Labor Pains

by Kate Klimo

Relates the story of five mothers-to-be--Jill, Mary Beth, Kendra, Louise, and Carleen--and their predicaments, struggles, loves, and triumphs as they experience nine months of pregnancy

Genres: Fiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Kate Klimo spent her early years amidst the cornfields of Iowa where the winters were prodigious. Often, when the snows flash-thawed in the spring, she would find her backyard filled with the flapping, resurrected bodies of fish her ice-fishing father had stored in the snowdrifts. Thus sprang into her young head the unshakable notion that, all winter long, fish escaped from the rivers and magically swum through the snow banks of Mount Vernon, Iowa.

When she moved to the little town of Sea Cliff, on Long Island Sound, she met her best friend Justine in the Stenson Memorial Library at the main desk, where they often checked out the same fantasy writers. Together, they read C.S. Lewis, E. Nesbit, Edward Eager, and George MacDonald and embarked on a tireless search for portals to magical worlds, extending from abandoned Victorian mansions to the decrepit local five-and-dime to the sandy cliffs sweeping down to the Sound.

With her propensity for magical thinking and long-standing love of fantasy, does it come as any surprise that Kate grew up to be in the book business? But after over 25 years of heading up Random House Children’s Books, with the publication of The Dragon in the Sock Drawer in March 2008, Kate began to ease over to the author’s side of the desk.

Now a full-time author, in addition to numerous one-off titles, she has written the middle-grade series The Dragon Keepers series and the Dog Diaries as well the Centauriad for young adults. Under the pen name Bonnie Worth, she has penned over a dozen books in the best-selling Cat in the Hat Learning Library. She lives in New Paltz, New York with her husband and two horses.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story of five expectant mothers who meet in a Manhattan Lamaze class. Kendra is a beautiful artist who plans to become a single mother, but hasn't counted on her and the baby's father's falling in love. Her BFF, Jill, has a troubled pregnancy, and is not helped by her insensitive husband. Louise has already had three children in rapid succession--and then becomes pregnant with triplets, (luckily, her husband is a millionaire businessman who can support all these kids!). Mary Beth has been having an affair, and is not sure whether her nice-guy husband or her (jerky) lover is her baby's father. Carleen and her husband are happily married, but it took them eight years to conceive, and she's a book editor who fights to keep her career as well as her baby. I really enjoyed this story, the friendships the women shared, and the support that they give each other. A fun book.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book about strangers becoming friends thru pregnancy!

[Fabienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being born in the 80's myself it was interesting to read how things may have been for my mother and to realize how things have changed over time.
It was a simple story. No huge plot twists, but I enjoyed the simplicity of it.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book over and over again. This is the story of five women from various backgrounds first meet in the therapy room at the hospital for childbirth class.

[Kerri Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just awful. I wanted to like it. :-(

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story of five expectant mothers who meet in a Manhattan Lamaze class. Kendra is a beautiful artist who plans to become a single mother, but hasn't counted on her and the baby's father's falling in love. Her BFF, Jill, has a troubled pregnancy, and is not helped by her insensitive husband. Louise has already had three children in rapid succession--and then becomes pregnant with triplets, (luckily, her husband is a millionaire businessman who can support all these kids!). Mary Beth has been having an affair, and is not sure whether her nice-guy husband or her (jerky) lover is her baby's father. Carleen and her husband are happily married, but it took them eight years to conceive, and she's a book editor who fights to keep her career as well as her baby. I really enjoyed this story, the friendships the women shared, and the support that they give each other. A fun book.(less)

[Kate Irwin-smiler · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty dated.

[Caroline Kubale]

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