2022-02-23
Three women navigate the joys, heartbreaks, and complications of pregnancy, relationships, and parenting in Romero’s debut novel.
Penelope is a labor and delivery nurse in Atlanta who’s not looking to become a mother herself. However, after the man she’d been seeing abruptly breaks up with her to focus on his marriage, she finds that she’s pregnant with his child. Now, she must reckon with the options of getting an abortion, pursuing adoption, or raising the baby on her own. Her closest friend, Nia Menendez-Simmons, is an ex-model trying fervently to have a child with her husband, and she clings to hope offered by in vitro fertilization. She seeks support from women in similar situations in online forums, while fending off her mother’s pointed pressure to start a family as soon as possible. She grows closer to Lotus, Penelope’s eccentric cousin with a yoga studio, a polyamorous open marriage, and a demanding toddler named Blaze, while Lotus experiences her own pregnancy. When Lotus’ husband’s ex-boyfriend Jagannath moves into their house, things become confusing, as the charming and generous gentleman offers Lotus more support than her own spouse does. Over the course of the novel, Romero’s portrayal of the women’s experiences with and conversations about abortion, infertility, and nontraditional marriage have an honesty that’s refreshing, and they give clear voice to many women’s silent struggles. Along with this honesty, it should be noted, come graphic, lengthy descriptions of difficult childbirths, miscarriages, and stillbirths, as well as references to drug abuse. However, the author only infrequently addresses the characters’ lives outside of their pregnancy journeys, which leaves them feeling underdeveloped, and the dialogue can feel a bit stilted at times.
An earnest, if unevenly executed, tale of motherhood, marriage, and friendship.
