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In Every Way
Chapel Hill college student Maria finds herself in a difficult and familiar predicament—unexpectedly pregnant at nineteen. Still reeling from the fresh discovery of her mother’s diagnosis with cancer, Maria’s decision to give her daughter up for adoption is one that seems to be in everyone’s best interest, especially when it comes to light that the child’s father hasn’t exactly been faithful to her following the birth of her daughter. So when her mother proposes an extended trip to sleepy coastal town Beaufort—the same town that the adoptive couple Maria chose for her daughter just happens to live in—Maria jumps at the chance to escape.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Maria finds herself listless and bored soon after her arrival in Beaufort, and a summer job seems like a cure. She has kept close watch on the couple she chose to adopt her daughter—they live mere blocks away—and, as fate would have it, accepts a position as their nanny. Maria ingratiates herself into the family—hesitantly, at first, and then with all the heartbroken (and eventually self-destructive) fervor of a mother separated from her child.
In Every Way is a heartfelt novel that brings to light the unknowing destruction that heartache can manifest, and the redemptive power of new beginnings.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Maria finds herself listless and bored soon after her arrival in Beaufort, and a summer job seems like a cure. She has kept close watch on the couple she chose to adopt her daughter—they live mere blocks away—and, as fate would have it, accepts a position as their nanny. Maria ingratiates herself into the family—hesitantly, at first, and then with all the heartbroken (and eventually self-destructive) fervor of a mother separated from her child.
In Every Way is a heartfelt novel that brings to light the unknowing destruction that heartache can manifest, and the redemptive power of new beginnings.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2015
18 people are currently reading
757 people want to read
About the author
Nic Brown
5 books38 followersNic Brown is the author of the memoir Bang Bang Crash, as well as the novels In Every Way, Doubles, and Floodmarkers, which was selected as an Editors' Choice by The New York Times Book Review. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Oxford American, and the Harvard Review, among many other publications. A graduate of Columbia University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he has served as the Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi and is now a professor of creative writing at Clemson University.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 10, 2015
Original review can be found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...
I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
I am not going to sugar coat this one because I can't. It was not a good book and I really disliked it. Numerous times I thought about giving up on it but it is not in my nature to do that. I wish I had because it didn't improve.
What did I hate so much about the book? That's an easy question to answer. I hated Maria at the beginning, middle and end of the book. I have not come across a character more shallow, immature and unlikeable in a really long time. She was 20 going on 12. The first time I considered not finishing it was when she made out with a 15 yr old. Really? I kept waiting for her to redeem herself or at least become enlightened but it never happened. Lessons were not learnt and there was no growth although I think an attempt was made by the author. It didn't fly with me and I found it really apparent that it was not written by a female. The emotions and turmoil were just not captured in a way that I, as a female, could even fathom or relate to. Also, the plot was messy and all over the map.
I disliked this book so much that I will not be recommending it to anyone.
I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
I am not going to sugar coat this one because I can't. It was not a good book and I really disliked it. Numerous times I thought about giving up on it but it is not in my nature to do that. I wish I had because it didn't improve.
What did I hate so much about the book? That's an easy question to answer. I hated Maria at the beginning, middle and end of the book. I have not come across a character more shallow, immature and unlikeable in a really long time. She was 20 going on 12. The first time I considered not finishing it was when she made out with a 15 yr old. Really? I kept waiting for her to redeem herself or at least become enlightened but it never happened. Lessons were not learnt and there was no growth although I think an attempt was made by the author. It didn't fly with me and I found it really apparent that it was not written by a female. The emotions and turmoil were just not captured in a way that I, as a female, could even fathom or relate to. Also, the plot was messy and all over the map.
I disliked this book so much that I will not be recommending it to anyone.
February 26, 2015
In this novel, Maria is pregnant and decides to give up her baby for adoption. She's not ready to take care of a baby and wants to give her child a good home. Her mother is dying of cancer, and her boyfriend is a bit of a jerk. Maria picks a couple that she finds to be wonderful, the scholarly Philip, and the beautiful Nina who live in Beaufort, a town Maria has always loved. Maria decides to go with her ailing mother on a roadtrip to this town where she runs into Philip, who has her daughter that he has adopted. Will Maria decide to get involved in her daughter's life? If so, what will be the repercussions? At first, I didn't really think I would have liked this book, the writing was a bit odd, but as it went on, I liked it more and more and by the end, I was completely invested in the story and the characters. The writing style was very nicely done.
July 23, 2015
I only finished this book because I kept thinking, "It's got to get better than this." But it didn't. I really wanted to dope-slap Maria and tell her, all of these problems are due to your incredibly stupid and selfish decisions. Why did I waste my time on this book? Please don't waste yours.
January 25, 2016
It's hard to review a book by your friend, but I will say that it kept me up late two nights in a row and made me feel lots of feelings.
April 11, 2015
When Maria was 19 years old, she met Jack on a friend's front porch, and three months later she was taking a pregnancy test. She had been trying to avoid her ex-boyfriend by skipping her life-drawing class at the University of North Carolina, where her mother was an English Professor & Scholar. Her high school teachers had suggested Yale because she excelled in art and had private lessons since she was in 4th grade, but UNC offered discounts for faculty family members. And then there was her mother, who was also enrolled in the art class, who had Stage 4 breast cancer. How could she leave her? Weird that both Jack and her mother were enrolled in her class, but then, they always got along quite well. All three of them knew that she was gong to give up her baby for adoption. She didn't want a baby, after all. They were all very "grown-up" about it really. Maria has already secretly decided who the adoptive parents are going to be, Phillip & Nina Price, by looking at the adoption website of approved couples. It seemed like great planning for her child's future, and her caseworker, Ann, from the Children's Home Society had to agree. They lived in nearby Beaufort where her mother and her had often vacationed, and were very financially well off to insure the best for the baby. She feels a closed adoption would be better for everyone involved, but Maria is harboring a secret, one that will draw her too close to the adoptive family and jeopardize everything she had wanted for her child. She is bewildered by the wound she feels after the birth of her baby as she wallows in it, "It is an irresistible and obvious craving-like a tsunami of psychic force, one that has been washing over her for days now-for contact with her own child". And it is that, that will thrust her into a secret task of weaving herself into the Price's home and lifestyle for the sole purpose of seeing her child, Bonacieux. She gains great comfort and ease when she enters their world, and becomes skilled at the denial of any future consequences or the importance of the fidelity and structure of the family she has violated. She convinces herself that her mother is getting better with the frequent visits from her grandchild, but she will soon learn that daydreams are for the young, and hers might change the course of all the people involved. Maria's child may pay the price for her decision, and the daily struggle might certainly scar the hopes and desires of one man and woman's needs, to create a family of their own.
*Received this book free through Goodreads First Reads*
*Received this book free through Goodreads First Reads*
February 1, 2015
Nineteen-year-old Maria finds herself enmeshed in difficult circumstances: her mother has been diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and while Maria is trying to deal with that she discovers that she is unexpectedly pregnant. She makes the decision to give up her child [a girl she names Bonacieux] for adoption, choosing a couple she recognizes from Beaufort, the town where she and her mother have spent their summers. Later, when she and her mother just happen to be in Beaufort for an extended stay, Maria finagles her way into their lives, becomes their babysitter and then begins an affair with the adoptive father.
Maria’s thoughtless, self-serving actions, largely focused on her desire to be with the daughter she gave up for adoption, create a disastrous situation and unleash destruction on the family that she so carefully chose for her baby. By the time she comes to the realization that her decisions and choices need to be about what is best for the child, readers are apt to be completely unsympathetic to her.
Maria’s thoughtless, self-serving actions, largely focused on her desire to be with the daughter she gave up for adoption, create a disastrous situation and unleash destruction on the family that she so carefully chose for her baby. By the time she comes to the realization that her decisions and choices need to be about what is best for the child, readers are apt to be completely unsympathetic to her.
April 13, 2015
This book is beautiful and sad. Maria, a 19-year-old student discovers she is pregnant and after much contemplation, decides to give the child up for adoption. Prior to this, Maria and her mother spent a lot of time on the Carolina coast each summer. Now, in the midst of a tumultuous time–Maria having recently given up the child and her mother suffering from cancer–they decide to return to the coastal town they love. Maria has secrets though: she knew the adoptive parents she chose for her daughter and also knows they reside in the town they’re about to visit. Predictably, things start to spiral. It’s a heartbreaking book told in a careful and affecting way. Maria is never a monster to the reader, though you could argue she does some monstrous things.
March 6, 2015
a movie in the works? In Every Way YES
Wonderful story. The plot moved quickly, but with ample time to develop the characters. I loved the honesty of Maria's feelings. I had anticipated a sad story, but felt uplifted when it was over.
Wonderful story. The plot moved quickly, but with ample time to develop the characters. I loved the honesty of Maria's feelings. I had anticipated a sad story, but felt uplifted when it was over.
February 21, 2015
A quick read. Loved it.
January 14, 2017
A young unmarried girl gives baby up for adoption with the father's consent. Then she finds the family, becomes their babysitter, has affair with adopted father and comes really close to ruining that marriage. Later comes to the realization that this is not good. DUH!
"Maria has to admit she desired only the moments of parental ease removed from the stretches of labor between." page 258
"Maria has to admit she desired only the moments of parental ease removed from the stretches of labor between." page 258
October 5, 2017
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. I found the plot to be too contrived and unbelievable, and the characters were not well-drawn. I finished the book still wondering what motivated all of the characters to act so recklessly and selfishly. It was entertaining to read the references to real Chapel Hill locations.
June 6, 2023
what a weird plot? a teen mom gives up her baby for adoption but actually wants to raise her later so becomes her nanny… has affair with the father… then somehow transfers into yale? the writing wasn’t bad but the way the story moved along was strange
May 3, 2024
This book gave me the worst anxiety and was very inaccurate. Sorry, but women are not still lactating if they baby has been away from them long enough to be eating baby food. It was creepy and weird! Would not read it or suggest it to anyone.
April 9, 2015
Too contrived
Many facets of this book were too fantastical for me. Maria, a nineteen-year-old young woman, has a child out of wedlock. Because the baby's father is less than reliable, she decides to give the child up for adoption. During Maria's pregnancy, her mother is in end-stage breast cancer and barely alive.
The adoptive parents live in Beaufort, and when Maria's mother wants one last visit with her college roommate who lives there, Maria cannot get her suitcase packed quickly enough. (Maria had chosen her daughter's parents and knows far too much about them, assuming that this was a closed adoption. She also has help from the Internet.)
Upon arrival in Beaufort, Maria begins a house-to-house search and ultimately hits pay dirt. Through various machinations, Maria becomes her daughter's babysitter cum nanny. If the story ended at that point, I would have written it off as a six-degrees-of-separation tale, but this is when the writer takes the plot too far into fairytale land. Nina, the adoptive mother, turns the care of her new baby over to Maria. The adoptive father is all in, but Mom is all out. Did Nina even want the child in the first place? What mother allows a relative stranger with no known childcare experience dictate feeding, sleeping and play schedules for her baby? Didn't Nina notice that her husband, Maria and the baby are becoming almost a little family? Every adoptive mother I have known tends to almost smother her unexpected gift with love, reluctant to allow anyone to hold her. Nina's role holds no water with me. If there is a back story, I missed it.
I would have hoped that had I been in Nina's position, I would have had suspicions and contacted the adoption agency. If my suspicions had panned out, I would have contacted my attorney.
Maria is so excited to have found her child that she begins to tell people, including her mother and the baby's father. Maria and her daughter spend hours with Maria's once "at death's door" mother, during which time Mother makes an almost miraculous recovery. A woman who had been barely able to feed herself now is cavorting with her granddaughter, while gaining weight and growing her hair. This is the same woman whose oncologist had stopped treating.
No spoiler alert is necessary because the story is too predictable. The writing was acceptable, but even the best writing would not have saved this story. It will be a perfect Lifetime movie.
Many facets of this book were too fantastical for me. Maria, a nineteen-year-old young woman, has a child out of wedlock. Because the baby's father is less than reliable, she decides to give the child up for adoption. During Maria's pregnancy, her mother is in end-stage breast cancer and barely alive.
The adoptive parents live in Beaufort, and when Maria's mother wants one last visit with her college roommate who lives there, Maria cannot get her suitcase packed quickly enough. (Maria had chosen her daughter's parents and knows far too much about them, assuming that this was a closed adoption. She also has help from the Internet.)
Upon arrival in Beaufort, Maria begins a house-to-house search and ultimately hits pay dirt. Through various machinations, Maria becomes her daughter's babysitter cum nanny. If the story ended at that point, I would have written it off as a six-degrees-of-separation tale, but this is when the writer takes the plot too far into fairytale land. Nina, the adoptive mother, turns the care of her new baby over to Maria. The adoptive father is all in, but Mom is all out. Did Nina even want the child in the first place? What mother allows a relative stranger with no known childcare experience dictate feeding, sleeping and play schedules for her baby? Didn't Nina notice that her husband, Maria and the baby are becoming almost a little family? Every adoptive mother I have known tends to almost smother her unexpected gift with love, reluctant to allow anyone to hold her. Nina's role holds no water with me. If there is a back story, I missed it.
I would have hoped that had I been in Nina's position, I would have had suspicions and contacted the adoption agency. If my suspicions had panned out, I would have contacted my attorney.
Maria is so excited to have found her child that she begins to tell people, including her mother and the baby's father. Maria and her daughter spend hours with Maria's once "at death's door" mother, during which time Mother makes an almost miraculous recovery. A woman who had been barely able to feed herself now is cavorting with her granddaughter, while gaining weight and growing her hair. This is the same woman whose oncologist had stopped treating.
No spoiler alert is necessary because the story is too predictable. The writing was acceptable, but even the best writing would not have saved this story. It will be a perfect Lifetime movie.
March 30, 2015
If a woman read this book in a bad mood, she'd finish it and think, "That's why men shouldn't write female protagonists." The details are correct. Her breasts leak upon being reunited with the daughter she gave up for adoption. But her movements feel hollow. The writing is forensic. It tells you what is happening and how the characters are feeling, but it doesn't feel authentic. But, on the other hand, I appreciated that it's a story about a woman giving her child up for adoption--"women's fiction," I'm afraid--without being told in an over sentimental, "women's fiction" way.
May 12, 2015
Reasonably well written book with an interesting plot. Young girls gives a baby up for adoption and in scanning the prospective parents, sees a man she recognizes from her summer vacation town and chooses him and his wife. On summer vacation, she gets a job babysitting. Disaster ensues.
Adoption issues abound as well as issues with her mother's terminal illness. I thought the book was reasonably compelling if the plot appeals, but not a must-read.
Adoption issues abound as well as issues with her mother's terminal illness. I thought the book was reasonably compelling if the plot appeals, but not a must-read.
August 6, 2015
This book was very interesting. It was so wrong IN EVERY WAY, so that you are cringing as the main character makes her bad choices, one after another, and yet you keep reading. It definitely showed how everyone is flawed and yet how you can absolutely still love them in spite of that.
April 9, 2015
Beautiful and heartbreaking, but it a way that affirms the mistakes we make and the mess that is life.
March 21, 2015
I enjoyed the book - a quick read. I chose this book because of the adoption story, which sounded so interesting. Maria is pregnant and her mother is dying of cancer. Lots of emotion.
April 23, 2015
Quick read. Brown has a good ear for dialogue and realistic language.
May 5, 2015
As a quick beach read, not bad. I liked the beginning much more than rest of the book, which gets too overwrought.
May 31, 2015
The story was devoid of emotion but it was easy enough to create my own.
June 22, 2015
I liked it. decent beach read. the main character is difficult to like but it suits the purpose of the story.
April 5, 2015
Another decent beach read for me
July 11, 2015
Good story.
Read
July 4, 2018Couldn’t finish it. I really tried. Just not for me.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews