From Here to Maternity

by Kris Webb, Kathy Wilson

Sydney marketing exec Sophie presumed "making sacrifices for your children" meant giving up Bloody Marys and champagne for nine months. When she thought about it, that is.... But then two blue lines appear on her pregnancy test. How does a baby fit in with a hectic job, a chaotic social life, and the absence of Max, the Y chromosome in the equation, who has moved to San Francisco?

Support and dubious advice are provided by an unlikely group that gathers for a weekly coffee get-together at the King Street Cafe. With Debbie the glamorous man-eater, Andrew the fitness junkie, Anna the disaster-prone doctor, and Karen the statistically improbable happily married mother of three, Sophie discovers the ups and downs of motherhood. And when an unexpected business venture and a new man appear on the scene, it appears that just maybe there is life after a baby.

Written by two sisters who live on different continents, From Here to Maternity is a novel that tackles the balancing of motherhood, romance, and a career, while managing to be seriously funny.

Genres: Chick Lit

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very light and easy read but a lovely change of pace after some of the intense and emotional books I’ve been reading.

Funny and entertaining.

Set in one of my favourite places I love visiting - Sydney!

The book follows Sophie’s pregnancy through to single motherhood and beyond. If you like books with central characters you can relate to then this book is the perfect one to pick up. It’s lovely.

*Book #23/72 of my coffee table to-read pile challenge

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute enough, but pretty insipid. The protagonist has a ridiculously portable and easy baby and you never really connect with her motherhood. She’s also really obsessed with clothing and her own lack of fitness, as well as finding chances to drink alcohol. For a story that kind of requires a happy tied up ending, the authors seem to have sort of given up - or they tried to seem more literary and mysterious than they’re actually capable of, and it just didn’t suit the story.
Definitely not a keeper.

[Lisa Bender · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was entertaining enough, but was in no way great literature. It was a comical insight into what it's like to be a new mother, which was interesting to me. An enjoyable, quick read!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yay, an Australian book! Chicklit in Australia is so few and far between. And now that I am here, I can like actually sort of picture where everything is. There really needs to be more of it. (Well, the story I am sort of writing takes place partly in Aus, so who knows!!!) Anyway, Girl gets knocked up by her longtime boyfriend but he doesn't want kids, so they break up and he goes to America to work. She gets support from her group of friends, but doesn't really want to go back to work after she has the baby, so she and a friend of hers go into business making do-it-yourself babybooks. Now that part I didn't really like that much. There was a comment like halfway through the book about no stylish or non-pastel coloured baby bags (because the Girl uses her briefcase as a bag for a while, because black goes with everything she wears) and then they go and make these books? Plus, no one wants to make their own baby book. That is what notebook paper is for. The baby bags were never mentioned again. It was weird. It would have made more sense. Also, the Girl doesn't end up with her baby-daddy in the end (who cares) or the other Dude brought into the story. But I think that is the way Australians write stuff. They just leave it hanging. Good and bad.

Grade: C

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good...I was expecting something totally different though. I thought it would be a funny book about being pregnant (ie "maternity"), but it completely skipped that part (with a flashback scene to the birth later) and was more about her life with a baby. Which was OK, just not what I expected. Anyway, I liked the characters in the book, and saw a lot of things coming way before they happened, though there were quite a few surprises. Anyway, a pretty good read.

[Ellenjsmellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was cute, but ok. When Sophie and her boyfriend break up because he's moving to San Francisco from Australia & isn't ready to commit, she finds out that she's pregnant. In the meanwhile, she has a baby and her good friend talks her into making baby books to sell through department stores. It doesn't talk about how she's surviving on her own without a job. Maybe Australia gives a year's maternity pay. Who knows, plus she comes up with the money for a baby book venture.

[MJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to tear through (I finished it in just 3 days) when you want a break from heavier reading. I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh and often humorous plot and appreciated the fact that it was fast paced and never seemed to hit an uneventful lull.
All in all a great 'chick lit' read about motherhood, friendship, business, relationships and the unconventional way we see them all now.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished this book. It took two 1 1/2 days. It's a comedy about a single woman who just got out iof a two year relationship just to find out she is pregnant. Her ex has moved to San Francisco (she in Sydney) and wants no relationship or baby. She is doing it all on her own with a lil help from her friends. Easy good read.

[Flora · Rating 3 out of 5]

These days, all I ask for in a chick book is that it end happily, not be lame or poorly written. The happiness of the ending is not fully settled, and of course there's some suspension of disbelief here and there, but overall, this clears the bar.

[Charity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, but I got a little caught up with the Australian dialects and spellings. Ending wasn't what I thought it could have been.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reminded me a lot of the Bridget Jones books. It was easy to read and funny.

[Shelly]

easy, fun read. the ending seemed kind of rushed, but other than that, a good girl read.

[Sushma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Time pass

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this last month, it's hilarious. I recommend it for any expectant moms, single moms or new moms.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Australia the story had many interesting background notes. The characters were a little superficial and the writing stilted. It was entertaining and somewhat humerous.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

""

[Jill Wall]

amusing

[Josie]

Second read - 13 January, 2018
DNF
I read this when it first released, I think, and didn't really remember it this time around. Unfortunately, the writing style didn't engage me, nor did the MC. There was also more telling rather than showing. This was a DNF for me.