I used to be a fan of Jane Green's books (I'm not so much anymore) & in the past it had become a kind of a compulsion to buy every new one coming out. I read 'Babyville' last summer (a couple of years after it came out), and I finished it in just one day: finishing a book in one day is always a good sign!

You all probably know that this book deals with babies: having babies, dreaming about babies, raising babies, bonding with babies, being jealous of other peoples' babies...Through 3 different stories (Julia, Maeve & Sam are the main characters), Jane Green looks at 3 different aspects of the same life-changing experience. All 3 stories are quite good, light, easy reading. I liked the fact that the "baby-issue" was introduced in the "chic-lit" genre. I've read countless stories of "boy-meets-girl" so it was a relief to have something a little different to read.

I won't go into more details, just that in my opinion Maeve's story was the most appealing, since she's a character that I find true to life: independent & funny, & a person that learns a lot through loss of control. Julia I liked less, she seemed unreal & very self-centered. As for Sam, I have to say that her story didn't ring true to me, especially the infatuation part. But I'll let you discover the rest for yourself.

All in all, an easy, fun, quick book, made for summer vacations at the beach. ( )

Jane Green is one of those authors I consistantly look for at the library - I have Mr. Maybe and Swapping Lives on my bookshelf at home, but am planning on reading those as a back-up, when the library ends up not having something I want.

Babyville starts off following Julia and her failing marriage. As usual, Green does an excellent job of building up the characters and making me feel connected. Much to my dismay, a third of the way through the book she switches to the next character featured on the book's sleeve - Maeve. Then I started to get connected with Maeve, and what happens? Another switch. Initially I thought that it would end up switching back to Julia or Maeve after I had read about the third character (Samantha), but they end up just being tied together via relationships that exist with the character you are currently reading about (Maeve becomes friends with someone who is friends with Julia, etc).

In the grand scheme of things, I really would have liked if this was a set of three books, one for each character. They could have each come together in the end in a similar way, but I was really enjoying each story right before it switched, and I didn't always get all of my questions answered. As it stands, I definitely enjoyed this book, even if I wanted it to be three times as long and didn't get to read all of the things I wanted to read about. One of my favorite things about Jane Green is that she writes plot lines that aren't predictable, and Babyville was no exception. ( )

In my opinion Jane Green is lucky that I read a different book by her before this one. This means that I know she's capable of better. This was one of the most predictable chick lit books I've ever read. I didn't like the book was broken into three parts for three main characters who connected only somewhat. This is the type of chick lit book that makes me super embarassed to admit that I read them. ( )

Three women find their lives in "babyville" are not at all what they expected. But each learns that it's never to late to adjust her dreams and live the life she wants. Another winner from Jane Green. ( )

I tried to force myself to finish this book after reading the "Julia" segment. Ultimately, I failed. I am an avid reader of all types of books, including chick lit. As the mother of two young children, I had looked forward to some light summer reading about women going through the same phase of life. However, these women are nothing like me or any of the many thirty-something women and mothers that I know. For example, how many women are DESPERATE to get pregnant, and then dash off to New York, forget their long term relationship and party like they're fresh out of college? How many thirty three year olds do you know that stay up until well past midnight partying every night, then get up at the crack of dawn to spend an hour at the gym (fully made up), and THEN go to work, which just so happens to be a high-power glamorous television job?? Please.

Finally, the writing in this book is so pedestrian. Grinning from "ear to ear" and waiting for "Prince Charming." Severe lack of creativity and style here. I sure wish I could get my $13 back for this one... ( )