"OLIVE is many things.
Independent.
Adrift.
Anxious.
Loyal.
Kind.
Knows her own mind.
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.
Moving, memorable and a mirror for every woman at a crossroads, OLIVE has a little bit of all of us. Told with great warmth and nostalgia, this is a modern tale about the obstacle course of adulthood, milestone decisions and the ‘taboo’ about choosing not to have children."
Published 23 July 2020
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
My Review
Olive is a refreshing, original story examining the expectations placed on women to have children.
Olive, a woman in her early thirties, is trying to decide what she wants from life despite the pressures placed on her by her partner, family, friends and society. It's shocking how often relative strangers and acquaintances feel they can ask a woman when she's having children. This is such a personal question. She may desperately want to have children but is struggling to conceive or she may not want children at all and then is sometimes faced with judgement for this decision.
This book exposes many dimensions to this issue through Olive and her friends who are all in different places in their lives, which unfortunately causes some conflict between them. I really liked the ultimate strength of their friendship and how they stood by each other through life's twists and turns.
This is a powerful, timely, feminist novel. I give this 4 out of 5.
The Author
https://www.goodreads.com/emmagannon
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