With the laugh-out-loud humor and heartfelt wisdom that made Animal Husbandry a national bestseller, Laura Zigman's second novel introduces ...
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reviews
Nov 21, 2008
Marnie
rated it: 
I was really disappointed with this book. It's about Ellen, a single woman who wants a child. I thought I'd be able to relate to wanting a child so much, but she wants one for all the wrong reasons. Her boyfriend is a jerk, & after she dumps him & makes a fortune designing a stupid necklace for her boss she decided to go to a sperm bank. It's disgusting how they screen the sperm donors so they mostly have blonde, blue-eyed guys over 6 feet tall with above average IQ's & perfect family histories
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Aug 13, 2009
Patricia
rated it:
I have no desire to have children and thus, was at a disadvantage with this book. The main character is obsessed with having a child. The fact that she is in a relationship with a man who wants no children, and shows no signs of changing that view, is one of the conundrums of the plot.
I couldn't relate to the main character. I found the story annoying. I found the writing style in which the author repeatedly uses:
Many very short.
Sentences like this.
Over and over.
Aga More...
I couldn't relate to the main character. I found the story annoying. I found the writing style in which the author repeatedly uses:
Many very short.
Sentences like this.
Over and over.
Aga More...
Mar 17, 2010
Leena
rated it: 
Very satisfying read, a quick one too, and often hard to put down. This story is a mixture of wry humor, psychological insight, and dreams of the best possible outcome ever. Like others have said, the ending was a bit too dreamy, too "perfect." My only criticism is that it actually would have been much more satisfying if the ending had been written differently. I liked that this author opened up the door to accepting single motherhood by choice, but then regretted seeing her almost com
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Jan 18, 2008
Michelle
rated it: 
I didn't like this much as Zigman's novel Animal Husbandry, but that might be because the story is about a successful single woman who is desperate to have a child. I could not really relate to the desire as my biological clock has never worked.
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Jan 15, 2010
M
rated it:
An uneven novel that doesn't compare to her previous effort, Animal Husbandry. I still think Zigman is one of the more intelligent chick-lit writers around, but it seems she gets a bit lazy with this one. The descriptions of the relationship the main character was in resonated with me more than the whole I-want-a-baby-sooooo-bad stuff, but even so, I was a bit annoyed at how unrealistic things became, particularly towards the end. I will say I was surprised by the ending, but that's just me,
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Jul 24, 2010
Lauren
rated it:
2.5
this is the sad story of a woman who apparently works in marketing for a famous fashion designer but hates her job because she not-so-secretly wants to be knocked up. so desperate is this woman for her own bebe that she is willing to use her niece ("pickle") as a cheap knock-off just to get a fix. she makes friends with a former acquaintance from high school who also uses her nephew to play "mammo". you can't make this shit up.
well, apparently laura More...
this is the sad story of a woman who apparently works in marketing for a famous fashion designer but hates her job because she not-so-secretly wants to be knocked up. so desperate is this woman for her own bebe that she is willing to use her niece ("pickle") as a cheap knock-off just to get a fix. she makes friends with a former acquaintance from high school who also uses her nephew to play "mammo". you can't make this shit up.
well, apparently laura More...
Feb 03, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
I picked this up the night I finished Zeitoun to try and give my brain a break. It has (or could have) a serious side becuase it looks at an issue facing many of use (to have kids or not, can you do it by yourself, etc.) but it is so glossed over by the lame character development that I think it is just a letdown.
This is a reread from back in grad school. I had forgotten most of it, the section I thought was completely stupid when I first read it still came across just as stupid, and it l More...
This is a reread from back in grad school. I had forgotten most of it, the section I thought was completely stupid when I first read it still came across just as stupid, and it l More...
May 07, 2011
Maria
rated it:
This one was OK. The concept wasn't bad: a mid-30s singelish woman living in NYC really wants to be a mother. Unfortunately, the way the story unfold wasn't that great, and the events didn't always flow smoothly. I think this could have been a much better story if the writing had been more cohesive, and perhaps if it wasn't the story of a woman working in the fashion industry. That made me feel as if the story should have been funnier, since all books with the fashion industry as a "charact
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Feb 07, 2008
Kimberly
rated it:
Having three kids, I can fully relate to Ellen's (the main character who wants to be pregnant and have a child but has no way of getting pregnant) desire to have children. Those of us with kids will get a laugh out of the silly things she does while trying to decide whether to get pregnant and how to get pregnant. Not to mention the who. The whole working mother vs. stay at home mother delimna is really into play, and although it doesn't go into depth about which is "better" (although
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Mar 19, 2009
Cathy
rated it:
I went through a phase reading about young women with glamorous NY jobs (Death by Prada, etc.) when I was stuck in an very unglamorous job on Long Island! I read this before I had kids, and remember thinking no one would be as crazy over it as she was, but if I read it now I'd prbably be more in tune with the story. I can remember if that I did think parts were funny enough to read Animal Husbandry after it...
Feb 11, 2010
Sandra
rated it:
This is not a bad book. 1 star looks pretty awful. But 1 star stands for "didn't like it", which is true, I didn't. I don't hate it, though. Anyway, just wanted to clear that up. I read this book a loooong time ago, so I feel like I can't really go into detail in a review, but I remember it had a sort of rushed ending, and just wasn't very good.
Aug 29, 2009
Jan
rated it:
Another one of my light somewhat humorous summer reads. A slightly tongue-in-cheek view of a woman who is single, dates the wrong men, adores her niece, works for a fancy fashion designer, and desperately wants a baby.
Mar 05, 2009
I read this a long time ago and don't really remember much. I do remember that I wasn't too impressed; but then again, I wasn't a fan of Animal Husbandry (her other book), either. Guess she's not for me.
Apr 27, 2009
Nancy/nanckopf
rated it:
I remember finding this book at the library and the title and cover looked interesting. As I recall, and I recall very little about the book, it didn't live up to my expectations.
Dec 17, 2008
Jessica
rated it:
Book about a single 35-year old woman who wants more than anything to have a baby. Not a must-read, but a fun, easy, girly read, which is exactly what is needed sometimes.
Sep 27, 2010
Julie
rated it:
Light, fast, fun read with no major trauma. A nice respite from heavier-duty reading. Decent writing and an amusing story, albeit with a predictable ending.
Feb 08, 2012
Sarah
rated it:
This Book was deeper than I initially thought. It was a bit hard to jump into but once I was in it I had to know how it ended. Not sure if I would have picked up this book if it was not a book club read but I did like the ending.
Jan 28, 2011
Amy
rated it:
This was a quick read about a woman who really wants to have a baby. Total chick lit and the ending was too good of an ending...those endings drive me crazy!
Aug 11, 2011
Jennifer
rated it: 
A fun read! What to do in this era of single women don't need a man, are career driven and independent. They have babies by themselves!
Jan 29, 2009
Carrie
rated it:
Funny book I randomly picked up after taking a nap in my college library. Cute story but not very rememberable 9 years later.
Jun 22, 2009
Jen
rated it:
Something about this story resonated with me much more than Zigman's other books...maybe the honest candor about motherhood.
Dec 17, 2009
Candice
rated it:
I'd read Animal Husbandry, by this same author, and liked it, so I bought this one when it was on the bargain books aisle at Barnes & Noble. To the extent that I paid $4 for a hardback (which I always love), I liked it okay. The author has some funny, quirky ways she writes things, which I like, and I don't recall too many (any?) other books about a woman wanting to get pregnant via articial insemination, so it gets points for a different topic. The ending is a bit nauseating to me, but they got
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Jul 11, 2009
THIS BOOK WAS JUST PLAIN AWFUL. I read it for a book club in 2000 and we all hated it.
Mar 09, 2010
Sharal
rated it:
This book dragged for me. Where I felt the story should have had some forward momentum with the lead character chasing her dream of having a baby, it seemed to focus on the lead character whining about how much she wanted a baby and how many failed relationships she has had.
Feb 22, 2009
Tvshi
rated it:
A fun, easy read -- extreme chic lit. And ends with kind of a fizzle. But I do love the Mammo concept.
May 27, 2011
Tanisity
rated it:
ok...just ok. the most interesting part of the book to me was her comparison of a biological clock to a gumball machine. hilarious.
Apr 25, 2010
Kataklicik
rated it:
Much ado about nothing. Well, it was probably much ado about something... But ehhhh... no lah *shrug*
