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Is there ever a deal-breaker when it comes to true love?
First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes . . . a baby carriage? Isn’t that what all women want?
Not so for Claudia Parr. And just as she gives up on finding a man who feels the same way, she meets warm, wonderful Ben. Things seem too good to be true when they fall in love and agree to buck tradition with a satisfying, child-free marriage. Then the unexpected occurs: one of them has a change of heart. One of them wants children after all.
This is the witty, heartfelt story about what happens to the perfect couple when they suddenly want different things. It’s about feeling that your life is set and then realizing that nothing is as you thought it was--and that there is no possible compromise. It’s about deciding what is most important in life, and taking chances to get it. But most of all, it’s about the things we will do--and won’t do--for love.
Praise from the Media
“Giffin's writing is true, smart, and heartfelt. Claudia is both flawed and achingly real.” —Entertainment Weekly
“When it comes to writing stories that resonate with real women, best-selling author Emily Giffin has hit her stride. Baby Proof examines the great lengths people go for each other, and is filled with great female characters.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“A wry twist on the classic relationship deal-breaker.” —New York Times
“Smart, snappy, and sure to provoke discussion.” —People
“Thoughtful . . . The idea that someone, especially a woman, might sincerely just not want to have children is a stubborn taboo. Giffin carefully navigates its implications, drawing Claudia as both painfully self-aware and prone to bouts of romantic naiveté . . . and paints her heartbreak at losing Ben with sensitivity and grace.” —Chicago Sun-Times
“The characters are funny and flawed, ambitious and insecure, relatable enough to feel like a good friend while enduring dramatic crises enough for a dozen women.” —Elle
“One of the sharpest writers out there . . . profound, humorous, and reveals layers about a woman's deepest desires.” —Arizona Republic
“Thought-provoking meditation on our culture's focus on parenthood and family.” —Washington Post
“Giffin’s easy flow lets you relate immediately to her characters, and even if you can’t identify with the parenthood question, Claudia’s crisis resonates. Giffin captures the experience of being thirty-something particularly well—as she did with the twenty-somethings of her last two novels.” —Miami Herald
“Baby Proof is by turns a funny and serious exploration of how difficult it can be, even in this age of choice, to choose the childless path.” —Hartford Courant
“By avoiding easy answers, Giffin once again proves she's one of the best in this thoughtful, layered, and wholly original story of a woman facing a major choice in her life.” —Booklist
“Immensely refreshing . . . challenging and thought-provoking.” —Pages magazine
“Emily Giffin keeps you in suspense until the last possible moments, which makes for a page-turning read. If you’ve ever had doubts about having children or have decided not to have them, you should see some part of yourself reflected in this novel.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Smart, witty. Makes an intriguing story . . . a cut above.” —Seattle Times
“Emily Giffin is the creator of characters so real and so enthrallingly flawed that people sometimes forget they are fictional. Baby Proof is complicated and unexpected.” —Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“This take on contemporary relationships asks whether a childless-by-choice marriage is selfish, then moves on to fallout for philandering spouses, infertility, problem parents and the challenge of seemingly irredeemable mistakes. Thought-provoking . . . this is a book that both hens and roosters might enjoy together.” —Dallas Morning News
“What if it was decided—way before the first vow was ever exchanged—that the marriage wouldn’t include children? And then one of the partners has a change of heart? That’s the compelling topic that Emily Giffin explores wonderfully. The publisher is promoting the novel as ‘at its core, a love story.’ But it is so much more . . . one with a weighty topic that deserves its due in a society that all too often assumes sanctimoniously that every woman must do it all.” —Columbus Dispatch
“Emily Giffin explores the awesome power of a love too real to give up. Wonderful characters and unbeatable prose.” —Oakland Tribune
“What are the nonnegotiable issues in a relationship? Giffin’s novel is funny, smart, and offers a fresh take on what is worth sacrificing for the one you love.” —Knoxville News-Sentinel
“Giffin’s introspective and moving love story is an ode to those who take the road less traveled.” —The Atlantan
“Emily Giffin delivers a warm, witty story about a perfect couple who suddenly finds themselves at odds over the decision to have children. A must-read for any woman, mother or not.” —Jezebel magazine
“Emily Giffin has proven herself as a master storyteller and writer. Though Baby Proof entertains with its relationship drama, it also digs deep into the more serious issue of exactly what it means to choose not to have children. It raises important questions about how we, as women, define ourselves. More importantly, Giffin’s heartfelt novel forces people to contemplate the reality of making sacrifices for the ones we love most.” —Woodbury magazine
“Bestselling author Emily Giffin is a savant of unsympathetic situations, effortlessly bringing depth and humanity to flawed heroines. There are no easy answers in this achingly honest exploration of whether there's such thing as a ‘deal-breaker’ in true love. What you do get are dynamic characters, organic, layered storytelling and an ending guaranteed to have Giffin's legions of female fans talking.” —Edmonton Journal
“To every narcissistic or self-serving impulse presented as a reason to have children, Claudia has a rational, well-thought-out reason not to. Giffin does a good job of showing that it's ridiculous to try to convince anyone who chooses not to have children that she should . . .We want to find out what happens to Claudia, which options she takes and which she eliminates, or worse, which options pass her by because of her indecision. Baby Proof re-examine the choices traditionally presented as inevitable and leading to utter happiness, the situations that, when undertaken blindly, often lead to misery." —Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
“A sometimes funny, always thoughtful exploration about how life sometimes has other plans for us than the ones we make for ourselves.” —Library Journal
“Offers multiple and complex perspectives on the crazy experiment that is parenting.” —Daily Candy
“Impeccable writing . . . Giffin creates characters who are not only likeable and honest, but as vivid and real as your closest friends . . . Delightful and captivating.” —Austin Fit magazine
“An entertaining and unpredictable quest.” —Redbook
“A protagonist worth following.” —OK! Weekly
