'Babyville' by Jane Green Reviews

‘Babyville’ is the fifth novel by authoress Jane Green. It’s a fairly standard chick-lit novel which centres around the lives of three women, Julia, Maeve and Samantha.

Julia has been with her boyfriend, Mark, for years. She’s got a great job and lives with Mark in his beautiful house but is not happy. Mark and Julia are trying for a baby and Julia believes that her unhappiness stems from her inability to conceive, but is a baby really the answer to all her problems?

Maeve has just moved to London from Brighton to start a new job. She’s not looking for a man and is determined to concentrate on her career. That is until she finds herself unexpectantly pregnant.

Samantha totally adores her new baby, George. So much so that her husband Chris is wondering what on Earth has happened to his loving wife. Samantha wants only the best for her baby and that means doing everything herself as it seems to her that her husband has suddenly become completely useless at everything. Will Samantha remember how great her husband is or will she start looking elsewhere?

Whilst I don’t think that the plot to this book is particularly awe-inspiring, it is well-written and very entertaining. The characters are intriguing. Mark, in particular, is lovely and I would defy most women to read this book and not develop at least a little bit of a crush on him.

‘Babyville’ isn’t so much about babies as it is about what babies [whether you can have them or not] do to your life and how people react to those new circumstances. It definitely isn’t a book which would only be enjoyed by new mothers. I would say that it would particularly appeal to Sophie Kinsella fans.

In conclusion, I would say that ‘Babyville’ is an entertaining read. Perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon curled up with a hot chocolate. It is, in my opinion, one of Jane Green’s better books and I would advise any chick lit fans to give it a try.

‘Babyville’ is published by Michael Joseph [an imprint of Penguin Books].
I own the hardback copy which costs £12.99. It’s 456 pages long and was published in 2007.