Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads Synopsis
Independent. Adrift. Anxious. Loyal. Kind. Knows her own mind. OLIVE is many things, and it’s ok that she’s still figuring it all out, navigating her world without a compass. But life comes with expectations, there are choices to be made, boxes to tick and – sometimes – stereotypes to fulfil. And when her best friends’ lives start to branch away towards marriage and motherhood, leaving the path they’ve always followed together, Olive starts to question her choices – because life according to Olive looks a little bit different. Review
This was such an eye-opening and informative read that deals with the topic of women who do not want children and the struggles that come along with that decision in society.
I grew to really love Olive and admired how strong and confident she became throughout this book. She’s an incredibly likable character and is very realistic, she’s not perfect but she doesn’t claim to be and yes she makes mistakes but don’t we all? Not only does she deal with pain of splitting up with her long-term boyfriend she’s surrounded by her best friends who are settling down, either with children or in the process of trying for them. Olive feels like there is something wrong with her and feels somewhat ashamed of the way she feels.
This book touches on a lot of important topics which I am all here for and think they should be discussed more openly in books and in society in general. I think the topic of women not wanting to have children is one that is not done enough and we definitely need more characters like Olive in the world. I think women should be allowed to make that choice and should not be shunned by society for choosing not to. It is their body to with as they wish and they should not be judged or shamed for making these decisions. This book also opened my eyes to the way people instinctively reply to discussions revolving not having children and how quick they are to brush it under the rug with a ‘I’m sure you’ll change your mind!’ Why can people just not accept that woman may not want children and that is not an issue?!?! Sorry, rant over.
Another topic it discusses is infertility and it is one that you don’t see enough of in books. I think this one really hits home with me. Although I’m not trying I do really want children one day and suffer from Polysistic ovaries where my menstrual cycles are infrequent and therefore fail to regulary release eggs. It means down the line when I am ready to have children I may struggle. Seeing a character like this in the book hit hard but I felt the representation was done perfectly.
My only issue was with the friendships and arguments throughout the book. I felt a lot of them were unnecessary to the story and I honestly didn’t care for them. Yes, adulthood is hard especially when everyone’s lives are going down different paths but if they had just all taken the small amount of time to communicate I don’t think there would have been any issues.
Overall, this was a beautifully written book about adulthood, friendships and the freedom women should have to decide whether they want to have children or not.
Everyone needs to read this book! Even if you want children in the future you should read it to see the perspective of women from their side and realise that certain comments can actually be harmful to those who have made the decision to not have children.
Rating: 4/5 stars