Baby Proof by Emily Giffin poses a question: what does it take to be a family? More specifically it asks do a married couple have to children to be happy? Yes, no, maybe. I read the book not because I needed answers to these questions. My husband and I had already made our decision. I read it because it was an orphaned book. No one else at the monthly book club wanted to. Claudia Parr doesn't want children. She never has. She figures she'll never get married because the men she dates all seem to want children. That is until she meets Ben. They fall in love, get married and that should be that. Except that a few years down the line, Ben has a change of heart. The book is fairly typical of American chick lit. It's set in Manhattan with a well to do, hardworking Caucasian protagonist. There's a lot name dropping and location dropping and it's no different than Presley musing about San Francisco and Treasure Island. Claudia is as madly in love with Manhattan as she is with Ben. What kept me reading though was Claudia's steadfast sense of self. She doesn't want children and she has her reasons and won't be bullied into compromising even though all around her friends and family are deciding to become parents. Thankfully not all the baby plots are happy ones. There's an unplanned pregnancy, and another couple struggling with infertility. Both of these stories play against Claudia's separation from Ben over her refusal to have a child. I was afraid I would hate the ending. Either Claudia would give in or she would some how be punished for not giving in. Thankfully neither of those outcomes happens. Instead there's something different that took me by surprise.

Cute story! a very good read. It certainly lifted up my mood, what can I say? i love love stories lol

Loved this book...until the end. I feel like it had no real ending. The end of the book was no different from the beginning.

I would have given this four stars, but the ending was such a cop-out

I very much enjoyed this book! It was not the flimsy chick lit book I was expecting, but a story supported by strong characters and a rich, engaging plot. Giffin does an excellent job of not blaming any one character, or pointing fingers, but instead paints each story as one that is easy to empathize with, which is impressive considering the black and white initially posed. I loved watching the characters grow and felt the plot moved with ease. I will gladly read this again.

I want to like Emily Giffin. I really really do. And this is the third book I have tried, and all I can say is, I just don't get what all the hype is about! I liked this story better than her first two, but there is just SO much talk of cheating, unfaithfulness, and selfishness. I just can't empathize with any of the characters when they are all living in their silos. I will give Emily Giffin one last shot - namely because I had run out and bought all 4 of her books (pre Heart of the Matter days) after hearing so many rave reviews. Fifty million people can't be wrong...or can they?

Unexpectedly charming.