The Say So

by Julia Franks

From the award-winning author of Over the Plain Houses, comes a major novel about two young women contending with unplanned pregnancies in different eras.

Edie Carrigan didn't plan to "get herself" pregnant, much less end up in a Home for Unwed Mothers. In 1950s North Carolina, illegitimate pregnancy is kept secret, wayward women require psychiatric cures, and adoption is always the best solution. Not even Edie’s closest friend, Luce Waddell, understands what Edie truly wants: to keep and raise the baby.

Twenty-five years later, Luce is a successful lawyer, and her daughter Meera now faces the same decision Edie once did. Like Luce, Meera is fiercely independent and plans to handle her unexpected pregnancy herself. Digging into her mother’s past, Meera finds troubling evidence of Edie, and also of her own mother’s secrets. As the three women’s lives intertwine and collide, the story circles age-old questions about female awakening, reproductive choice, motherhood, adoption, sex, and missed connections.

For fans of Brit Bennett's The Mothers and Jennifer Weiner's Mrs. Everything, The Say So is a timely novel that asks: how do we contend with the rippling effects of the choices we've made? With precision and tenderness, Franks has crafted a sweeping epic about the coming of age of the women’s movement that reverberates through the present day.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2023

About the author

Julia Franks is the author of The Say So (forthcoming in June with Hub City Press) and Over the Plain Houses (Hub City Press), an NPR Best Book of 2016 that also won five prestigious literary prizes (the Townsend Prize for Georgia fiction, the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Award, the SIBA Southern Book Prize, Georgia Author of the Year, and the IPPY Gold Medal). She's also published stories and essays in The New York Times, Ms. Magazine, The Bitter Southerner, and other places. She lives in Atlanta.

Julia writes, "The most common question folks ask me is what my favorite books are. Immediately upon hearing this question, my mind goes blank. Always. So that's where Goodreads comes in. Listed here are my very favorite books: ones that have deeply affected me in some way, changed my life, or inspired me to try new things in my own writing. The novels I tend to love the most are those that reach toward the archetypal. Many contain elements of myth and magic. All of them have become part of my permanent mental landscape."

Reviews

[Leah Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

See full review on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution website: https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/book...

Book review: Atlanta author explores a woman’s right to choose in ‘The Say So’

“The Say So” by Atlanta author Julia Franks is a powerful work of historical fiction that examines the lifelong impact of adoption through the generations. Opening in 1959 and exploring forced adoption before delving into adoption by choice in the post-Roe v. Wade ‘80s, Franks’ probing narrative uses tenderness and nuance to ask the complex, provocative and timely question: Who has the “say so” over a baby’s fate?

A perfect storm emerged in post-Depression America. In the author’s note, Franks writes that the unwed pregnancy rate “doubled and tripled” between 1940 and 1964. The post-war middle-class was booming, and by pairing children born outside wedlock with married couples struggling to start or expand their families, the parents of affluent girls who had gotten “in trouble” could shield their daughters from social ruin. According to Gabrielle Glaser, author of “American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and a Shadow History of Adoption,” more than 3 million single women were coerced into surrendering their children between the end of World War II and the passing of Roe v. Wade in 1973...

[Stacia Pelletier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meticulously researched, emotionally compelling, and — rare in fiction these days — morally probing without casting judgment in any one direction. Any woman who has ever been pregnant, contemplated motherhood, or been (or not been) a mother will feel this one to the bones. Read it.

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

i feel bad saying this but this book was SO BORING!!!! i was much more into the first storyline and i think that would’ve been more interesting to stick with. i get the generational stuff but idk. i love women and reading abt women but this was boring

[Angela Withington · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an adoptive mother, it was insightful and stirring to be placed in the emotions of these young mothers who were torn in doing what was best for themselves and their babies.

Thankfully, a lot has changed since Edie's horrific experience, but Julia Franks helps us feel the agony both young women face in different eras. And sadly, we are reminded of how judgmental folks can be and careless in their opinions and input.

We were fortunate to meet the birthparents of our children, and "hit the jackpot" with them as well as our (now grown) children. Franks reminds us of how often these mothers ponder their decisions. They are very dear to me and I hold them in my heart and thoughts and prayers very often.

An engrossing read with much to discuss! I look forward to recommending it to our book group.

[Alicia Primer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely devastating. Heartbreak after broken hearts for young women whose unplanned pregnancies in different times echo in our loss of reproductive freedom today. BTW embarrassed to admit that I didn’t get the title until midway and, no spoiler, it refers to one’s agency in decision making.

[Donna Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful research. I was pulled in just by the history of Charlotte. Characters were brilliant and well developed.

[Mary Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As hard as reading this was, I couldn't put it down. The right to have the say so over your choices couldn't be more eloquently expressed. Thank you, Julia Franks.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I predict this may be my fav for the year. And it’s the first. ♥️

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautifully written story with compelling and relatable characters. It was definitely hard to read, especially considering the current political climate.

[Julia Widding · Rating 5 out of 5]

So compelling. Beautiful story about motherhood and the same choices we make as women in regard to it or the absence of it— through all ages. My favorite book I’ve read to date; really changed the way I look at what being a mom means and why people become mothers.

[Lois Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

MUSt READ esp given what is going on in our country. This is a poignant novel that reminds you of what women have had to put up with and how the 'system' is rigged to control. Julia Franks writing is fabulous as always.

[Joy Raines · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is fantastic 😭 so well written, so thoughtful, tender, and heart-breaking. I am so happy that I found it! My only critique/question is that the perspective changes were a little confusing. I don't know who's telling the story, and I wish I did.

[Heather Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderfully researched and emotionally compelling novel explores the lives of two single women one in the late 1950’s and the other in the 1980’s who “chose” to put their babies up for adoption. The anguish and pain over their decisions compelled me to tears.

[Sherrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Franks creates a beautifully written story with strong characters teaching us that women should demand to have "the say so" over their bodies and lives. Amazing storytelling.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the cover put you off. This is a beautifully written novel about a topic I'd not given much thought -- giving one's child up for adoption.

[Leah Gallant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m left with a lot of feelings from this book. I found the story really compelling and rich, characters drew me in and the author went back and forth between them in just the right amount which kept things interesting. I’m left being angry, though, and this anger is always simmering, about how often women in this country continue to be told -overtly and covertly - what do with their bodies, how do it, what they shouldn’t do, and what they should do and how they should raise - or not raise- their children if they are even allowed or have the privilege of doing so. The Say So is really about who is saying so and why. We all know the answer to that is - f— the patriarchy. It takes two to tango and apparently only one often suffers. Let’s also be clear - Aster raped Edie. The author danced around that issue / but it’s clear Edie wanted no part of it. She felt she was confused - and that should have been enough for Aster to back off. But because HE was grieving and emotional and upset, Edie felt she had to acquiesce. Which, isn’t that shocking. This book showed a different side to adoption and the very raw emotional feelings of the ripple effects it has. A woman’s choice is NEVER easy and anyone who says one choice is easier than the others has 1) never been in that position 2) has a penis or 3) is lying. Solid four stars.

[Alison Hardtmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel begins in 1959, when a girl from Atlanta moves to Charlotte, North Carolina and makes friends with Luce, who had been part of a clique until her parents's scandalous divorce (all divorces at that time were scandals) got her kicked out of it. Edie is tall and pretty and could find a place in one of the popular groups (although not the married couples group -- marriage laws being different in North Carolina) but she prefers to spend her time with Luce and they quickly become very close, despite their differences. Luce has dreams of college and a career while Edie loves fashion magazines and feels comfortable in a world that expects her to make a good marriage. Their bond continues even when Edie becomes pregnant and is sent to a special home, but the strains begin to show and their friendship is lost. Twenty-five years later, Luce's daughter is facing the same situation as Edie.

The Say So looks at who gets to make decisions about pregnant women's lives and how those options change over time. This is a well-researched novel, and one that looks carefully at how unmarried women and girls who became pregnant were treated by the law, by society and by the very groups that formed to help them. While the earlier timeline was the more compelling story, the one set in 1984 was a reminder that even then those who became pregnant were still not given full agency over their own bodies and decisions, often for well-meaning but misguided reasons. I did wonder how a further timeline would look, being written about Luce's granddaughter today might look.

Franks has written another novel, Over the Plain Houses, also concerned with how women's lives looked in the past, and I'm interested to see what project she undertakes next.

[Práxedes Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Franks follows up her sensational debut novel with another winner! I am still stunned that she hasn't received greater recognition for her skills in crafting gripping narratives.

This particular work, more autobiographical than its predecessor (Over the Plain Houses), exhibits Franks' dexterity in generating unique character 'voices'. It reads nothing like her prior novel yet is just as engrossing. And her use of humor adds depth to the narrative without distracting from the plot.

A very nicely done book about unplanned pregnancies and adoption. Highly recommended.

[Sarah Toppins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book about how two young unmarried pregnant women a generation apart made the decision to carry their child to term and give it up for adoption. Both were affected deeply and were really upset by institutional lies and the lack of transparency. A lot has changed from the 1950's to the 1980's, but the author who writes that she gave up a child for adoption felt that now is the time to write about choices, what she calls the "say so" - a woman has the say so or the right to choose what (and why) they want to do.

[Susan Zurenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Say So" is a powerful, introspective novel about birthmothers' circumstances and choices regarding adoption. I liked the two time frames that portray a mother in 1959 and a mother in the 1980's. Setting similar situations several decades apart shows us that regardless of whether society/parents demand that a baby be given up or the decision is made solely by the birth mother, the psychological consequences are still overwhelming.

[Andrea]

This engaging book about two different but lightly intertwined unplanned pregnancies was achingly sad in places. I either wish we got a much more fleshed out second story or just limited itself to the first, following them to adulthood.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Ashley Bucknall · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down to 3!

[Alaina Gifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartbreaking look into the very real horrors and injustices that face single mothers.

[Tanya✨️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Amy]

Impressive incorporation of research and personal experience intertwined into a history/story I appreciate knowing more about.

[Denise Auger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. I am on the selection team for a statewide GA writers award. It was a joy to read.