Kuroneko Book Club: [Review] Baby Proof

Title of Book: Baby Proof
Author: Emily Giffin
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 384

A novel that explores the question: Is there ever a deal-breaker when it comes to true love?
Claudia Parr has everything going for her. A successful editor at a publishing house in Manhattan, she's also a devoted sister, aunt, and friend. Yet she's never wanted to become a mother--which she discovers is a major hurdle to marriage, something she desperately wants. Then she meets her soul mate Ben who, miraculously, feels the same way about parenthood. The two fall in love and marry, committed to one another and their life of adventure and discovery. All's well until one of them has a change of heart. Someone wants a baby after all.
This is the witty, heartfelt story about what happens to the perfect couple when they suddenly want different things and there is no compromise. It's about deciding what is most important in life and wagering everything to get it. And most of all, it's about the things we will--and won't--do for love.

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Claudia Parr is leading the life that she wanted. She is a successful editor at a publishing house and she married the man she loves. Before getting married, Claudia and her husband, Ben, made an agreement to not have kids. That’s perfect for Claudia because contrary to the common belief, not all women want to have kids. But their couple best friend, Annie and Ray, who used to have the same opinion as them decided to have a kid. All seems good until Annie’s baby’s born. Seeing what might happen makes Ben changes his opinion about kids. Both Claudia and Ben then have to decide the future of their marriage.

Honestly, I was looking forward to read Baby Proof because the theme of this book is something that is near and dear to my heart. Actually, it’s not that I don’t want kids but it’s just that I don’t to want to have kids with the wrong person. I’m not married yet which is why I don’t see myself having kids anytime soon; and I’m in no rush to have kids. That’s why I’m intrigued to see a point of view of a woman who also don’t want kids and decided to pick this book up.

This book started off okay. Claudia enjoys her life and although some people against Ben and her decision to not have kids, she tries not to care about it. She stands by her decision. It started to fall apart when Ben is thinking about having kids while Claudia is still against it. I’m okay with Ben changing his mind. People change but there are consequences to those changes. The moment Claudia and Ben are having argument about kids, they become childish and petty. There’s nothing wrong with holding your opinion. It’s just the way Claudia does it comes out as defensive and she becomes annoying. I know it’s not as easy as it sounds but they can compromise and handle the situation calmly. Instead, they start arguing and not listening to each other everytime they talk about kids; which then drives them to do things they’ll regret later.

The ending also disappoints me. Some people might like happy ending in their books. I’m not one of them. It doesn’t have to have happy ending as long as it’s appropriate and make sense. I don’t want to spoil the ending but I think that it feels forced. There are turns of events that feels forcefully happened just so this book have happy ending. It’s unfortunate though because I have such high hopes for this book. Especially because I enjoy Giffin’s other books. Yet, if you like an adult contemporary book with a happy ending, you might want to try this one.