Immediate Family [Hardcover]

Eileen Goudge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2006

What does it mean to be a family? New York Times bestselling author Eileen Goudge's engaging new novel is a powerful adventure into the heart of marriage, motherhood, and four friends who discover they may be the best family they ever had.

Fifteen years after graduation, best friends Jay, Franny, Emerson, and Stevie meet at their college reunion. Life has taken each of them in different directions -- Jay is a married man with a baby on the way while Franny yearns for a child as she searches for love in all the wrong places. Divorced single mom Emerson is drawn to a man who challenges everything she's come to believe about finding a once-in-a-lifetime love. And Stevie's life has recently been rocked by a shocking revelation -- the answer to a family secret that will shatter everything she believes about herself.

Now the bond between the foursome takes a surprising twist, one that changes how each feels about family and friendship. One thing is certain: They will all find their heart's desires in the last place they imagine -- as they discover that family is less about blood ties than the warm embrace of ones who accept them as they are.

"Eileen Goudge writes like a house on fire, creating characters you come to love and hate to leave," praises Nora Roberts -- and nowhere do Goudge's bestselling storytelling talents shine brighter than in Immediate Family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Friendship among four Princeton grads stands the test of time-and tough times-in Goudge's latest work of flowery but satisfying women's fiction (after Otherwise Engaged). Jay Gunderson, Franny Richman, Stevie Light and Emerson Fitzgibbons reconnect at their 15-year reunion, which marks the novel's beginning. Over the course of the story, each character faces life-changing events and proves that friends don't just offer help, "they roll up their sleeves." Franny, a literary agent with a ticking biological clock, is frantically searching for "Mr. Right on Time." With help of her best friend Jay, an ad executive and father-to-be married to the gorgeous French Vivienne, she arrives at an unorthodox solution with surprising long-term repercussions. For Stevie, a spitfire entertainment reporter, commitment fears stem from growing up without a father; now, she fends off a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Ryan while she discovers a father she never knew. Blueblood Emerson, a divorced single mom and PR exec, discreetly loves a man with whom an open relationship might be "social suicide". The narrative bogs down with an abundance of description, but Goudge wraps up the novel with happy endings for all.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The old adage "you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family" takes on a cunning new connotation in Goudge's zesty tale of four college pals catching up on life at their fifteenth Princeton reunion. Emerson is falling in love with exactly the kind of man her pretentious mother disdains, and Los Angeles TV reporter Stevie finally tracks down her biological father only to land in the middle of one of Hollywood's greatest scandals. Though always the best of friends, Jay and Franny never pursued a romantic relationship for fear of ruining their friendship. Now Jay is married to Franny's former roommate, Vivienne. When she hears Franny's biological clock ticking, Vivienne surprises everyone by suggesting Jay act as Franny's sperm donor. Once again, Goudge excels at exploring the unconventional ways in which the bonds of family and friends are pulled, twisted, and tested, and her trademark creation of genial, winsome protagonists makes the process delectably entertaining. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Gallery Books (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743483197
• ISBN-13: 978-0743483193
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #964,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born on the Fourth of July, and it's been fireworks ever since. I began writing at age eight, with short stories and poems, and I haven't looked back since. From the early days of mostly collecting rejection slips, I went on to publish thirty-two novels for young adults, thirteen (and still counting) of women's fiction, as well as numerous short stories and magazine articles, and one cookbook.

Often I'm asked where I get my ideas. Fortunately, I have a wealth of life experiences to draw from. Starting when I dropped out of college to get married, at age eighteen. Two years later I was divorced, with a baby son and no means of support. I ended up briefly on welfare, and stood in line for government surplus food. But every cloud has its silver lining, and this one led to my determination to make it as a professional writer. I borrowed a typewriter, and lacking a desk, plunked it down on the living room floor. The rest, as they say, is history.

Following a string of young adult novels, I published my first adult novel, GARDEN OF LIES, in 1986. The saga of baby girls switched at birth---one rich, the other poor---went on to enjoy a combined total of 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, in hardcover and paperback. Though there's no such thing as an overnight success, I felt like one, having gone in a matter of months from not knowing how I was going to pay the rent to wondering what I was going to do with all that money. The first thing I did was fulfill a fantasy born of years of wearing hand-me-downs: I walked into Saks Fifth Avenue and bought a dress...without even looking at the price tag!

I've since gone on to write many more novels. My most recent, which came out in June of '07, is WOMAN IN RED, a very special story about a woman just out of prison and a man struggling to get back on his feet after losing his wife on 9/11. Look for it in trade paperback in May of this year. I also have another hardcover coming out,in June, titled DOMESTIC AFFAIRS ---a Cinderalla story in reverse: Riches to rags but with a happy ending. I'll be posting sample chapters on my website at www.eileengoudge.com, so stay tuned. I would love to hear your comments once you've read the book! And, remember, there's always more where that came from...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Painfully unreadable, April 9, 2007

By 

Efrem (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Immediate Family (Hardcover)

I'm sure I've read every one of Ms. Goudge's books and, for the most part, have enjoyed each of them. This one, however, was excruciating. I kept waiting for something to happen. Even the death of Jay's and Vivienne's baby was somewhat glossed over - it was obviously just a means of getting Jay single for the sake of the plot.

After I put down the book (unfinished) half way through, I re-read the acknowledgements. Ms. G. dutifully praised her editor. For what, I have absolutely NO idea. The discrepancies were glaring (things an EDITOR is supposed to catch - which is why they're called editors). For example, when Jay is first introduced, he's a farm boy from Iowa. Several chapters later, he's from Wisconsin. When Franny goes into labor she calls her doctor who is on the golf course and she mentions having interrupted his putting. Not two pages later, there's concern about her not making it to the hospital in time to give birth because of the snow storm. Snow storm? But her doctor is golfing!!! This was just too painful to put up with - so it got returned to the library without so much as a backward glance.

Stick to reading (or re-reading) her earlier novels. They're considerably better put together than this one (which I think became the orphan child in order to get her cook book through publishing).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Appealing characters, predictable storylines, May 12, 2006

By 

N. Larrabee (Tarrytown, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Immediate Family (Hardcover)

Jay, Franny, Stevie, and Emerson became fast friends during their days at Princeton and have remained steadfast. Jay is married to Vivienne. Franny is still single wanting to find true love and have a baby desperately. Stevie has commitment issues since she never knew who her father was as a child. Emerson is a single mother faced with the needs and demands of her young daughter and dying mother. Franny helps Jay recover from a tragedy and Jay helps Franny with her dream. Stevie's mother one day decides to reveal who her father is. Stevie's father never questions it. Emerson discovers love for herself and not what her mother wants for her. The four main characters were genially written as people anyone could relate to. This novel is for you if you are looking for something easy to read with no surprises.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A closer look at friendship, June 11, 2006

By 

Shon - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Immediate Family (Hardcover)

Four friends, Stevie, Jay, Emerson and Franny, meet at Princeton and continue their friendship long after graduation. This book, although sometimes predictable, tells the story about finding love where you least expect it and how precious friendships can be.