Read Growing Girls: The Mother Of All Adventures (2006)

Online Book

Author

Jeanne Marie Laskas

Genre

Fiction

Rating

3.92 of 5 Votes: 1

Your rating

ISBN

055380264X (ISBN13: 9780553802641)

Language

English

Publisher

bantam

Shops

Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble

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Growing Girls: The Mother Of All Adventures (2006) - Plot & Excerpts

If I could give this book negative stars I would. I know I have only myself to blame for any pain I endured; a book about adoption that has the subtitle "The Mother of All Adventures" is pretty clearly labeled "Reader Beware".The author returns again to her same, tired formula (Quirky country neighbors! Navel gazing! More quirkiness! Life threatening illness! Cutsey exchanges with husband and kids! More navel gazing!). This book also features her self-defensiveness over adopting children from China and her daughter's "charming" speech inpediment. Prepare yourself for major eye-rolling when she decides that the minimum wage Asian workers at her mall's mani-pedi salon are judging her adoption choices when the begin speaking to each other in an unknown Asian language. Somehow I think they have more important things to care about.I'd bet money that many of these chapters are recycled newspaper columns too (one "chapter" was 1.5 pages long). I can't believe this woman keeps getting book contracts and column deals with newspapers as prestigious as the Washington Post.

I used to read Jeanne Marie Laskas' column in the Post, especially once I discovered she was an adoptive mom to Chinese daughters. This book felt like reading one delightful column after another, moving me from laughter to tears sometimes in the same page. Laskas writes about the daily stuff around parenthood and life with an engaging voice and she truly reminds me that I read to know I'm not alone -- especially when it comes to this motherhood business. I'm just jealous of that farm, and the horses....

What do You think about Growing Girls: The Mother Of All Adventures (2006)?

I really enjoyed this book. I liked Fifty Acres and a Poodle, but was disappointed in her 2nd book, so I was a little apprehensive about reading this one. I really enjoyed all the essays, and this one felt more complete, more like a whole book and less like a collection of random thoughts. The author's feelings about motherhood resonated with me, and while I can't begin to imagine all those animals needing to be cared for, the descriptive writing (dare I say it - "creative nonfiction?") was evocative, making for an extremely pleasurable read.
—Lauren