Scan barcode
A review by meggie82461
Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
4.0
4 stars
I am shocked I liked this book as much as I did. It started out super iffy, but I soldiered through because usually SEP can suck me in. And she did, just not in the way I was thinking it would happen.
The main thing I would like to point out is that this was originally published in 1997... AND YOU CAN DEFINITELY TELL. It is teaming with problematic shit, the chief one being um, hello, baby trapping?! In Jane's defense, she didn't want to actually baby trap him - she had no interest in his money or really him at all- but still, Jesus Christ, that's very uncool. That being said, I was 13 in 1997, so I fully knew what to expect and I was able to look past it for the sake of fiction. (I also recognize that with a prolific author such as Phillips, there might be some weird plotlines solely for the sake of originality, and I respect that enough to ignore what I don't love).
SEP can certainly weave a plot around a beautiful setting, that's for sure. I always feel like I am in a different, independent world when I read her stories and they usually hit the spot for that reason. Still, though, neither Jane nor Cal were all that likeable. Jane had this single-minded focus on having a baby that I simply can't relate to, and her ends-justify-the-means attitude grated. But at the same time, Cal refused to take responsibility for his part either. Then you add his attraction to barely legal women and, well, I just didn't feel all that bad for him. Sure, I was glad they eventually fell in love, but mostly I was interested in everyone around them, mainly Cal's family. Man, I cried like a baby over Cal's parents. I'm not entirely sure why, either, but I was a mess. And if a book makes me that emotional, it's at the very least a 4-star book.
I'll definitely continue with this series as they come up available at the library because while they aren't lifechanging, they all have been comfort reads that just hit the spot.
I am shocked I liked this book as much as I did. It started out super iffy, but I soldiered through because usually SEP can suck me in. And she did, just not in the way I was thinking it would happen.
The main thing I would like to point out is that this was originally published in 1997... AND YOU CAN DEFINITELY TELL. It is teaming with problematic shit, the chief one being um, hello, baby trapping?! In Jane's defense, she didn't want to actually baby trap him - she had no interest in his money or really him at all- but still, Jesus Christ, that's very uncool. That being said, I was 13 in 1997, so I fully knew what to expect and I was able to look past it for the sake of fiction. (I also recognize that with a prolific author such as Phillips, there might be some weird plotlines solely for the sake of originality, and I respect that enough to ignore what I don't love).
SEP can certainly weave a plot around a beautiful setting, that's for sure. I always feel like I am in a different, independent world when I read her stories and they usually hit the spot for that reason. Still, though, neither Jane nor Cal were all that likeable. Jane had this single-minded focus on having a baby that I simply can't relate to, and her ends-justify-the-means attitude grated. But at the same time, Cal refused to take responsibility for his part either. Then you add his attraction to barely legal women and, well, I just didn't feel all that bad for him. Sure, I was glad they eventually fell in love, but mostly I was interested in everyone around them, mainly Cal's family. Man, I cried like a baby over Cal's parents. I'm not entirely sure why, either, but I was a mess. And if a book makes me that emotional, it's at the very least a 4-star book.
I'll definitely continue with this series as they come up available at the library because while they aren't lifechanging, they all have been comfort reads that just hit the spot.