The Unexpected

by Ellen Wiles, Gemma Whelan (Narrator)

‘A novel that comes with a whole different way of thinking – it takes in a rich wide queer world of angelfish and allomothers, and it's a story of real love between friends' Daisy Hildyard, author of Emergency

'A heartwarming depiction of female friendship as a bond stronger than any other' The Times

'Loved this clever and funny novel’ Anna Mazzola

'Wonderful… all sorts of common assumptions about motherhood and family are turned on their head. It’s brilliant on friendship, identity, longing and resilience' Daily Mail

'An excellent book club choice! If anyone is looking for a very unique novel that explores motherhood, female friendships and raising a child from a different perspective, this is your book!' Tea Leaves & Reads Book Club

‘A thought-provoking and unputdownable story about the interconnectedness of female friendship, love, romance and family’ My Weekly

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Kessie and Robin have been best friends since they were small. Now they’ve reached their mid-thirties, and biological clocks are ticking loudly. But Kessie is single, Robin’s partner is ambivalent about trying for a baby, and single parenting sounds almost impossible.

When one of them gets pregnant, the other finds herself helping out to an extent that neither had expected. How far is a supportive friend supposed to go? What do you do when you feel like a mother to a child who isn’t yours? Are there alternative ways to conceive of a family?

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A funny, addictive and poignant novel about what happens when the lines between friendship, romance, and family begin to blur. For fans of Meg Mason and Dolly Alderton.

'Funny and heartwarming' Closer

‘Wiles writes with humour, tenderness and wisdom' Marianne Levy

'An intelligent, thought-provoking, tender and very real exploration of friendship, pregnancy and the changing face of modern parenting' Susannah Wise

'I didn't want this novel to end…offers a brutally honest portrait of motherhood in its joys and despairs. Radiant' Donna Freitas

'This novel reminds us that chosen families are as complicated, messy and thick with love as biological ones' Rowan Hisayo Buchanan

'Original, thoughtful, stimulating and highly readable' Vesna Goldsworthy

Genres: Contemporary

Audible Audio

Published November 21, 2024

Reviews

[Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Unexpected is a novel about two friends who come together when one of them has a baby, finding themselves navigating a scenario they hadn't imagined. Robin and Kessie both want a baby, but Kessie is single and can't afford the great donor, and Kessie's boyfriend is noncommital about a baby and their future. When Kessie gets pregnant, Robin is the birth partner, but after the birth, they explore the world of kinds of motherhood and relationships.

From the blurb, I assumed this book would be similar to This Love by Lotte Jeffs, about queer families and parenting outside of the norm, and it is, but it feels more like a beginner-level version of that. In some ways, it is more like an involved long read about navigating co-parenting as friends than a novel, because that element is basically the entire plot. That probably makes it ideal for people wanting to read about that, but I found it a bit lacking for my taste, with the first part of the novel seeming to just be about people unhappy with society's expectations of family, motherhood, and heterosexuality. I think my own and people I know's own less conventional relationships mean that the book just feels a bit too much like it leans on 'wow, you don't just have to have a heterosexual marriage and have babies within that' without being much beyond that. The ending is quite focused on the legal troubles of co-parenting outside of this structure, which again, is a good thing to explore but still feels like it could've been an article.

The Unexpected isn't a bad book and I think there's a lot of people who will take powerful things away from it, but I don't really think it is aimed at queer people whose relationships with others are already outside of the image of societal convention this book strives to get away from, so for me it was just an okay read with a pretty cute-sounding baby.

[Shona_reads_in_Devon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Unexpected is a novel that explores unconventional family structures. Kessie and Robin have been friends since they were kids and in their 30s have both been hit by the baby making bug. How to achieve the dream of motherhood without the traditional tools required?

The themes of this book were really interesting. Learning about different anthropological parenting structures across the world was fascinating. And I appreciate the effort to fictionalise this and apply it to a real (imagined) lived experience.

But. This book was just fine for me. Both the main characters were kind of annoying to me. They were both kind of irresponsible, didn't really think anything through. I also thought some of the subjects brought up were quite tokenistic and it was really strange that Brexit was shoe-horned in really awkwardly and for reasons I couldn't quite grasp. Same for the election.

But the main theme was interesting so maybe I should just read a non-fiction about global parenting structures.

I'm not marking it lower than a 3, most of my issues with this book is that it's not a book I would usually bother to read - it was a book club read - it's not the kind of fiction that really interests me.

[Sumayah · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 50%

[Tea Leaves and Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Unexpected by Ellen Wiles briefed me on a whole perspective and way of life that I guess I knew existed, but didn't quite grasp the struggles of. I think this is a book that will speak to many people on very different levels, as was the case in our book club discussions. It made for some interesting, topical and in-depth chat and the conversations that this book sparked and inspired were fabulous.

There are places within the story that feel very real and written from the heart. Whether it's when the characters are discussing case law or facts, or anthropology and research, or the very raw experiences of Motherhood and post-natal navigations, there was true heart and passion in this book and the really made it come alive. For some this will be a good fictional read, and for others there are elements that will be close to home. There's a lot to take away from this powerful exploration of female friendships, platonic love, and motherhood.

[Kat Peskey · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are things I really enjoyed about this book; the depiction of new motherhood and the idea of allomothers was super interesting, but I think there was something lacking throughout. Some events happen without seeming to be fully thought out. Robin has this incredible clarity where she realises she is bi, and once the Darsha breakup happens, it’s like she never realised it and it’s never explored again.

I also wish there had been more tension between Kessie and Robin. It’s a cool idea but I find it hard to believe their only disagreement was about Darsha, and there was no bubbling resentment from Robin for everything she did, and Kess for Robin raising her child, deciding on a name for her, and taking the initial bonding moments.

[Roxie Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Unexpected, is quite literally, unexpected. I had a vague idea of the plot (two friends, one baby, no manual) but I had no idea how thought provoking and beautiful a story it would be. Stunningly written, with characters I'll never forget, this novel not only depicts the power of female friendships, but explores motherhood in all its wonderful, crazy, terrifying, often harrowing reality. A must read!

[Georgina Abbotts · Rating 4 out of 5]

the Unexpected gives readers a chance to see all the real struggles people face for instant like the LBGTQA community.ladies wanting to have a baby but don't have time and struggle to find a committed partner. post natal depression how different each amd every birth Is.How new mums may need a lot of support from birth onwards to baby blues.This story has definitely shown me about the different struggles people face.

[AtomicBiker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost didn't finish this as I felt it dipped in the middle and I put it down for a week or so. However, gave it one last go and I'm glad I did as it was better in the last third. Not my usual sort of book at all given the subject matter. Thought provoking in places.

[Pian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not what I expected. I like how the Kessie's experience of pregrancy and postpartum depression feels so realistic. I also love the layers of anthropology knowledge throughout the book. Overall, it's a very pleasant read.

[Melissah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely book, I love a story about friendship and nontraditional families. This one was a bit long and included a few too many anthropology details for my taste, but still a fun read.

[Hessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

got a bit boring, but huzzah to unconventional families and platonic romantic relationships and to vi from arcane