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A review by claudiaslibrarycard
All You Have to Do Is Call by Kerri Maher
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
All You Have to Do Is Call is an incredibly moving historical fiction novel about the true Jane Collective, an underground abortion clinic that operated in Chicago in the early 1970s. If a woman is in trouble, they call Jane.
Jane is and was a fully woman operated system supporting women by offering very affordable, safe abortions at a time they were illegal in Illinois. This story follows Veronica, co-founder of Jane, Patty, her best friend since childhood, and Margaret, a new English professor seeking connection and trying to find her place in a patriarchal university. Each woman has their own relationship challenges and the character development is truly impressive, both in it's detail and how it draws the reader closer and also in how Maher keeps the pace quick and the story doesn't ever feel bogged by down by the large cast.
I was a bit nervous to pick this one up because I worried about the emotional toll it might take on me. While I did cry, it wasn't at the points I would have expected, and Maher has written this with beautiful balance between the devastating and joyful parts of being a gender that has always, always been under the control of men.
I could have walked away from this one easily calling it among my top reads of the year, but the author's note cements its top tier status. Maher tediously researched for this book for several years and put so much consideration into all aspects, including intentional Black characters and situations to challenge the privilege of many of the white women in this story and of the era (and now).
It is a travesty on so many levels that this book is as timely as it is in this present moment. I can only say it is a must read, because we must acknowledge how far we have come and what is at stake without safe, legal access to reproductive health of all varieties. This book is going to live rent free in my head and heart for a long, long time.
Jane is and was a fully woman operated system supporting women by offering very affordable, safe abortions at a time they were illegal in Illinois. This story follows Veronica, co-founder of Jane, Patty, her best friend since childhood, and Margaret, a new English professor seeking connection and trying to find her place in a patriarchal university. Each woman has their own relationship challenges and the character development is truly impressive, both in it's detail and how it draws the reader closer and also in how Maher keeps the pace quick and the story doesn't ever feel bogged by down by the large cast.
I was a bit nervous to pick this one up because I worried about the emotional toll it might take on me. While I did cry, it wasn't at the points I would have expected, and Maher has written this with beautiful balance between the devastating and joyful parts of being a gender that has always, always been under the control of men.
I could have walked away from this one easily calling it among my top reads of the year, but the author's note cements its top tier status. Maher tediously researched for this book for several years and put so much consideration into all aspects, including intentional Black characters and situations to challenge the privilege of many of the white women in this story and of the era (and now).
It is a travesty on so many levels that this book is as timely as it is in this present moment. I can only say it is a must read, because we must acknowledge how far we have come and what is at stake without safe, legal access to reproductive health of all varieties. This book is going to live rent free in my head and heart for a long, long time.