Happy Pub Day to Kerri Maher and All You Have to Do Is Call, historical fiction set in Chicago on the eve of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling. It explores women's issues including body autonomy, motherhood, childcare, and the patriarchy.
The story centers around Veronica, the fictional founder of Jane, an underground network of services providing safe illegal abortions. The other characters are connected to her like spokes of a wheel and have very different life circumstances: a lifelong friend who's a devoted wife and mother, an artist who's a collaborator in Jane, and a young woman professor who becomes a Jane volunteer. Each of these characters links to others as the Jane network grows.
Unlike the author's previous books which were based on actual people, this plot is based on actual events but the characters were created to tell the story. I was interested in the varied paths that brought each woman to Jane; I'm sure most readers could see a bit of themselves in at least one character. I especially appreciated the involvement of a faith community in one of the plotlines.
This novel is eerily relevant today since Roe v. Wade was overturned, and is a "sister novel" to Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall which explores the same topic with a Canadian setting.
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the review copy of this novel.
The story centers around Veronica, the fictional founder of Jane, an underground network of services providing safe illegal abortions. The other characters are connected to her like spokes of a wheel and have very different life circumstances: a lifelong friend who's a devoted wife and mother, an artist who's a collaborator in Jane, and a young woman professor who becomes a Jane volunteer. Each of these characters links to others as the Jane network grows.
Unlike the author's previous books which were based on actual people, this plot is based on actual events but the characters were created to tell the story. I was interested in the varied paths that brought each woman to Jane; I'm sure most readers could see a bit of themselves in at least one character. I especially appreciated the involvement of a faith community in one of the plotlines.
This novel is eerily relevant today since Roe v. Wade was overturned, and is a "sister novel" to Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall which explores the same topic with a Canadian setting.
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the review copy of this novel.
