I’m back with another review! Today I’m sharing my review of Olive by Emma Gannon.
Synopsis
The debut novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author, Emma Gannon.
Independent.
Adrift.
Anxious.
Loyal.
Kind.
Knows her own mind.
OLIVE is many things, and it’s ok that she’s still figuring it all out, navigating her world without a compass. But life comes with expectations, there are choices to be made, boxes to tick and – sometimes – stereotypes to fulfil. And when her best friends’ lives start to branch away towards marriage and motherhood, leaving the path they’ve always followed together, Olive starts to question her choices – because life according to Olive looks a little bit different.
Moving, memorable and a mirror for every woman at a crossroads, OLIVE has a little bit of all of us. Told with great warmth and nostalgia, this is a modern tale about the obstacle course of adulthood, milestone decisions and the ‘taboo’ about choosing not to have children.
Why I Decided to Read this Book
I hadn’t seen this book on bookstagram or even heard about it until very recently. Someone posted about it on the Bad on Paper Podcast Facebook page and I read the synopsis and knew I had to read it. I picked up the audiobook because it was available from my library without wait!
Rating
5 Stars (Check out my rating system!)
My Thoughts
Finally a 5 Star book! Sometimes you read the right book at the right time. This is the perfect example of that for me. The story intrigued me from the beginning and all I wanted to do was listen to the audiobook. I hadn’t had that happen in a while and I’m glad I finally found this book. The audiobook narration is great and I recommend that format!
I hadn’t read a book that covered the topic of a woman that chose to not have children and the struggles that women face when coming to that decision. I don’t know if children of my own are in my future and I am a proponent that women should be able to make that decision on their own and not judged by it. It is really hard to navigate so many important life choices while facing societal pressures of what you “should” do. It is important to normalize these conversations and not assume that every woman is meant to be a mother.
I enjoyed the author’s portrayal of the intricacies of friendships. These relationships are complex and not often given the same spotlight as romantic relationships by society. I related so much to Olive because I am currently in a very similar situation where my closest friends all of a sudden have children and I sometimes feel like our relationship is not the same. Reading this book gave me a sense of comfort that I needed at this time. Even thou it is a fictional story, I know I am not alone in feeling this way.
Emma Gannon does an outstanding job at exploring the themes of marriage, friendship, career, societal expectations and infertility. I can’t recommend this book enough!
Readerly Gist
I recently discovered an app for book recommendations called Readerly and I fell in love with it! It is basically for people to post book recommendations with a short 200 word snippet and other things like trigger warnings, what the book reminds them of, quotes and character descriptions. I am obsessed with their app and love the aesthetic they have. I think this has potential to compete with Goodreads. This is the gist I did for Olive:
You can check out the full gist here and you can sign up for Readerly here!
Content Warnings
Infertility, grief, death of a parent
Who I Recommend this Book to
I don’t think everyone will feel as connected to this book as I did. If you like me are in a position where all your friends are having kids and you don’t even know if you want to or when you’ll be ready for that pick this one up!
Get the Book!
Did this review of Olive convince you to read it? Check out the links below to order it from Bookshop.org and libro.fm. Please consider ordering it from a Black owned independent bookstore. This list of Black owned independent bookstores accepts online ordering.
If you’ve read this book let me know your thoughts in the comments!
I love that you found this book through a different channel than normal, that makes it even more special! This topic is so relevant, I can’t wait to read it!