The Things We Do for Love

Sentimental, drawn out, no humor at all.

In my (almost) never-ending quest to read all of Hannah's book, I stumbled on this early novel at the second-hand store. How nice.

Both the subject matter and the plot keep me engaged. As a women, and someone who obsessively follows the news, how could the topic of abortion not be engaging?

Angela's desperation to have a child has forced her marriage to shipwreck of the rocks of that obsession. She's a women who is used to accomplishing her goals. She tries to occupy herself by coming home to run the family restaurant, which as a perfectionist, she is adept at doing. But that still doesn't provide her with a baby or with the relationship she needs.

Enter Lauren, a poor teenage girl with an absent mother and no father in the picture. Her adorable, rich, and loyal boyfriend is clueless when it comes to the real world. When Lauren turns up pregnant, David is completely out of his depths. Lauren applies for a job at Angela's restaurant and their friendship turns into more of a mother/daughter relationship.

It was interesting how this book explored the idea of a teenage mother as well as an infertile woman. I'm not sure I agree with how Lauren's thought process over the baby was explained, but it's not an easy topic. Should she keep the baby? Have an abortion? Give the child up for adoption?

However, I thought Angela's experience with needing a child was very realistic. And how she tried to achieve that was also well done. My heart ached for her, maybe because I was faced with the same issue for year, albeit with a different outcome.

The ending was well done, not a pat answer to a huge question. Definitely buy this book!