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- Stretch Marks Reviewed By Lavanya Karthik Of Bookpleasures.com
Stretch Marks Reviewed By Lavanya Karthik Of Bookpleasures.com
- By Lavanya Karthik
- Published October 27, 2009
- GENERAL FICTION REVIEWS
Lavanya Karthik
Reviewer
Lavanya Karthik: Lavanya is from Mumbai, India and is a licensed
architect and consultant in environmental management. She lives in
Mumbai with her husband and six-year old daughter. She loves reading
and enjoys a diverse range of authors across genres.
Author: Kimberly Stuart
Publisher: David.
C. Cook
ISBN: 978-0-7814-4892-5
Click Here To Purchase Stretch Marks: A Novel
Author Kimberley Stuart follows
up the success of her novel ‘Act Two’ with this light
hearted look at a young woman’s journey from unexpected
pregnancy to motherhood. Along the way, she finds friends in
some unexpected places, and rebuilds her relationship with her
mother. This is no spoiler, however, for the fun of this story is
entirely in the journey, brought alive by Stuart’s sparkling prose
and a cast of quirky yet believable characters.
Mia is a
young and dedicated social worker, committed to her job and saving
the world one vegan meal at a time. Then she finds herself
pregnant and her decision to keep the baby causes her boyfriend Lars
to flee. Mia finds herself alone, wildly hormonal, veering
towards meat eating and having tearful conversations with characters
on television. Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse –
they do! In walks Mia’s mother, Babs (hilariously described
as a ‘Zsa Zsa Gabor’ type) whom Mia has never forgiven for
divorcing her father. Babs is everything Mia is not – loud,
brassy and pushy – and she forces herself back into Mia’s life to
help her through the pregnancy.
What follows is a tale
both funny and tender, as Mia struggles to endure her mother’s
interference, even as she tries to reconcile her feelings for Lars
and Adam, the friendly neighbourhood grocer. The
trajectory of this plot is a familiar one. This is, after all,
familiar territory in fiction and the tone of the book leaves you in
no doubt that a happy ending is around the corner. And yet I was
hooked – by Stuart’s skill with words, the characters that she
has clearly shaped with love and gentle humour, and the subtle yet
touching affirmation of the powers of love, faith and family. I
also liked the way the principal characters evolved through the
course of the book. Lars, so easy to hate, struggles to maintain a
bond with the baby even as he acknowledges his relationship with Mia
is over. Babs emerges as a tough, strong and compassionate woman
willing to stick with her daughter through her problems. Flor,
a pregnant teen that Mia befriends at work finds the courage to make
the right choices for herself and her baby. All in all, a book that
makes you smile.
Be warned though, the frequent – and very
fond - references to food scattered through the book are quite likely
to have you bingeing as you read!
Click Here To Purchase Stretch Marks: A Novel