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Stretch Marks: A Novel
| Our Price |
$ 13.19
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| Retail Value |
$ 14.99 |
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| You Save |
$ 1.80 (12%) |
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| Item Number |
606134 |
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Item Description...
Overview
"Mia is a granola-eating, sensible shoe-wearing, carbon-footprint-conscious twenty-something living in a multicultural neighborhood in Chicago. Her mother, Babs, is a stiletto-wearing Zsa Zsa Gabor type who works as an activities hostess on a Caribbean cruise line...and if you guessed there's some tension there, you'd be right. Factor in an unexpected pregnancy and Mia's idealistic boyfriend, and the mother-daughter relationships is, well, stretched very thin. As is Mia's sanity when Babs shows up to...help..."--p.[4] of cover.
Publishers Description
An earth-conscious, yoga-practicing twenty-something is forced to face her estranged relationship with her mother in this comic yet poignant novel about moms and daughters.
Mia Rathbun is an overworked and underpaid Chicago social worker who belongs to PETA and recycles the tops of pizza boxes. Her boyfriend, Lars, is a free-spirited freelance writer (read: mooch) who disdains the conventions of marriage but is happy to build a life with Mia. That is until Mia becomes pregnant.
Left on her own, Mia just begins to accustom herself to the looming prospect of single parenthood when her mother, Babs, shows up to "help." The two have an estranged relationship but are forced to acknowledge their connection as Mia's belly grows and she has few other options. The story is told with Stuart's characteristic irreverent and authentic humor with healthy doses of poignancy and grace.
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Item Specifications...
Pages 292
Dimensions: Length: 0.75" Width: 5.5" Height: 8.5"
Weight: 0.78 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Release Date Mar 1, 2009
Publisher David C. Cook
ISBN 0781448921
EAN 9780781448925
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Availability 1 units.
Availability accurate as of May 26, 2012 04:34.
Usually ships within one to two business days from Momence, IL.
Orders shipping to an address other than a confirmed Credit Card / Paypal Billing address may incur and additional processing delay.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | A delightful and honest look at quirky mother-daughter relationships May 9, 2010 |
Mia and her mother, Babs, could not differ more. Mia dresses retro, cares about the energy crisis, goes to yoga religiously and lives a pure vegetarian lifestyle in Chicago. Her mother, while morally conservative, sports plastic surgery, works as a social director on a Caribbean cruise ship and is passionate about steak. They drive each other crazy!
But when Mia gets pregnant, her live-in freeloader boyfriend jumps ship. Actually, he kinda slithers off into the night. Babs to the rescue. She drops everything and moves into Mia's apartment building to "help." Can anything can bring these opposites together? The promise of a new baby, one they both already adore, may be their only hope.
Delightful characters fill this book! From Frankie, the librarian with technicolor hair (Mia's best friend), to Silas, the mysterious gentleman who lives downstairs, and Adam, the hottie who runs the local grocery store. Each contributes their own charm to the story.
Consistent with the author's style, this book is subtly infused with inspiration. It is witty, intelligent and funny, all while being perfectly authentic -- the opposite of preachy.
You'll love it -- I promise.
And so does the publisher. If you don't like the book, you can send it to them under their "Good Read Guarantee!"
Final Thoughts: Kimberly Stuart's books are like chocolate: take one bite and you'll need another. I can't get enough! | | |  | Amazing Must Read book Feb 10, 2010 |
| I could not put this book down. I enjoyed getting to know each character and the description of them made me feel as I was there as well. Kim, you did an amazing job writing this. I have been telling every female I can about this book. Any woman could relate to some part of this story. I always enjoy reading a good book but this one made me sad when I was done. I wanted to read more. I guess I'll just have to wait for the next great book Kim writes. | | | | Teachable Moments Jan 24, 2010 |
A very conscientious person, Mia recycles; she doesn't eat meat, is a card carrying member of PETA and works as a social worker looking to salvage the world for everyone. Like most mothers and daughters, Mia and her mom have a strained relationship. It's much easier to deal with Babs, her mother, from a distance. Happily involved with Lars, her live-in boyfriend, Mia`s life is comfortable, for the most part. Mia's core is knocked off center when she learns that the flu she's been battling is actually an embryo.
Suddenly she finds herself abandoned by Lars, pregnant and wondering exactly how she`ll survive. Babs shows up unannounced and immediately jumps full speed into Mia's chaotic life. While the two easily bump heads, especially over their past, Mia soon discovers that Babs' arrival in her life was right on time.
Although the soon to be dad is M.I.A., Mia has an excellent support system readily available to fill the voids.
"Stretch Marks" is laugh out loud funny, clever and fascinating. While reading the story I found myself completely occupied. I loved that the subplots weave themselves into the story and don't dismiss the main idea of the story. Truthfully, I worried if "Stretch Marks" would be a book that I could connect with. Based in Chicago, my hometown, I too was a single mom and was lucky enough to have also found the beauty of being loved by a man who knows himself and the girl of his affections well and chose to build a life together. Definitely recommendation worthy!
Reviewed by: Crystal
| | | | Lots of fun! Jan 18, 2010 |
Stretch Marks is a thoughtful and funny look at the change that occurs in a young woman's relationship with her mother when she becomes pregnant. The main character, Mia, is a liberal, yogo practicing, vegetarian that loathes her mother. After her parents' divorce and her father's death soon after, Mia felt abandoned by her mother and never forgave her. When Mia finds herself pregnant and left alone by the baby's father, her mother, Babs, swoops in to rescue her, except Mia doesn't exactly want the help. Their journey is an enjoyable one with humor, a little romance, tears, and lots of great characters, from Silas the old gentleman who lives on the first floor of Mia's building to Frankie, Mia's best friend who's hair color changes every chapter. I really enjoyed this book, and while I wouldn't completely characterize it as a Christian book, it is very clean with no foul language or detailed intimacy scenes. There is some mention of religion and Mia's struggle with the institution of religion itself, but no scripture references or devotional type messages within the story.
Stretch Marks was a very relaxing read, and the story flowed so easily from one chapter to the next that I easily lost track of time while reading. | | | | Author perfectly marries humor and romance Dec 29, 2009 |
| Stretch Marks by Kimberly Stuart is a humorous look at the way pregnancy changes and stretches a woman. Mia is very happy with her life, for the most part. While her job as a social worker doesn't always fulfill her need to change the world, she pays close attention to her carbon-footprint, eats organic, does yoga, and has a live-in boyfriend, Lars. Everything changes when her unexplained nausea and fatigue turns out to be a pregnancy and Lars leaves in the night. While Mia tries to make a new life for herself and the baby-to-be, her mother, Babs shows up to help. Babs is Mia's antithesis with her frosted hair, artificially enhanced features, and love for meat, leather, and plastics. Mia will be stretched to her limit making peace with Babs, her new body, and just maybe the cute guy at the grocery store. Several reviews are slamming Stuart for keeping the faith bubbling below the surface without the overt mentions that most Christian fiction has in spades, but I think that this makes Stretch Marks far more marketable to the secular reader. Stuart portrays Babs' faith and church realistically and gently sands down Mia's agnostic edges without ever alienating the reader. The novel is funny and moving and full of spot-on mother/daughter angst. Mia is a delightful character who will shatter readers' preconceived notions of tofu-eating/free trade buying/climate change activist. | | | Write your own review about Stretch Marks: A Novel
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