everyone that she won’t change her mind and then she does just that? It kind of felt like a slap in the face to childfree people. Like see, you *will* change your mind, you just need to find the right man. I thought for a minute Olive wouldn’t take on the stepmom kind of role, but would just be an aloof presence in the children’s lives. But no, she becomes a best friend, a confidante, and has a great moment of clarity when she realizes how much she loves the girls. It disappointed me, truly.
TL;DR: a decent book regarding the decision to be childfree and how it can affect your relationships with others as they navigate motherhood, though the ending doesn’t seem to quite fit with the rest of the book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book and give my feedback. Thanks for this opportunity!
As someone who has straddled the fence regarding motherhood, I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. After much discussion, my husband and I decided the child-free life was for us. We don’t hate children, but we don’t want any of our own. I’ve since joined childfree forums and have read stories about people questioning the decision to be childfree, to the point of being rude. I’ve personally been told “you’ll change your mind, you’re young” more times than I care to count. There’s always this attitude that you don’t actually not want children, you’ll change your mind eventually, it’s just a phase, etc.
So how did Olive do with this subject? Well, it’s not so much a book about a woman’s choice to be childfree as it is what effect that decision has on her life and relationships. **spoilers** By deciding to be childfree she loses her long-term partner because he wants children. I think the portrayal of their breakup was very realistic and loving. They are two people who desperately love one another and know that they have to break up because of this one issue. Neither of them can compromise without risking a life of bitterness and regret. So they choose to break up, heartbreakingly. There’s the “are you sure you won’t change your mind” back and forth a bit, which I feel is also realistic. I wasn’t too excited about him going on to have another baby so soon after their breakup, it feels a bit rushed to me. You’d think that having such a spotlight on that life decision (parenthood), he would’ve been a bit more careful about it. But that’s a negligible complaint.
The other biggest part of the book is her relationship with her friends. They’re a group of four who have been friends forever, who have been through childhood, high school, and college together. One becomes a mother early and becomes a stay-at-home mother of 3 children, but her husband starts cheating. The other focuses on career first and then has a baby but struggles with postpartum depression, and her husband is nowhere to be seen when needed. The third is obsessed with having a baby and undergoing IVF treatments. Then there’s our protagonist, who has decided to buck the trend and go childfree. It’s easy to see how this decision could strain her relationships with her friends.
**end spoilers**
I think her friend group could’ve done with better communication. It seems they all got wrapped up in their own struggles, which are all very valid and important. But these are supposed to be lifelong best friends and they just start shutting each other out. But that’s the thing isn’t it? It’s so easy to just curl up within ourselves and pull away from those we love because we don’t want to bother them.
There were some things I didn’t like, actions the characters took. Like one friend says she’s sorry for not being there more, but then just leaves. Olive invites her friend over to stay but then never sees her. The two mothers sort of gang up on the other two. Truly, how Cec thought it was okay to ask Isla to come decorate for a baby shower is beyond me.
I’m also not fond of the ending, honestly. (spoilers again, sorry!). The whole thing for Olive is that she doesn’t want to be a mother. Not ever. Not to anyone, not a stepmother, doesn’t want to adopt. No kids. Yet the first guy she meets and has a connection with has kids. So what does she do? Well, become a stepmother, obviously. Which seems like such a cop-out of an ending. So you’re telling me, the whole time she’s trying to convince everyone that she won’t change her mind and then she does just that? It kind of felt like a slap in the face to childfree people. Like see, you *will* change your mind, you just need to find the right man. I thought for a minute Olive wouldn’t take on the stepmom kind of role, but would just be an aloof presence in the children’s lives. But no, she becomes a best friend, a confidante, and has a great moment of clarity when she realizes how much she loves the girls. It disappointed me, truly.
TL;DR: a decent book regarding the decision to be childfree and how it can affect your relationships with others as they navigate motherhood, though the ending doesn’t seem to quite fit with the rest of the book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book and give my feedback. Thanks for this opportunity!
So how did Olive do with this subject? Well, it’s not so much a book about a woman’s choice to be childfree as it is what effect that decision has on her life and relationships. **spoilers** By deciding to be childfree she loses her long-term partner because he wants children. I think the portrayal of their breakup was very realistic and loving. They are two people who desperately love one another and know that they have to break up because of this one issue. Neither of them can compromise without risking a life of bitterness and regret. So they choose to break up, heartbreakingly. There’s the “are you sure you won’t change your mind” back and forth a bit, which I feel is also realistic. I wasn’t too excited about him going on to have another baby so soon after their breakup, it feels a bit rushed to me. You’d think that having such a spotlight on that life decision (parenthood), he would’ve been a bit more careful about it. But that’s a negligible complaint.
The other biggest part of the book is her relationship with her friends. They’re a group of four who have been friends forever, who have been through childhood, high school, and college together. One becomes a mother early and becomes a stay-at-home mother of 3 children, but her husband starts cheating. The other focuses on career first and then has a baby but struggles with postpartum depression, and her husband is nowhere to be seen when needed. The third is obsessed with having a baby and undergoing IVF treatments. Then there’s our protagonist, who has decided to buck the trend and go childfree. It’s easy to see how this decision could strain her relationships with her friends.
**end spoilers**
I think her friend group could’ve done with better communication. It seems they all got wrapped up in their own struggles, which are all very valid and important. But these are supposed to be lifelong best friends and they just start shutting each other out. But that’s the thing isn’t it? It’s so easy to just curl up within ourselves and pull away from those we love because we don’t want to bother them.
There were some things I didn’t like, actions the characters took. Like one friend says she’s sorry for not being there more, but then just leaves. Olive invites her friend over to stay but then never sees her. The two mothers sort of gang up on the other two. Truly, how Cec thought it was okay to ask Isla to come decorate for a baby shower is beyond me.
I’m also not fond of the ending, honestly. (spoilers again, sorry!). The whole thing for Olive is that she doesn’t want to be a mother. Not ever. Not to anyone, not a stepmother, doesn’t want to adopt. No kids. Yet the first guy she meets and has a connection with has kids. So what does she do? Well, become a stepmother, obviously. Which seems like such a cop-out of an ending. So you’re telling me, the whole time she’s trying to convince everyone that she won’t change her mind and then she does just that? It kind of felt like a slap in the face to childfree people. Like see, you *will* change your mind, you just need to find the right man. I thought for a minute Olive wouldn’t take on the stepmom kind of role, but would just be an aloof presence in the children’s lives. But no, she becomes a best friend, a confidante, and has a great moment of clarity when she realizes how much she loves the girls. It disappointed me, truly.
TL;DR: a decent book regarding the decision to be childfree and how it can affect your relationships with others as they navigate motherhood, though the ending doesn’t seem to quite fit with the rest of the book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book and give my feedback. Thanks for this opportunity!
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was okay just a typical format of the main character struggles then ends happily ever after.
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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:
Yes