New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Weiner offers a frank, funny and poignant look at new motherhood, marriage and friendship in her latest book, Little Earthquakes. This follow-up to Good in Bed and In Her Shoes (which became a motion picture starring Cameron Diaz) begins as Lia, an actress, returns to her hometown of Philadelphia from Hollywood to hide out after her baby’s sudden death. Heartbroken and filled with guilt, Lia cannot help but notice pregnant friends Becky, Ayinde and Kelly, three very different women who meet in yoga class and bond instantly. Becky is a wisecracking, overweight chef who worries that people will think she is just fat rather than pregnant. After her baby Ava arrives, she has to contend with the mother-in-law from hell, who tries to undercut Becky’s authority. Cool and elegant Ayinde is married to basketball star Richard Towne. Her own parents generally delegated their child-rearing obligations to nannies and other hired help, but Ayinde is determined to be an involved, loving mother to baby Julian despite her husband’s frequent absences. Peppy, blonde Kelly grew up in a big Catholic family with a mother who drank too much and a father who was content with the status quo. She has set her sights on having a perfect life and a perfect family in their perfect apartment, which they can barely afford even before her husband loses his job weeks before Oliver’s birth.
Each of the women soon discovers what every new mother discovers: babies change everything, including the best-laid plans. Wealth, race and religion notwithstanding, Becky, Ayinde and Kelly all find themselves wondering why it’s all so much harder yet ultimately more rewarding than they thought it would be.
Little Earthquakes will have readers laughing, crying and, if they’re mothers, nodding their heads in absolute understanding. This is a stay-up-all-night read that’s worth a little sleep deprivation.
Jackie Braun is a freelance writer and romance author from Flushing, Michigan.
