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georgiamarshall's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
30-something womanhood represented and examined, hits a nerve.
At least, it hit a nerve with me. Though I'm a mum, Olive really did strike a chord. Olive herself - a successful career in the writing she loves, with lifelong close friends, the story picks up just after Olive's relationship of nine years breaks down - Jacob wants children, Olive has always been adamant that they are not for her.
Olive proceeds to examine her own motivations, history and reasons for this, all the while attempting to move on and keep her friendship going with the old schoolfriends navigating their own life changes and problems - pregnancies, motherhood, relationship worries.
It's all very convincingly portrayed - I don't personally have a close-knit circle of female friends that I turn to in times of need, but I recognised the 'sisterhood' and connection, as well as the obstacles and emotional traumas they each reveal to us. This shows the contemporary lives of women as what they really are: messy, complicated, a veneer of perfection smoothing over the undercurrent of strain, boredom and human frailty.
Olive is never less than empathetic, she isn't perfect herself, sometimes too self-centred, rude or liable to wallow in self-pity. So who doesn't find themselves in this role sometimes? The group of friends will contain someone that you find reminds you of of yourself and your own lives and issues.
I liked the snippets and reminders of Olive's younger self, as she and friends finish University, begin to explore the world of work, worry about pregnancy scares, and slowly start to show the signs of growing up and becoming the women we see in new roles a decade later.
Olive explores the issues of childfree living, both for herself but also for her readers (meaning us as well as those of her publication), in some both funny and quite affecting scenes - attitudes and characters will amuse, annoy, even outrage in their turn. Personally, it's an issue I was rather interested in, having children, seeing the decision from Olive's perspective reminded me very strongly of how different life was, and could be... and I very much liked how Gannon concluded with her protagonist at the close.
Perfect for audiobook, I'm really glad I listened to this, having Olive talking to me was a perfect choice for a story with a narrator sharing so much of her thought process with her readers. The narrator excelled at her voice as well, I slipped straight into her voice and it seamlessly swept from friend to friend.
I didn't expect this to hit home the way it did. And I might even go as far to say I'd read it again, which I don't say very often at all. Recommended, for those who would call Olive a contemporary especially, both for younger women looking ahead at choices they still have time to consider, and for older readers who might want to step inside the shoes still finding their path to contentment with life.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.
At least, it hit a nerve with me. Though I'm a mum, Olive really did strike a chord. Olive herself - a successful career in the writing she loves, with lifelong close friends, the story picks up just after Olive's relationship of nine years breaks down - Jacob wants children, Olive has always been adamant that they are not for her.
Olive proceeds to examine her own motivations, history and reasons for this, all the while attempting to move on and keep her friendship going with the old schoolfriends navigating their own life changes and problems - pregnancies, motherhood, relationship worries.
It's all very convincingly portrayed - I don't personally have a close-knit circle of female friends that I turn to in times of need, but I recognised the 'sisterhood' and connection, as well as the obstacles and emotional traumas they each reveal to us. This shows the contemporary lives of women as what they really are: messy, complicated, a veneer of perfection smoothing over the undercurrent of strain, boredom and human frailty.
Olive is never less than empathetic, she isn't perfect herself, sometimes too self-centred, rude or liable to wallow in self-pity. So who doesn't find themselves in this role sometimes? The group of friends will contain someone that you find reminds you of of yourself and your own lives and issues.
I liked the snippets and reminders of Olive's younger self, as she and friends finish University, begin to explore the world of work, worry about pregnancy scares, and slowly start to show the signs of growing up and becoming the women we see in new roles a decade later.
Olive explores the issues of childfree living, both for herself but also for her readers (meaning us as well as those of her publication), in some both funny and quite affecting scenes - attitudes and characters will amuse, annoy, even outrage in their turn. Personally, it's an issue I was rather interested in, having children, seeing the decision from Olive's perspective reminded me very strongly of how different life was, and could be... and I very much liked how Gannon concluded with her protagonist at the close.
Perfect for audiobook, I'm really glad I listened to this, having Olive talking to me was a perfect choice for a story with a narrator sharing so much of her thought process with her readers. The narrator excelled at her voice as well, I slipped straight into her voice and it seamlessly swept from friend to friend.
I didn't expect this to hit home the way it did. And I might even go as far to say I'd read it again, which I don't say very often at all. Recommended, for those who would call Olive a contemporary especially, both for younger women looking ahead at choices they still have time to consider, and for older readers who might want to step inside the shoes still finding their path to contentment with life.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.
larasfavbooks's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’d give this 10/5 stars if I could. So so good, a complex topic but incredibly well done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
jenbreidinger's review against another edition
5.0
Such a cute book about female friendships, growing up, & going through different phases of life, and the pressure woman experience from societal norms
emilywilliams97's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
clementine2000's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
anna_j_h's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
4.5
spoonofnutella_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
An interesting book that deals with the topics of motherhood, fertility struggles, and being child-free by choice.
It reads like a biography at times even though it's non-fiction; I was confused about this while reading.
The book does fall a bit flat for me, but it definitely will be helpful to the right person.
It reads like a biography at times even though it's non-fiction; I was confused about this while reading.
The book does fall a bit flat for me, but it definitely will be helpful to the right person.
tracyksmith_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Olive by Emma Gannon is the story of the protagonist, Olive who finds herself feeling as though she can no longer relate to her best friends. All of her best friends either become pregnant or are trying to do so. Olive doesn't want kids and knows that she never will, so she finds herself questioning whether she is normal. Everyone she encounters doubts that she will never want kids and they believe it is just a phase that she is in. She and her best friends did everything together when they were in college and her friends seemed to think she would want kids and have them around the same time as they did. Olive finds herself feeling very alone since she has lost her perfect relationship with her longtime boyfriend because he wanted kids. This book tells Olive's story as she struggles to have other people accept her choice to not have kids.
I adored this book so much and I found Olive to be easily relatable. This story was so refreshing because rarely do we have a female protagonist in this situation who stays true to herself once she has decided that she doesn't want kids. I loved how the book addressed the struggles Olive has with getting other people to accept her decision. It hurt me to read her struggles but I felt like it was very realistic how people would respond to a woman who openly says she does not want kids. Overall, I feel like this book should be celebrated as a story about a woman's choice about her body and her life. I highly recommend this book and am giving it 5 stars!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own and not affected by receiving this as an ARC.
I adored this book so much and I found Olive to be easily relatable. This story was so refreshing because rarely do we have a female protagonist in this situation who stays true to herself once she has decided that she doesn't want kids. I loved how the book addressed the struggles Olive has with getting other people to accept her decision. It hurt me to read her struggles but I felt like it was very realistic how people would respond to a woman who openly says she does not want kids. Overall, I feel like this book should be celebrated as a story about a woman's choice about her body and her life. I highly recommend this book and am giving it 5 stars!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own and not affected by receiving this as an ARC.