What do you think?
Rate this book
Leaving Haven
In Leaving Haven, Kathleen McCleary, author of A Simple Thing, explores the intricacies of love, friendship, and parenthood.
Georgia longs for a baby, but she's had miscarriage after miscarriage since her daughter was born more than a decade ago. Through a miraculous egg donation, Georgia is thrilled to find herself pregnant—until she makes a startling discovery that changes her mind about how much she really wants the baby…
Georgia’s best friend, Alice, has a happy teenage daughter, a faithful husband, and a perfectly organized life. But her world spins off its axis when she falls for a man who is everything she knows she doesn’t want…
Leaving Haven is a provocative and touching novel that will appeal to readers of contemporary fiction and fans of Jodi Picoult, Luanne Rice, and Kristin Hannah.
Georgia longs for a baby, but she's had miscarriage after miscarriage since her daughter was born more than a decade ago. Through a miraculous egg donation, Georgia is thrilled to find herself pregnant—until she makes a startling discovery that changes her mind about how much she really wants the baby…
Georgia’s best friend, Alice, has a happy teenage daughter, a faithful husband, and a perfectly organized life. But her world spins off its axis when she falls for a man who is everything she knows she doesn’t want…
Leaving Haven is a provocative and touching novel that will appeal to readers of contemporary fiction and fans of Jodi Picoult, Luanne Rice, and Kristin Hannah.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2013
242 people are currently reading
2486 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen McCleary
10 books78 followersI've worked as a journalist, bookseller, bartender, barista, and college professor—all great fodder for fiction. My non-fiction articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, More, Health, and other publications. I'm currently working on my fourth novel, teaching creative writing to kids with Writopia (a non-profit), and hiking the Appalachian Trail in small bits (59 miles down!)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
April 9, 2014
Emotional porn for angst junkies with no resolution or even an attempt at one. This is the story of a selfish egotist who sees a baby as an accessory to build her own ego and another selfish egotist who "gets even" with her rival by stealing her husband, then refuses to accept the consequences of her actions on her own family.
Sounds harsh, I know but when you write a trainwreck there needs to be an outcome, to fail to provide a resolution means you're either too lazy to figure out the consequences of your character's story or you just wanted to cozen and manipulate the reader. Stories need an end, this one doesn't have one and the blatant bid for reader sympathy for baby abandonment by a supposedly adult, responsible 41 year old woman who only wanted a baby in all the universe was really tacky in my opinion.
Babies are not supposed to be brought into the world to bind the wounds of inadequacy in a woman's ego and a woman who dumps the baby that she decided should be born cause her husband cheats on her with her supposed best friend who donated the egg is not a mother and shouldn't be allowed to be one.
The baby wasn't a result of an adulterous affair but rather the result of the demands of a selfish, self pitying woman who is ready to totally reject the very baby that she destroys her family and marriage for, all in the name of her own narcissism.
Sounds harsh, I know but when you write a trainwreck there needs to be an outcome, to fail to provide a resolution means you're either too lazy to figure out the consequences of your character's story or you just wanted to cozen and manipulate the reader. Stories need an end, this one doesn't have one and the blatant bid for reader sympathy for baby abandonment by a supposedly adult, responsible 41 year old woman who only wanted a baby in all the universe was really tacky in my opinion.
Babies are not supposed to be brought into the world to bind the wounds of inadequacy in a woman's ego and a woman who dumps the baby that she decided should be born cause her husband cheats on her with her supposed best friend who donated the egg is not a mother and shouldn't be allowed to be one.
The baby wasn't a result of an adulterous affair but rather the result of the demands of a selfish, self pitying woman who is ready to totally reject the very baby that she destroys her family and marriage for, all in the name of her own narcissism.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2013
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this wonderful novel. The novel starts with a punch - a new mother abandons her baby at the hospital. Why would a woman do this? Told out of sequence over the course of a year, her actions become understandable, if difficult, and the ties that bind herself to her family and her best-friend unravel. Highly recommend.
October 8, 2013
Leaving Haven is a great, humane book full of moral complications by a fine novelist. Deep empathy, gentle humor and graceful narrative marks Kathleen McCleary's writing. She reminds me of Richard Russo, John Casey and Richard Ford in those regards (sorry that I have no female points of reference; I was introduced to McCleary by happenstance and seldom read women's fiction). These seasoned middle-aged novelists show a non-judgmental, affectionate understanding and acceptance of human weakness, foibles and quirks. They recognize that even fundamentally good-hearted people lapse here and there in their words and behavior and their inconsistency is not hypocrisy; rather, contradictions beset all of us as we struggle to muddle through the challenges of life doing the best we can.
McCleary is a born storyteller and the narrative structure is unusual and inventive but clear unless you're an Evelyn Wood speed-reader plowing through it. The novel begins with the pivotal event, the abandonment of a baby in a maternity hospital by its mother, Georgia. There are two narrative points of view, neither of them in the first person, corresponding to the main female characters, Georgia and her best friend, Alice, and they alternate chapters. Georgia's narrative unfolds forward in time from one year before that event; Alice's narrative is told backwards from that event. Once they meet, the parallel narratives move in tandem towards the novel's resolution.
A great book that should be widely read by both men and women. McCleary is a novelist not a women's novelist, and a fine one who's growing by leaps and bounds. (I've read her two earlier novels, "House & Home" and "A Simple Thing" and been duly rewarded.) I don't know where her 4th novel, assuming there is one someday, might take her. But I'm sure in her career she herself is going places.
McCleary is a born storyteller and the narrative structure is unusual and inventive but clear unless you're an Evelyn Wood speed-reader plowing through it. The novel begins with the pivotal event, the abandonment of a baby in a maternity hospital by its mother, Georgia. There are two narrative points of view, neither of them in the first person, corresponding to the main female characters, Georgia and her best friend, Alice, and they alternate chapters. Georgia's narrative unfolds forward in time from one year before that event; Alice's narrative is told backwards from that event. Once they meet, the parallel narratives move in tandem towards the novel's resolution.
A great book that should be widely read by both men and women. McCleary is a novelist not a women's novelist, and a fine one who's growing by leaps and bounds. (I've read her two earlier novels, "House & Home" and "A Simple Thing" and been duly rewarded.) I don't know where her 4th novel, assuming there is one someday, might take her. But I'm sure in her career she herself is going places.
October 31, 2013
Georgia and Alice have been best friends for so many years that their lives seem irreversibly entwined.
They are more like sisters, and their families are bound together as well. Daughters Liza and Wren have been in each others' lives since birth.
So when Georgia's attempts to have another baby meet with severe challenges, like a series of miscarriages and failed IVF efforts, it seems only natural that Alice would offer to donate one of her eggs.
Was that the beginning of the end for them? Or would it be the unexpected rivalries between Liza and Wren, and their parents' efforts to intervene in rivalries gone wrong that suddenly changed the dynamic between them all?
How does one come back from betrayal and the ultimate tearing of the fabric that has defined "family" for so long?
It would be easy to empathize with Georgia and hate Alice, but because the author alternates the storytelling between these two characters, we learn about each of their challenges in life and feel for them both. Georgia's mother's death at an early age left her to mother her two younger sisters. When Alice's single mother left her alone too much, forcing her to grow up way too soon...those events left their indelible imprint on her, too, changing her into the kind of person she became.
The story is told in a series of flashbacks and fast forwards, starting with the day Georgia gives birth to Haven. The history of the two women and their friendship, as well as their family histories, is revealed slowly. I liked the style, which kept me rapidly turning pages to find out more.
"Leaving Haven: A Novel" is a story about friendship, about family, and how even the closest ties that bind people can be severed. But they can also be woven together again in new ways. Five stars.
They are more like sisters, and their families are bound together as well. Daughters Liza and Wren have been in each others' lives since birth.
So when Georgia's attempts to have another baby meet with severe challenges, like a series of miscarriages and failed IVF efforts, it seems only natural that Alice would offer to donate one of her eggs.
Was that the beginning of the end for them? Or would it be the unexpected rivalries between Liza and Wren, and their parents' efforts to intervene in rivalries gone wrong that suddenly changed the dynamic between them all?
How does one come back from betrayal and the ultimate tearing of the fabric that has defined "family" for so long?
It would be easy to empathize with Georgia and hate Alice, but because the author alternates the storytelling between these two characters, we learn about each of their challenges in life and feel for them both. Georgia's mother's death at an early age left her to mother her two younger sisters. When Alice's single mother left her alone too much, forcing her to grow up way too soon...those events left their indelible imprint on her, too, changing her into the kind of person she became.
The story is told in a series of flashbacks and fast forwards, starting with the day Georgia gives birth to Haven. The history of the two women and their friendship, as well as their family histories, is revealed slowly. I liked the style, which kept me rapidly turning pages to find out more.
"Leaving Haven: A Novel" is a story about friendship, about family, and how even the closest ties that bind people can be severed. But they can also be woven together again in new ways. Five stars.
March 9, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. I really hope for a sequel to see Georgia and John try to heal their marriage. so many unanswered questions and it would be enjoyable to read how they can get past the cheating I am not a fan of Alice!
I highly recommend this book,and hope to read more!
I highly recommend this book,and hope to read more!
August 19, 2016
hmm... i hope the auhtor will make a sequel w/concern focus on giorgia n john. since we dont get enough of how these two handled their problem.
about alice n duncan, i think it's more clear where their direction will head to. or at least we knw their plan is until the next 6 months. since the affair broke out, we got more side of alice-duncan story as in how they both interact and how duncan's acted towards alice and their every day's life. but we dont get that from giorgia -john. which is a big dissapointment, coz what's in giorgia's side is 10times heavier than what's with that -im bored-im misserable-im lonely-my husband is a very nice guy, but he wont sexed me up like some dom,- i need more- alice's had. but then we got more to alice's side than goiogia. You see, the author made Alice as the one that "aware" of how wrong this affair is, she also the one that "hold" the lust and she also the one that ENDED it. But John, is ... interesting.. in an affair, pretty much w/a trigger like what john's excuse was, mostly it was 99% of uncontrolable lust, but here we got him saying the L words!! he also the one that chase after alice like a mad dog, he also the one that's not holding his lust and his filthy naughty texts, he also the one that keep on wants to meet alice and saying all those very intimate texts such as how she was the most adorable women HE EVER SEEN, he missed her and all that lines that makes me wonder, he seems the kind of husband who "Eager" to leave giorgia IF only alice took his hand. i dont felt like his affair is the same as what alice's felt about their affair. Nope. John's affair is more deep, damage, demeaning his n giorgia's 20 years relationship. while alice, well we can see how she strugged w/the affair.
i have no dissapontment feeling of how the auhtor plotting about alice's character or about her story. she got a perfect loop in this plot. But what John and Giorgia had in this novel is like a half baked coockies. it's not finish, it's not done, they even doesnt have a conversation about his affair, not like alice to duncan. Giorgia hasnt asked john about "WHY?", does he attracted to alice in a long time? does he love her? and all the kind of stuff that we used to throw a question when a marriage couple have their conversation over the affair. but we got a fast forward. we knw that john left the house 1 month bfore giorgia gave birth and they met again in couple of days after giorgia gone missing and leaving haven. John's character is also a big question here. did he really having an affair w/amelia? which im surely he did, from how "unsetlled" giorgia's suspicious was. you knw what they said, if a wife have a glimps of something wrong w/their husband, then it might be 90% true.
over all, i need a sequel! i want to knw more about john - giorgia, i want to see their journey to build their marriage back. coz as much as reviewers here stating that they hate giorgia bcoz of how she was "Selfish" for leaving haven after how much he longed for a baby, i for once sided w/her. we rarely got the heroine from some cheating novel acting like a real women-human. here, i got giorgia. just think about it, why would she's not done what she's done? does she selfih? no. it's what alice's done is what i called selfish. i like giorgia and her damage emotional, i dont need to read another heroine that was "perfect", that always do the "i have to do this, bcoz it's the right thing to do and a normal way to do" yes, she gave birth to haven, but under her circumstances im applaud her not to mentaly unbalanced to lead her to strangled haven's neck. no. she's done the very human thing to do. when we got a very hurtful betrayel from the one that we never tought could betrayed us like that. so, give giorgia some space people! after all, space is all she need, she just knw about the affair 1 months bfore her due! for god sake.
so, please dear author, write another about giorgia-john. you havent painted john as an accepted character in this book, i feel for alice, i feel for duncan i even feel for giorgia's sisters, but John is the most Blurred character in this novel. what does he want? what is exactly his charcater is? you even not put john's in giorgia's chapter. unlike duncan in alice's chapter.
but i dont knw why, i kinda feel a twist feeling if there are second book about this novel. we now knw that duncan is separated from alice, and moving out, we also a lil bit "Unsure" about where the hell does john-giorgia headed to, the last conversation we got is from john ask giorgia to work thing out and go to the councelling. arrgghh... i want to see what's on JOhn's mind, he's the bastard one in this novel, i dont trust him. esp when there was asubtle pointing out at amelia and john long bfore alice.
btw, i would killed a guy like john to have a guy like duncan. the guy was a saint! he still stays in the same bed w/his wife after he knws averything. wow.
i gave this 1 stars bcoz the most crucial charcater in this plot, JOhn - giorgia were not painted as clear as alice and duncan's story. whic makes this novel to making me wonder, what purposed exactly this novel write for? it doesnt solved the problem, we doesnt even get the supposed to be closure, it left hanging open with branchec of probability that lead us to nowhere, esp John's since we got nothing about his character, not enough for us to make our own imaginary closure like duncan n alice. we dont knw anything about John! he loves giorgia, but confusingly he said Love to alice's too and doesnt seems ever want to stop the affair, like what i mentioned above, he was painted as the one that kinda eager to leave his family if only alice agreed. but then suddently, without seeing the development of john's charcater and what's in his mind at the time he was loving alice, we got the whole bunch of "JOHN UMAMI GIORGIA" bulshit. and all is end. the eff??
i wish i havent read this one, it leaving me a very itching feeling that i need to scratch w/some knife.
about alice n duncan, i think it's more clear where their direction will head to. or at least we knw their plan is until the next 6 months. since the affair broke out, we got more side of alice-duncan story as in how they both interact and how duncan's acted towards alice and their every day's life. but we dont get that from giorgia -john. which is a big dissapointment, coz what's in giorgia's side is 10times heavier than what's with that -im bored-im misserable-im lonely-my husband is a very nice guy, but he wont sexed me up like some dom,- i need more- alice's had. but then we got more to alice's side than goiogia. You see, the author made Alice as the one that "aware" of how wrong this affair is, she also the one that "hold" the lust and she also the one that ENDED it. But John, is ... interesting.. in an affair, pretty much w/a trigger like what john's excuse was, mostly it was 99% of uncontrolable lust, but here we got him saying the L words!! he also the one that chase after alice like a mad dog, he also the one that's not holding his lust and his filthy naughty texts, he also the one that keep on wants to meet alice and saying all those very intimate texts such as how she was the most adorable women HE EVER SEEN, he missed her and all that lines that makes me wonder, he seems the kind of husband who "Eager" to leave giorgia IF only alice took his hand. i dont felt like his affair is the same as what alice's felt about their affair. Nope. John's affair is more deep, damage, demeaning his n giorgia's 20 years relationship. while alice, well we can see how she strugged w/the affair.
i have no dissapontment feeling of how the auhtor plotting about alice's character or about her story. she got a perfect loop in this plot. But what John and Giorgia had in this novel is like a half baked coockies. it's not finish, it's not done, they even doesnt have a conversation about his affair, not like alice to duncan. Giorgia hasnt asked john about "WHY?", does he attracted to alice in a long time? does he love her? and all the kind of stuff that we used to throw a question when a marriage couple have their conversation over the affair. but we got a fast forward. we knw that john left the house 1 month bfore giorgia gave birth and they met again in couple of days after giorgia gone missing and leaving haven. John's character is also a big question here. did he really having an affair w/amelia? which im surely he did, from how "unsetlled" giorgia's suspicious was. you knw what they said, if a wife have a glimps of something wrong w/their husband, then it might be 90% true.
over all, i need a sequel! i want to knw more about john - giorgia, i want to see their journey to build their marriage back. coz as much as reviewers here stating that they hate giorgia bcoz of how she was "Selfish" for leaving haven after how much he longed for a baby, i for once sided w/her. we rarely got the heroine from some cheating novel acting like a real women-human. here, i got giorgia. just think about it, why would she's not done what she's done? does she selfih? no. it's what alice's done is what i called selfish. i like giorgia and her damage emotional, i dont need to read another heroine that was "perfect", that always do the "i have to do this, bcoz it's the right thing to do and a normal way to do" yes, she gave birth to haven, but under her circumstances im applaud her not to mentaly unbalanced to lead her to strangled haven's neck. no. she's done the very human thing to do. when we got a very hurtful betrayel from the one that we never tought could betrayed us like that. so, give giorgia some space people! after all, space is all she need, she just knw about the affair 1 months bfore her due! for god sake.
so, please dear author, write another about giorgia-john. you havent painted john as an accepted character in this book, i feel for alice, i feel for duncan i even feel for giorgia's sisters, but John is the most Blurred character in this novel. what does he want? what is exactly his charcater is? you even not put john's in giorgia's chapter. unlike duncan in alice's chapter.
but i dont knw why, i kinda feel a twist feeling if there are second book about this novel. we now knw that duncan is separated from alice, and moving out, we also a lil bit "Unsure" about where the hell does john-giorgia headed to, the last conversation we got is from john ask giorgia to work thing out and go to the councelling. arrgghh... i want to see what's on JOhn's mind, he's the bastard one in this novel, i dont trust him. esp when there was asubtle pointing out at amelia and john long bfore alice.
btw, i would killed a guy like john to have a guy like duncan. the guy was a saint! he still stays in the same bed w/his wife after he knws averything. wow.
i gave this 1 stars bcoz the most crucial charcater in this plot, JOhn - giorgia were not painted as clear as alice and duncan's story. whic makes this novel to making me wonder, what purposed exactly this novel write for? it doesnt solved the problem, we doesnt even get the supposed to be closure, it left hanging open with branchec of probability that lead us to nowhere, esp John's since we got nothing about his character, not enough for us to make our own imaginary closure like duncan n alice. we dont knw anything about John! he loves giorgia, but confusingly he said Love to alice's too and doesnt seems ever want to stop the affair, like what i mentioned above, he was painted as the one that kinda eager to leave his family if only alice agreed. but then suddently, without seeing the development of john's charcater and what's in his mind at the time he was loving alice, we got the whole bunch of "JOHN UMAMI GIORGIA" bulshit. and all is end. the eff??
i wish i havent read this one, it leaving me a very itching feeling that i need to scratch w/some knife.
September 30, 2013
I am a mother, first and foremost, so I was definitely intrigued by a book that had a mother leaving her baby the day after giving birth. When I read how much the woman, Georgia, wanted the baby, it made even less sense to me that she would abandon him. But as the book delved deeper into the reasons for Georgia's actions, it became clear to me that she was a very broken woman indeed.
Georgia and Alice have been best friends for 13 years--until something happens that shatters both of their families. Both women's lives are thrown into upheaval, but they way they handle things is totally different. Georgia is creative, impulsive, but a fiercely loving mother; so it's completely unlike her to just up and leave the son she's been trying to have for over 10 years. Alice is meticulous, a planner. She clings to her child and husband with all she's got. But it's not enough.
Obviously, there is a huge reveal in this book that I do not want to spoil for you, so I'm kind of dancing around it. The story is told from both Alice and Georgia's points of view, so we get each woman's thoughts on what happened and how they are dealing with it. Both are mothers to now teenage girls who are friends. That's one of the only things they have in common, yet their friendship has endured to this point. I liked both Georgia and Alice; I just thought each had their flaws. As a mother, it's easy for me to say, "How could you leave your baby?" But there are so many extenuating circumstances, I am not sure what I would have done if I were in Georgia's place.
I liked that the writing was rather straightforward. There was some exposition, but no long flowery paragraphs that made me want to skim over them. The writing was at times as raw as the women's feelings--you felt what each of them were feeling, even though they were on opposite sides, you could relate to their thoughts.
I also thought the title was very clever. Each woman is leaving a haven of their own. Georgia, literally, as the baby was named Haven. Alice begins to resent the safe haven she has in her husband and her predictable life.
This was a great read with plenty of heartfelt moments. The ending leaves things open and messy, but that's real life in these kinds of situations.
Georgia and Alice have been best friends for 13 years--until something happens that shatters both of their families. Both women's lives are thrown into upheaval, but they way they handle things is totally different. Georgia is creative, impulsive, but a fiercely loving mother; so it's completely unlike her to just up and leave the son she's been trying to have for over 10 years. Alice is meticulous, a planner. She clings to her child and husband with all she's got. But it's not enough.
Obviously, there is a huge reveal in this book that I do not want to spoil for you, so I'm kind of dancing around it. The story is told from both Alice and Georgia's points of view, so we get each woman's thoughts on what happened and how they are dealing with it. Both are mothers to now teenage girls who are friends. That's one of the only things they have in common, yet their friendship has endured to this point. I liked both Georgia and Alice; I just thought each had their flaws. As a mother, it's easy for me to say, "How could you leave your baby?" But there are so many extenuating circumstances, I am not sure what I would have done if I were in Georgia's place.
I liked that the writing was rather straightforward. There was some exposition, but no long flowery paragraphs that made me want to skim over them. The writing was at times as raw as the women's feelings--you felt what each of them were feeling, even though they were on opposite sides, you could relate to their thoughts.
I also thought the title was very clever. Each woman is leaving a haven of their own. Georgia, literally, as the baby was named Haven. Alice begins to resent the safe haven she has in her husband and her predictable life.
This was a great read with plenty of heartfelt moments. The ending leaves things open and messy, but that's real life in these kinds of situations.
November 1, 2013
http://www.anovelreview.blogspot.com/...
Let me start with, go buy this book! No joke! Go buy it! I absolutely loved LEAVING HAVEN! I am going to try very hard to not giveaway any spoilers.
During the novel, the reader is given both Georgia and Alice's perspective--which really really allow you the reader to relate to both women and this makes things trickier. You need to pay attention to the chapters because you get back story and forward moving story. I love this and it doesn't bother me, but I like to mention it.
On a personal level I related in a number of ways to Georgia. She wants to build her family, but has suffered miscarriages and has been for some time obsessing about a baby. This really hit home for me. I could relate to her struggle and even how she really wanted to let the idea of a baby go, but just couldn't bring herself to let it go. I really think McCleary did a wonderful job of really sharing Georgia's pain and desire. On the flip side, I didn't really relate much to Alice. But I know Alice types. I see the appeal in having a friend like Alice and as I got to know her more, I felt like Alice herself was slowly learning more about herself. The further I read the more I felt for Alice, she had clearly never dealt with the issues she had with her mother. I found her story complex and Georgia's story heartbreaking. Seriously, go buy it.
From the very first page I was hooked. I wanted to know...needed to know what the heck! Every time I put down LEAVING HAVEN I was thinking about it! I'm still thinking about it! There are a number of surprise twists to the story, I was shocked! Have you ordered it yet? What are you waiting for? I absolutely loved LEAVING HAVEN and I am highly recommending!!!
Let me start with, go buy this book! No joke! Go buy it! I absolutely loved LEAVING HAVEN! I am going to try very hard to not giveaway any spoilers.
During the novel, the reader is given both Georgia and Alice's perspective--which really really allow you the reader to relate to both women and this makes things trickier. You need to pay attention to the chapters because you get back story and forward moving story. I love this and it doesn't bother me, but I like to mention it.
On a personal level I related in a number of ways to Georgia. She wants to build her family, but has suffered miscarriages and has been for some time obsessing about a baby. This really hit home for me. I could relate to her struggle and even how she really wanted to let the idea of a baby go, but just couldn't bring herself to let it go. I really think McCleary did a wonderful job of really sharing Georgia's pain and desire. On the flip side, I didn't really relate much to Alice. But I know Alice types. I see the appeal in having a friend like Alice and as I got to know her more, I felt like Alice herself was slowly learning more about herself. The further I read the more I felt for Alice, she had clearly never dealt with the issues she had with her mother. I found her story complex and Georgia's story heartbreaking. Seriously, go buy it.
From the very first page I was hooked. I wanted to know...needed to know what the heck! Every time I put down LEAVING HAVEN I was thinking about it! I'm still thinking about it! There are a number of surprise twists to the story, I was shocked! Have you ordered it yet? What are you waiting for? I absolutely loved LEAVING HAVEN and I am highly recommending!!!
October 7, 2013
I loved this novel. The characters were perfectly drawn to be both likeable and flawed. There was no happily ever after, and I strongly suspect McCleary isn't done with Alice and Georgia based on the ending (which would be fine with me).
The only part of this novel I struggled with is the backward AND forward timeline. I don't mind working for the plot a bit, but I did have to keep flipping back and forth to understand who was in what point in time. The story lines of the two main characters are intertwined, and the converging timeline made this sometimes difficult to follow.
This novel ticks all the right boxes for me: an interesting plot, deep, thoughtful, characterization and beautifully nuanced writing.
The only part of this novel I struggled with is the backward AND forward timeline. I don't mind working for the plot a bit, but I did have to keep flipping back and forth to understand who was in what point in time. The story lines of the two main characters are intertwined, and the converging timeline made this sometimes difficult to follow.
This novel ticks all the right boxes for me: an interesting plot, deep, thoughtful, characterization and beautifully nuanced writing.
October 18, 2013
I loved this book!
It's mostly the story of best friends Georgia and Alice. They are both mothers with daughters the same age. Both are married, but live totally different lives and had radically different backgrounds.
The first half of this book jumps around in time, but by part two you understand the backgrounds of both women and their husbands and daughters.
Both Alice and Georgia make choises that will forever change their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
Friendship, betrayal and how to overcome the rough patches in life make this a book that most can relate to, even if you haven't had the same experiences.
Well written! I look forward to reading more books by Kathleen McCleary.
It's mostly the story of best friends Georgia and Alice. They are both mothers with daughters the same age. Both are married, but live totally different lives and had radically different backgrounds.
The first half of this book jumps around in time, but by part two you understand the backgrounds of both women and their husbands and daughters.
Both Alice and Georgia make choises that will forever change their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
Friendship, betrayal and how to overcome the rough patches in life make this a book that most can relate to, even if you haven't had the same experiences.
Well written! I look forward to reading more books by Kathleen McCleary.
May 4, 2014
This is a family drama, and I do mean drama! The characters are cookie cutter, approaching stereotypical. The author provides us with characters who basically marry themselves. So much narcissism, so many pages and no real resolution. If you are going to drag the reader thru the muck of the tiresome lives of Alice and Georgia, then at least write a better developed resolution. Perhaps its me. I read this to escape from crazy, busy life I am in right now, and found myself wading in the inauthentic lives of stick- like characters. I do not mean to trivialize infertility, infidelity or the insecurity common to the experience of parenting; however, it is impossible to fully address these themes when the author saddles herself with characters who are so one dimensional.
December 20, 2013
I have mixed feeling about this book. I had great hopes with the unique twist in the story line. The book had the opportunity to be so much more than it was - a soap opera of a story. I could not connect with the characters. I don't know if I buy that one of them would have an affair with her best friend's husband just months after doing a selfless act for that very friend. I think the feelings for the baby and each other and their marriages were believable but lost that believability in trying to create a happy ending where, if in reality, there would be none.
August 8, 2013
Loved this! It is dying for a sequel! How can you like all of these characters when they are in such a messy situation?
May 27, 2020
To Do
Stay married... Everything else flows from that.
“I’m in the middle of divorcing my husband, who has been sleeping with my best friend, who, by the way, is the biological mother of this baby. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to explain to my 13-year-old daughter that the little brother she was so excited about isn’t genetically related to me and is not going to live with us, not to mention the fact that said little brother is actually the little brother of her sometimes best friend.”
Leaving Haven is one story with two voices: one traditional and straightforward, the other unspooled from the end to the beginning. It’s a narrative about loneliness and loss. “You know what real loneliness is? It’s living in a house with someone who is so preoccupied with what they want that they pay no attention to what they have.” Alice “had lost her only real girlfriend in losing Georgia; she had lost John, who had been her closest friend throughout the bullying ordeal; and she might still have lost Duncan. She had earned every one of her losses through her own choices, and she knew it...And now Rita was gone, too, at least for the foreseeable future...All that was left for her was to pick up the pieces and go forward.”
It’s a tribute to the significance of mothers through their absence. Georgia’s mother Evy passed away after the birth of her third daughter, and Alice’s mother Rita is a free spirit and emotionally absent throughout her childhood. She escapes and elopes in Chile when her daughter needs her most. Georgia gives birth to a beautiful baby boy only to walk out of the hospital without him.
It’s a novel about identity and quest to find and redefine oneself, that humans are not plastic but fluid and that we need to give ourselves room to grow in career (Duncan), family (Georgia) and relationship with ourselves and others (Alice). The characters in Leaving Haven demonstrate healthy ways to pursue change (Duncan’s career) and the consequences of stagnance (Alice’s adultery and Georgia’s abandonment of her newborn). Together, the two frienemies discover what should be every woman’s mantra: “She was, indeed, an imperfect woman and imperfect wife and imperfect mother, but it was all she had to offer. And that was enough.”
Leaving Haven is the algorithm of humanity: two marriages, one separation, one divorce, and a wedding. There are no trite reunions at the end but the last sentence says it all, “And she reached out her arms for her son.” Sometimes you have to leave to know how sweet your Haven can be.
Stay married... Everything else flows from that.
“I’m in the middle of divorcing my husband, who has been sleeping with my best friend, who, by the way, is the biological mother of this baby. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to explain to my 13-year-old daughter that the little brother she was so excited about isn’t genetically related to me and is not going to live with us, not to mention the fact that said little brother is actually the little brother of her sometimes best friend.”
Leaving Haven is one story with two voices: one traditional and straightforward, the other unspooled from the end to the beginning. It’s a narrative about loneliness and loss. “You know what real loneliness is? It’s living in a house with someone who is so preoccupied with what they want that they pay no attention to what they have.” Alice “had lost her only real girlfriend in losing Georgia; she had lost John, who had been her closest friend throughout the bullying ordeal; and she might still have lost Duncan. She had earned every one of her losses through her own choices, and she knew it...And now Rita was gone, too, at least for the foreseeable future...All that was left for her was to pick up the pieces and go forward.”
It’s a tribute to the significance of mothers through their absence. Georgia’s mother Evy passed away after the birth of her third daughter, and Alice’s mother Rita is a free spirit and emotionally absent throughout her childhood. She escapes and elopes in Chile when her daughter needs her most. Georgia gives birth to a beautiful baby boy only to walk out of the hospital without him.
It’s a novel about identity and quest to find and redefine oneself, that humans are not plastic but fluid and that we need to give ourselves room to grow in career (Duncan), family (Georgia) and relationship with ourselves and others (Alice). The characters in Leaving Haven demonstrate healthy ways to pursue change (Duncan’s career) and the consequences of stagnance (Alice’s adultery and Georgia’s abandonment of her newborn). Together, the two frienemies discover what should be every woman’s mantra: “She was, indeed, an imperfect woman and imperfect wife and imperfect mother, but it was all she had to offer. And that was enough.”
Leaving Haven is the algorithm of humanity: two marriages, one separation, one divorce, and a wedding. There are no trite reunions at the end but the last sentence says it all, “And she reached out her arms for her son.” Sometimes you have to leave to know how sweet your Haven can be.
October 8, 2018
Spoiler Alert
An interesting / unique story line, despite all the characters sounding the same. I would have appreciated Georgia's chapters sounding like Georgia and Alice 's chapters soundings like Alice.
Another thing I didn't like was blaming Georgia for John's affair. He made a choice. John could have chosen marriage counseling, he could have discussed his issues with his wife. And, it seems he's having an affair (probably not his first) with one is the chefs art his restaurant--why else would she show up at his house with cookies when his wife is away?
Also, Alice's husband is cold, unaffectionate, and controlling, to the point of changing jobs & putting the family finances in jeopardy without ever discussing it with her. Alice, & the readers are supposed to accept that he's a wonderful husband whose just trying to protect his wife. When they have a negative bank balance, Alice, who is an accountant, is blindsided, but never goes over the family finances. She just accepts that her husband will handle everything. The guy doesn't even get upset when his only daughter, Wren is bullied. The reason he punches John is because John touched his property (Alice). When Alice and her husband are in therapy, I expected his emotional abuse to be addressed. But, no, the female therapist lets Alice take the entire blame for being duped into accepting affection outside her marriage when she's never had anyone, not even her mother or husband, show her any.
Then, there's the bulking issue. A nice girl is bullied by her life-long best friend, and at the end, all is forgiven, and they're best buds again. Realistically, Wren, the girl who's bullied, only set herself up for worse bullying. She blames the bullying incident on herself--she wasn't a good enough friend. And her self absorbed parents accept it.
This book only perpetuated the many mutha that women still live by--we're not good enough and its or own fault. If a man cheats on us, we're responsible because we were somehow lacking. We weren't doing enough for him. We were too busy or too devoted to our children.
I think three issues in this book could have been handled better, Instead of giving women the same old platitudes and perpetuating a mythology that keeps women "in their place".
An interesting / unique story line, despite all the characters sounding the same. I would have appreciated Georgia's chapters sounding like Georgia and Alice 's chapters soundings like Alice.
Another thing I didn't like was blaming Georgia for John's affair. He made a choice. John could have chosen marriage counseling, he could have discussed his issues with his wife. And, it seems he's having an affair (probably not his first) with one is the chefs art his restaurant--why else would she show up at his house with cookies when his wife is away?
Also, Alice's husband is cold, unaffectionate, and controlling, to the point of changing jobs & putting the family finances in jeopardy without ever discussing it with her. Alice, & the readers are supposed to accept that he's a wonderful husband whose just trying to protect his wife. When they have a negative bank balance, Alice, who is an accountant, is blindsided, but never goes over the family finances. She just accepts that her husband will handle everything. The guy doesn't even get upset when his only daughter, Wren is bullied. The reason he punches John is because John touched his property (Alice). When Alice and her husband are in therapy, I expected his emotional abuse to be addressed. But, no, the female therapist lets Alice take the entire blame for being duped into accepting affection outside her marriage when she's never had anyone, not even her mother or husband, show her any.
Then, there's the bulking issue. A nice girl is bullied by her life-long best friend, and at the end, all is forgiven, and they're best buds again. Realistically, Wren, the girl who's bullied, only set herself up for worse bullying. She blames the bullying incident on herself--she wasn't a good enough friend. And her self absorbed parents accept it.
This book only perpetuated the many mutha that women still live by--we're not good enough and its or own fault. If a man cheats on us, we're responsible because we were somehow lacking. We weren't doing enough for him. We were too busy or too devoted to our children.
I think three issues in this book could have been handled better, Instead of giving women the same old platitudes and perpetuating a mythology that keeps women "in their place".
November 8, 2013
Leaving Haven
By
Kathleen McCleary
Essentially...
This is a book about families and friendships that take a really wrong turn!
My thoughts after reading this book...
Georgia and Alice are best friends. They vacation together, they both have daughters the same age, they talk daily. Georgia is something of a baby whisperer and unlike Alice has been trying to have a baby for the last ten years...unsuccessfully. She needs an egg donor and Alice decides to do that for Georgia.
Once this happens it seems as though things go really horribly wrong.
What I loved about this book...
This book had a cast of lovely and fascinating characters. Georgia and her sisters Polly and Chessy are funny, sweet and endearing. Alice and her mother are a study in dysfunction. John and Duncan...the husbands...are different and unique. John...the chef...sort of wild and sexy...Duncan...the attorney...sometimes unemotional.
The affair...not saying who had it...literally has the most amazing consequences!
What I did not love...
I did not love the ending...I felt as though I didn't know where everyone was headed...especially Alice and Duncan.
Final thoughts...
I really loved this book. It was funny and sad and spicy and absorbing. It reminded me of Emily Giffin's books and Elin Hildebrand books. It was that good!
By
Kathleen McCleary
Essentially...
This is a book about families and friendships that take a really wrong turn!
My thoughts after reading this book...
Georgia and Alice are best friends. They vacation together, they both have daughters the same age, they talk daily. Georgia is something of a baby whisperer and unlike Alice has been trying to have a baby for the last ten years...unsuccessfully. She needs an egg donor and Alice decides to do that for Georgia.
Once this happens it seems as though things go really horribly wrong.
What I loved about this book...
This book had a cast of lovely and fascinating characters. Georgia and her sisters Polly and Chessy are funny, sweet and endearing. Alice and her mother are a study in dysfunction. John and Duncan...the husbands...are different and unique. John...the chef...sort of wild and sexy...Duncan...the attorney...sometimes unemotional.
The affair...not saying who had it...literally has the most amazing consequences!
What I did not love...
I did not love the ending...I felt as though I didn't know where everyone was headed...especially Alice and Duncan.
Final thoughts...
I really loved this book. It was funny and sad and spicy and absorbing. It reminded me of Emily Giffin's books and Elin Hildebrand books. It was that good!
July 25, 2014
I'm not usually a big fan of books that involve cheating. However, I found myself unable to put this book down and when I did, I was still thinking about the characters. McCleary's writing got me very quickly involved in the story and wanting to know what happened. I think it may be because this book starts with meeting best friends, Alice and Georgia, and Georgia abandoning her newborn son in the hospital. I quickly found myself wanting to know why. As the story unfolds it is quite a complicated story and McCleary does a great job developing each character's role in this complicated story. I wish that McCleary had gone further into the ending of the book, though. The ending seems abrupt and I wish we knew some more about what happens to all of the characters as time went on. Did they heal? What happens to their relationships? What happens with Georgia's son? etc. I understand leaving some of the ending for the reader to decide, but for me, this book left too much for the reader to decide. Since this book kept me wanting to read it and thinking about it, I did enjoy it. I just wish McCleary had developed the ending a little more. Then, I would have loved the book.
October 17, 2013
Physical infidelity is the signal, the notice given, that all fidelities are undermined. - Katherine Anne Porter
"Leaving Haven" was a difficult book for me to read. Excellently written but difficult. I tend to place myself in character's roles (as most of us do, I think) and I found myself pondering what I would do in the many different situations found in the book - from all the characters points of view.
The storyline is a bit convoluted with varying non-linear timelines and I found myself really having to pay attention to "who" was up to bat, so to speak, and "when."
Marriage, families, friendship, trust, bullying, infidelity, alternative conception methods - many different themes are explored but author McCleary pulls all the different stories together and gives us a very satisfying read.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
"Leaving Haven" was a difficult book for me to read. Excellently written but difficult. I tend to place myself in character's roles (as most of us do, I think) and I found myself pondering what I would do in the many different situations found in the book - from all the characters points of view.
The storyline is a bit convoluted with varying non-linear timelines and I found myself really having to pay attention to "who" was up to bat, so to speak, and "when."
Marriage, families, friendship, trust, bullying, infidelity, alternative conception methods - many different themes are explored but author McCleary pulls all the different stories together and gives us a very satisfying read.
NOTE: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
October 8, 2013
Drew me in from the first paragraph, and I couldn't put this book down. Told from the alternating persectives of two women and bouncing from past to present , McCleary examines the most complex relationships (mother and daughters, husbands and wives, best friends) with emotion and empathy. Although this is each woman's individual and connected story, the dialogue and narrative reveal the supporting characters' motivations and feelings, too. Didn't want this book to end. Highly recommended!
August 9, 2013
Love love love this story. I'm hoping we will see these characters again in another of Kathleen's novels. I would enjoy seeing how Haven grows up with this interesting family situation. I laughed and cried my way through this uniquely presented story. And I wish Georgia and Alice lived in my neighborhood!(
September 21, 2019
i read this because I read another one of her books, having seen her at the Gaithersburg book festival. The other book, Simple Thing, was quite good, this one, not so much. Too much weird suburban drama and women desperate for babies. i admit, I do not get that, in large part, I am sure, because i had the babies that I wanted when I wanted them. This might speak more to someone else.
October 2, 2013
http://anita-womanwifemom.blogspot.co...
Loved this book. Nothing all pretty and tied up with a now in this book. A story of friendship, family, betrayal,loss, and forgiveness...or at least the attempt to forgive. So good!!
Loved this book. Nothing all pretty and tied up with a now in this book. A story of friendship, family, betrayal,loss, and forgiveness...or at least the attempt to forgive. So good!!
February 28, 2015
Loved it! This writer reminds me of T. Greenwood, who is one of my favorites. The writing is great and she developed the characters perfectly...they could all be people in one's everyday life. One of the best parts about the story is that it doesn't have a sappy, spoon-fed ending.
Read
October 10, 2013I can't wait to talk to Kathleen McCleary about Leaving Haven at our next book club!
November 4, 2013
Finished this quick. Wanted to know what was going to happen. Happy drama turned sad. Book left me wanting more of an ending for the character especially since this is not a series.
April 23, 2021
I felt it was unfinished. It needed one more chapter. Alice was left dangling.... unless ?? There is a sequel???
Read
February 21, 2024What a God awful mess this adultery and concurrent egg donation has made of these two families. The book is a bit of a hard row to hoe,made worse by a nebulous, open ending!
I did some skimming \ speed reading.
I did some skimming \ speed reading.
August 3, 2020
Intricate
I was intrigued to know a woman could leave her baby in the hospital. The story had to set a lot of background that at times left me feeling anxious. But the characters were in a place of anxiety. I liked the ending. You conclude your own ending. Life is not easy.
I was intrigued to know a woman could leave her baby in the hospital. The story had to set a lot of background that at times left me feeling anxious. But the characters were in a place of anxiety. I liked the ending. You conclude your own ending. Life is not easy.
November 6, 2013
Leaving Haven is a wonderful novel about friendship, family and marriage. Georgia is married to John, a sexy, hardworking chef, and they have teenage daughter Liza. Georgia has been trying for years to have a second child, but she has suffered many miscarriages and has just about given up all hope when her best friend Alice offers to donate a egg.
Alice is married to Duncan, a practical, hardworking lawyer who provided a safe haven for Alice, the only child of a single woman who would frequently leave young Alice on her own while she worked and socialized. Their daughter Wren is best friends with Liza.
The novel opens with Georgia, having just given birth to her son, abandoning him at the hospital. John is frantic and calls Alice to help him with the baby, who won't stop crying. Why has Georgia left the baby and her family behind? She had postpartum depression when Liza was born, but what would make her leave this baby whom she so desperately wanted?
The chapters alternate between Alice and Georgia, as well as back in time, as we learn the story behind Georgia's disappearance. Alice and Georgia have two very different personalities. Alice describes Georgia as " open, honest, direct." She was "the quintessential earth mother, with her rambling old Victorian house and the bright colored skirts she wore (which she sewed herself) and her tendency to call everyone "darling" or "sweetie". She even bakes cakes for a living, a nurturing profession.
Georgia lost her mom when she was twelve and became a mother figure to her younger sisters Polly and Chessy. Polly is mom to four youngsters and Chessy is the youngest, still trying to find herself, and the relationship among the sisters was my favorite part of the book; it was the one relationship that rang most true to me. I would love to see more of the sisters, maybe in a later book.
Alice was, according to Georgia, "all the things that Georgia wasn't- confident, organized, practical. Georgia felt reassured by Alice's steadiness, her unflappable common-sense approach to everything." Alice taught economics part-time at a local college, matching her personality.
While Georgia is on bedrest for the baby and going stir crazy, a problem arises between Liza and Wren. Alice would normally go to Georgia with this, but Georgia can't be upset right now. Duncan quit his job and took a much lower paying one without talking it over with Alice, and Alice's unreliable mother is moving to Argentina. All these things combine to make Alice feel unmoored and she makes a bad decision.
I have to admit to having a hard time understanding Alice and what she does, but this paragraph helped.
"I've never done anything out of passion in my whole life." Alice said. "I've been mature and responsible since I was four. And the bullying with Wren- it made me so angry; I didn't know what to do with all that feeling."
After reading that, I had a better handle on Alice and I'm sure that there will be more than a few people who read that and understand where she is coming from.
I enjoyed the locales that appeared in the book- the Amtrak train to Albany, Rehoboth Beach in Delaware and Kramerbooks in Washington D.C. are all places I am familiar with, and I got a kick out of seeing them here.
The book could have become a little nighttime soap-opera-y, but McCleary makes the reader feel for the people and root for them to work it all out. I liked that the ending is open, as this is a situation that can't be resolved overnight or in a month or a year.
Alice is married to Duncan, a practical, hardworking lawyer who provided a safe haven for Alice, the only child of a single woman who would frequently leave young Alice on her own while she worked and socialized. Their daughter Wren is best friends with Liza.
The novel opens with Georgia, having just given birth to her son, abandoning him at the hospital. John is frantic and calls Alice to help him with the baby, who won't stop crying. Why has Georgia left the baby and her family behind? She had postpartum depression when Liza was born, but what would make her leave this baby whom she so desperately wanted?
The chapters alternate between Alice and Georgia, as well as back in time, as we learn the story behind Georgia's disappearance. Alice and Georgia have two very different personalities. Alice describes Georgia as " open, honest, direct." She was "the quintessential earth mother, with her rambling old Victorian house and the bright colored skirts she wore (which she sewed herself) and her tendency to call everyone "darling" or "sweetie". She even bakes cakes for a living, a nurturing profession.
Georgia lost her mom when she was twelve and became a mother figure to her younger sisters Polly and Chessy. Polly is mom to four youngsters and Chessy is the youngest, still trying to find herself, and the relationship among the sisters was my favorite part of the book; it was the one relationship that rang most true to me. I would love to see more of the sisters, maybe in a later book.
Alice was, according to Georgia, "all the things that Georgia wasn't- confident, organized, practical. Georgia felt reassured by Alice's steadiness, her unflappable common-sense approach to everything." Alice taught economics part-time at a local college, matching her personality.
While Georgia is on bedrest for the baby and going stir crazy, a problem arises between Liza and Wren. Alice would normally go to Georgia with this, but Georgia can't be upset right now. Duncan quit his job and took a much lower paying one without talking it over with Alice, and Alice's unreliable mother is moving to Argentina. All these things combine to make Alice feel unmoored and she makes a bad decision.
I have to admit to having a hard time understanding Alice and what she does, but this paragraph helped.
"I've never done anything out of passion in my whole life." Alice said. "I've been mature and responsible since I was four. And the bullying with Wren- it made me so angry; I didn't know what to do with all that feeling."
After reading that, I had a better handle on Alice and I'm sure that there will be more than a few people who read that and understand where she is coming from.
I enjoyed the locales that appeared in the book- the Amtrak train to Albany, Rehoboth Beach in Delaware and Kramerbooks in Washington D.C. are all places I am familiar with, and I got a kick out of seeing them here.
The book could have become a little nighttime soap-opera-y, but McCleary makes the reader feel for the people and root for them to work it all out. I liked that the ending is open, as this is a situation that can't be resolved overnight or in a month or a year.
April 25, 2014
I just don't know about this one. Usually I can empathize with characters' choices even if I don't like what they did. However, I couldn't quite get my head around why Georgia leaves the child that she knows biologically is her husband's and friend's from egg donation and IVF just because they subsequently had an affair. I can see leaving the spouses due to the affair, but I can't get my head around how it was the child's "fault" and how she couldn't be around the child despite knowing the biological aspect all along.
Maybe I would need to have my friend donate her eggs, do IVF, and then find out my husband and friend were having an affair to really understand why I wanted to have nothing to do with the child I knowingly brought into the world.
Back to the book. The timeline was confusing. I suppose I have an easier time with actual dates instead of "6 months ago" when the novel took place in June 2012 and the whole thing skips around. Just write the date without referring to its temporal relation to a point in time.
I wasn't too fond of the character of Georgia. Like I said, I couldn't wrap my head around her choice. Also what annoys me is when a woman wants a child at all costs, goes to extreme measures, and doesn't think of the ramifications. It comes off short-sighted and selfish. Personally I think that's playing with fire when you're talking about bringing life to this world. That's just my perspective, but my caveat is that I just wanted one child and easily conceived that one child.
Other annoyances: rotating narrator, toying with how things unfolded for the first half of the book (we knew it was coming, felt strung along), the timeline jumping.
It did make me think, though, as evidenced by this review. The writing was decent too.
Maybe I would need to have my friend donate her eggs, do IVF, and then find out my husband and friend were having an affair to really understand why I wanted to have nothing to do with the child I knowingly brought into the world.
Back to the book. The timeline was confusing. I suppose I have an easier time with actual dates instead of "6 months ago" when the novel took place in June 2012 and the whole thing skips around. Just write the date without referring to its temporal relation to a point in time.
I wasn't too fond of the character of Georgia. Like I said, I couldn't wrap my head around her choice. Also what annoys me is when a woman wants a child at all costs, goes to extreme measures, and doesn't think of the ramifications. It comes off short-sighted and selfish. Personally I think that's playing with fire when you're talking about bringing life to this world. That's just my perspective, but my caveat is that I just wanted one child and easily conceived that one child.
Other annoyances: rotating narrator, toying with how things unfolded for the first half of the book (we knew it was coming, felt strung along), the timeline jumping.
It did make me think, though, as evidenced by this review. The writing was decent too.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews