Babyville

Meet Julia, a wildly successful television producer who appears to have the picture-perfect life. But beneath the surface, things are not as perfect as they seem. Stuck in a loveless relationship with her boyfriend, Mark, Julia thinks a baby is the answer . . . but she may want a baby more than she wants her boyfriend. Maeve, on the other hand, is allergic to commitment. A feisty, red-haired, high-power career girl, she breaks out in a rash every time she passes a stroller. But when her no-strings-attached nightlife leads to an unexpected pregnancy, her reaction may be just as unexpected . . . And then there’s Samantha—happily married and eager to be the perfect June-Cleaver mother. But baby George brings only exhaustion, extra pounds, and marital strife to her once tidy life. Is having an affair with a friend’s incredibly sexy husband the answer?

With Babyville, bestselling author Jane Green applies her golden touch to the next phase of a girl’s life. By turns witty, rollicking, and tender, this sparkling, sexy tale about the complexities of modern motherly love isn’t really a story about babies—it’s about three friends whose lives are suddenly turned upside down by that life-changing event that hangs over the head of every single girl: motherhood.

The amusing little inborn device known as the biological clock tolls for three women; two of them heed its compelling tones, while the third tries to ignore them. Fixated with fertility rituals and medical advice, Julia is determined to conceive with her uninterested boyfriend; she hopes that the arrival of new life will save their relationship. Samantha, happily married and eager for the perfect family, finds that her new baby brings nothing but exhaustion, frustration, and discord; will an affair help? Maeve is a brassy career girl with a no-holds-barred night life; an unexpected pregnancy leads her to equally unexpected conclusions. In this funny and joyful book, the question of maternity leads each of these three women to enlightenment and her own happy ending.

Publishers Weekly

Green chronicled the London singles scene with wit and verve in Bookends and Mr. Maybe. Moving on from 20-somethings to 30-somethings, her airily absorbing new novel tracks the dilemmas of highly motivated career women faced with the dreaded baby decision. Julia, a 33-year-old TV producer, has lived with boyfriend Mark for four years, but feels that the relationship has gone stale. She decides they need a baby and becomes obsessed with getting pregnant. She tries all the pregnancy-producing tips she hears: legs in the air for five minutes after coitus, creative visualization, a fertility incantation complete with dancing around a burning candle. All to no avail. Her friend Bella visits from New York, where she is a happily single party animal, and she persuades Julia that a vacation might help. While Julia is in New York, ambitious Maeve is hired to replace her at the TV studio. She's determined to make the big time, adept enough at office politics to sleep with a power figure and definitely averse to emotional attachment. Kids are not on the agenda, but after a one-night stand she winds up pregnant-and the father is Julia's supposedly infertile boyfriend, Mark. Meanwhile, Julia's friend Sam has recently become the mother of baby George, but finds that "nothing had prepared her for the loneliness and the boredom" of having an infant. Sam suffers the familiar postpartum depression symptoms until she falls in love with the husband of a new close friend. There's enough suspense and humor to make up for some cliched characters, and Green keeps the dialogue snappy and the pace fast. (June) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Part of the "British invasion" of the brand of women's fiction affectionately known as "chick lit," Jane Green's cheeky heroines join the sisterhood whose members include Bridget Jones and Sophie Kinsella's "Shopaholic."