Be My Babies

When Lily Wakefield discovers she is pregnant she is excited and races home to tell her husband. She never gets the chance, when she walks in and he is using cocaine, he becomes irate and smacks her. She waits until night and leaves him, telling no one where she is going. Lily has no family; her mom left home as an unwed mother at sixteen, and Lily has never even seen her grandparents.

Lily finds herself needing family support more than ever, and goes home to her mom’s father who is still living. Having lost her mother years before, she only has the stories her mom told to help her decide he is her best hope. When Lily arrives in Fairview, her grandfather is glad to meet her, and wants to help. Others are not quite so ready to trust her story and to accept her.

Kathryn Shay has written one of the best novels this reader has read this year, maybe in the past two years. BE MY BABIES is emotional and filled with love – and babies! Lily’s twins feel real, this reader could almost hear them crying in the background while she read. Ms. Shay has written a novel that brought tears to this reader’s eyes, and joy to her heart when Lily and Simon made peace and found their happily ever after.

Many scenes in BE MY BABIES stand out, leaving this reader with memories that feel almost real. When Lily attends her grandfather’s funeral, knowing she has lost the family she found, it was heartbreaking, even worse was when Lily felt she had to return to her husband and let him have a second chance. Yet when Simon stands up for her against the in-laws that want to take her babies, it is a time for rejoicing – if he can help her win custody. This novel has it all. The twists and turns, the ups and downs emotionally make this a read to be savored.

March 2008