Book Review ~ Baby Proof by Emily Giffin

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Don’t be fooled by the sweet yellow paper and charming baby shoe charms on the cover of Emily Giffin’s third novel, Baby Proof.  I was pleasantly surprised with how much this story had to offer and how many layers the characters and plot had. 

Claudia is a book editor for a Manhattan publishing house and is great at her job.  She has always known what she wants and one of those things is *gasp* to never have kids.  She meets Ben on a blind date and finds out that they have this in common.  After a quick courtship (seven months or so) they get engaged and then married and begin their “kid-free” life together in their beloved city of Manhattan.  Then one day a switch turns on in Ben and he announces that he would like to have a baby with Claudia. 

So begins Baby Proof by Emily Giffin.  I picked this book up off my TBR shelf to kill time while getting through the last week of waiting for my Kindle to arrive.  I was surprised at how much this book had to offer and that it wasn’t a shallow, light and easy read.  Though Baby Proof falls under the Chick Lit category it has so many layers to it, that I really ended up loving.  I liked the characters, the sub plots were all good and the outcome was acceptable in the end.  I enjoyed reading about Claudia’s job as a book editor (one of my dream jobs) and how she related to the authors and tried to promote them to her best capabilities.  I liked reading about a woman who doesn’t need children of her own in her life in order for it to be a fulfilling one.  Claudia’s husband, Ben, is not a bad guy for changing his mind after a few years of sublime marriage, his priorities changed is all.  That happens to all of us at some points in our lives.  I did like that Giffin didn’t have Claudia give in and she stuck to her wants. 

This book made me do a lot of unexpected thinking and soul searching.  My priorities changed a couple of years ago and now I wish to live a kid-free life.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with that and though sometimes Hubby disagrees with me, our love and adventures are strong enough to enrich our lives together.  We are a great aunt and uncle team to our nieces and nephews and friend’s children too.  Reading Baby Proof brings up a conversation that not a lot of other chick lit books seem to do and I enjoyed the experience and the conversations that came from it. 

{Rating ~ 4 out of 5 stars}

Sunday Salon ~ Vacation Distraction

March.  How did we get to the second week of March already?  My reading has slowed down a bit as the year moves forward but I’m still reading.  As I impatiently await my Kindle 2, I picked up Emily Griffin’s Baby Proof off my shelf and started reading it this past week.  I thought that it would be a light and easy chick lit read but it’s turning out to be a thought provoking book about a couple who agreed they didn’t want kids when they got married.  Then the husband changed his mind and decided he did want munchkins.  So, the only logical (so far) solution is divorce because the wife isn’t giving in and is keeping to her life long stance of not becoming a mother. 

As we keep counting down (64 days) till our international move back to the states in May, Hubby and I decided to take a quick five day vacation to Hong Kong next Sunday.  I can’t wait to show him around Hong Kong Island and Kowloon!  I had the great luck of giong to Hong Kong with a girlfriend of mine back in the summer of 2007 and can’t believe my great fortune of being able to say I’ve been there twice after next week. 

Other than that, there isn’t a whole lot going on with me.  I’m in U.S.P.S./Military Mail Service limbo at the moment as I await the arrival of both my Kindle 2 and my new Sangria Red Sony Viao laptop.  Keep your fingers crossed that one if not both of them arrive this week please. 

What are you reading this week?  Are you waiting for something exciting to arrive in your mailbox or doorstep this week too?