What I’ve Read: The Atlas of Love by Laurie Frankel
I picked this up from a Borders clearance sale that Brandon and I popped into recently (all books 90% off…it was sad and exhilarating at the same time). I thought the cover looked cute and I’m never one to turn down a book that costs about $1. (Again, so sad!)
Because I paid such a low price for the book and because it was one of the “leftovers” in the fiction section, I didn’t have high expectations. I just wanted to be entertained and thought it looked like a good, light read…perfect for reading in the bath or with a cup of tea.
Instead, I was happily surprised that Frankel’s dialogue and character development grabbed me from the first page and held my attention until I finished. It’s her first published book, but you wouldn’t know it. She has a confident voice and the interesting details in this book kept it from being your cliched “baby on the cover” novel. The book’s pace does ebb and flow, but I was charmed enough by her writing to keep powering through.
The Atlas of Love is the story of three English-lit graduate students: Janey, Katie and Jill, who band together to help Jill when she becomes unexpectedly pregnant. After Jill’s boyfriend makes a break for it, Janey and Katie become substitute parents—living with Jill and Atlas (her son) and helping with everything from feedings to naps to play time. The book is thought-provoking, especially as tensions grow between the girls as Jill starts to pull away from the intimacy of their unconventional “family” situation.
The book is thoroughly charming and I hope Frankel continues on to write a sequel, since several of the character’s story lines have plenty left to explore. If you need a heart-warming “chick lit” book but would rather do without the cliches that usually come along with the genre, this is a good place to start.
P.S. Have you entered my book giveaway yet?
Have you read this book? What did you think?
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