Babyville

by Jane Green

Book Overview

Meet Julia, a wildly successful television producer who appears to have the picture-perfect life. But beneath the surface, things are not as perfect as they seem. Stuck in a loveless relationship with her boyfriend, Mark, Julia thinks a baby is the answer . . . but she may want a baby more than she wants her boyfriend. Maeve, on the other hand, is allergic to commitment. A feisty, red-haired, high-power career girl, she breaks out in a rash every...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767912241
• ISBN13: 9780767912242
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A fabulous book, great for lovers of chick-lit, romance readers and mothers

This was an excellent book. The three main characters were well developed, well thought out and all very interesting. In common they had were fabulous careers, great looks and first babies, or the want of a first baby. Julia is obsessed with having a baby, but no matter how hard she tries it just isn't happening. She is sure her boyfriend is firing blanks... Maeve has a one night stand, and suddenly the career woman who never ever dreamed of pregnancy or babies finds herself pregnant and not sure what to do about it. And Sam, happily married, has her first baby, suffers from post natal depression (although she is in complete denial about it), tries to be supermum... and of course her marriage hits the skids. The three women live separate lives that come together beautifully in this book. I really liked this book, it was easy to read and highly enjoyable, especially curled up in bed while the rain came down outside! I know its a cliche, but I just love happy endings and this book had lots of them -although they certainly weren' predictable

Surprised

I loved Jane Green's Mr. Maybe. So I started reading her other works and have enjoyed them just as much despite the fact that so topics didn't seem all that interesting, at least for me, being a single twenty-something, marriage and babies are something I can really relate to, but I was really surprised that this book was as enjoyable as her others about the single life. Ok, this is chick lit, but it's so much smarter than some of the other stuff that's out there. It's not unrealistic where everyone is beyond beautiful and love-at-first-sight crap. It's well written, with realistic dialogue and characters. I'm surprise no one wrote a review for this novel as for some of her other novels, but rest assured that so far, every book I've read of Ms. Green's is amazing. I've read 7 books by her so far and have not been disappointed by any. Mr. Maybe is still my favorite, but I would re-read all the others in a heart-beat. If you like chick lit, esp. British chick lit, you'll absolutely love this book (and her others too). If you don't like chick lit, you'll still love it. I would also say if you like authors such as Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella, Catherine Alliott, and Sarah Webb, then you'll love these as well.

Exuberant, Funny, Thoughtful

This book has everything: characters we can love, real-life problems to which most everybody (male and female) can relate, and a point of view that is not preachy, and that actually sees both sides of the problem.And that problem is babies...from the obsessive desire to get pregnant (a very real, unblinking look at what happens to a couple struggling with infertility) to an unwanted pregnancy (an equally real look at decisions that are almost impossible to make), to a much-wanted pregnancy that leads to an unforeseen aftermath.Each of the three main characters, Julia, Maeve and Sam, are delightful in their own way, each conforming to the current Brit Lit cliche of young, ultra-fashionable, ultra-career minded, ultra-sexy but still wonderful women with various hearts of gold. Their men are not caricatures, but real people whose thoughts and needs are sensitively described in this book--a breath of fresh air! As we watch the three women grapple with different issues in the fertility arena, we come to love them and care deeply for the babies they may or may not have.I was surprised at just how good this book really was. I was expecting another light, breezy British outing, and although this book certainly delivers on that level, it is also a thoughtful and thought-provoking look at parenthood and what it does, and does not, mean to those of us who have children, or who have every thought of having one.A keeper!

Very realistic and well written

I am in my mid 30's and have 'lost' quite a few of my best friends to babyville - once there is a pregnancy, it seems our friendship slides a bit and once the kids are born, it is on a different level altogether. When i bought this book, i thought it was going to be a book all about how wonderful motherhood is, and that if you are not interested in having children, there was something wrong with you -- I was pleasantly surprised that this book was not as 'pro baby' as I expected! It was quite realilstic about what a new addition does to a relationship, and to friendships and careers. I enjoyed this book a lot and read it in a weekend! could not put it down!! Jemima J was great, and I thought this was just as good if not better!

Wonderful!!!

At first, I was afraid of picking up this book. Jane Green usually writes about single girls living their lives, not married women wanting babies, but I knew that she wouldn't do me wrong! There are three parts to this book: simply, Julia, Maeve, and Sam. These women couldn't be more different! Julia, has a live-in boyfriend and wants a baby with him, because she wants to patch up their relationship unknowingly. Maeve, on the other hand, couldn't be farther away from wanting that commitment, but she ends up pregnant instead! Sam, Julia's best friend, has the husband and baby, and looks perfect from the outside, but the inside story is way different. This author shows that she knows what it's like to have the baby: postpardum depression, weight gain, feeling like you have lost your own life BB (before baby) and your own identity! She also knows that women can have a life as well as a family! Don't be put off by the 400 something pages, I did not get bored once! Also, I was afraid that once I finished with the womans "story," that we would never see them again in the book, never know how everything turned out. I was wrong! Apparently, these three women are all interconnected, and that was great how she wove them all together!Highly recommended!