What Came First [Paperback]

Carol Snow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2011

Who says you need a man to have a baby? Single mother and successful lawyer Laura longs to give her son a sibling--but first she must track down the sperm donor she used nine years earlier. Her search will lead her to Wendy, a scrapbooking, cookie-bingeing housewife with out-of-control twins, and Vanessa, a young woman so frustrated with her boyfriend's commitment issues that she's switched from checking out shoes on eBay to cruising men on donor sites. As the three women's lives intertwine, they reevaluate their beliefs about motherhood, fatherhood--and what it means to be a family.
Includes readers' guide

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Carol Snow tackles the compromises some women face when they decide to have children. The subject matter is heavy, but in Snow's deft hands, the book is funny, insightful, and heartbreaking as it follows three women linked by one thing: the father of their kids."
-- Westways magazine

"Carol Snow explores motherhood, fatherhood and what it means to be a family in this brilliant novel about three colourful women and one lacklustre man." -- Amazon UK Editors' Pick: Best Books of October

"Carol Snow mixes her trademark humor with tenderness and understanding in this good-mom/bad-mom tale of unexpected twists and turns." -- Laura Fitzgerald, bestselling author of Veil of Roses

About the Author

Carol Snow is the author of five books for adults and two for teens. She lives in California.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; 1 Original edition (October 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425243036
• ISBN-13: 978-0425243039
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #726,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Called "an author to watch" by Booklist, Carol Snow is an American author of contemporary women's fiction and young adult literature. After graduating from Brown University with a degree in psychology, she spent many years writing literary short stories before accepting that she couldn't go more than a few hundred words without cracking a joke. She eventually turned her attention to crafting humorous, heartfelt stories with a wider commercial appeal, and In 2006, Berkley/Penguin published her first novel, Been There, Done That, which Publisher's Weekly called "humorous, wise . . . romance with a bit of social commentary." Since then, she has written four more books for adults, Getting Warmer (2007), Here Today, Gone to Maui (2009), Just Like Me, Only Better (2010), and the upcoming What Came First (2011), about which Laura Fitzgerald, bestselling author of Veil of Roses, said, "Carol Snow mixes her trademark humor with tenderness and understanding in this good-mom/bad-mom tale of unexpected twists and turns." Carol has also written two young adult books for HarperCollins, Switch (2008), an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, and Snap (2009). Foreign rights to her books have sold to publishers in Germany, Norway, and Romania.

Carol Snow grew up in New Jersey. Much of her childhood was spent immersed in books; the rest was focused on avoiding dodgeball. In addition to her psychology degree from Brown University, she holds an M.A.T. in English from Boston College. Before getting her first book published, she had the typical (for a writer) assortment of odd jobs: tour guide, tutor, chambermaid, waitress. She worked for a T-shirt company, a child services agency, and a vanity press. She even had a short stint in local politics. Her campaign brochures were really pretty, with flawless punctuation.

Since leaving New Jersey, Carol has lived all over the place: Rhode Island, London, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Utah, Arizona, and, now, Southern California, where she shares a cat-fur-coated house with her husband and their two children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved it, October 13, 2011

By 

Tina "Tina" (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: What Came First (Paperback)

I discovered Carol Snow a few years ago and loved her book so much that I immediately ordered all of her backlist. Which brings me to her most recent entry - What Came First.

I am so thrilled that Snow continues to write chick lit and does it so well. While other authors have chosen to get off the genre, Snow has consistently written entertaining and completely engrossing novels that I simply adore and What Came First is no exception.

You can easily see, by the cover that this book is about children - having them, dealing with them, as well as dealing with the lack of them. In fact, Snow has cleverly intertwined her story of 3 women - who are all quite different (boy! are they!) but the two things they have in common is that they all are dealing with children issues AND they all are dealing with relationship issues (although this is definitely secondary for the most part).

Vanessa, Wendy and Laura find themselves caught up in their own lives - Vanessa is desperately hoping for a child, Wendy has two (from a sperm bank) who appear to be more than she can handle and Laura seems to have the perfect son (also from the sperm bank). Except that absolutely none of the women are happy - they are all busy wishing for something more and throughout the novel, we will discover that each woman learns a life lesson - watch what you ask for, you might get it.

I found the storyline and the characters very engaging. Snow writes for me, with characters that are flawed but also likeable - who deal with their lives the best way they can. Usually, the males in her stories are secondary and while Eric does play a fairly important role in the story, it is still the women who dominate.

This book is entertaining, all the while showing us that life definitely has its ups and downs. Snow also intertwines the life of her characters in a way that I never saw coming - but really "buckles" up the storyline.

The only negatives I have - the relationship between Laura and her son was a tad annoying. Laura went to ridiculous lengths to please her son and this touched a wrong chord with me. The other issue I had was that I found the Wendy and the Vanessa a bit whiny. I would have liked for them to have a bit more backbone. The Eric character was perfectly written - exactly the way I expected him to be.

I loved, loved this story and I can't wait to read the next book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I connected with each character in this book. Very well written., November 23, 2011

By 

Wanda (Good Choice Reading) (Bronx, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Came First (Paperback)

Having a baby is huge deal. And some women struggle to get pregnant and when they can't conceive naturally. They'll go through the extreme to have a baby. Now a days, there are so many options you can choose from to have a baby. Well that's what this book was about. This is the first book I've read that was based on artificial insemination. It's about three women that eventually end up in each others lives through sperm donation. All in need of one thing. A baby.

Each character touched me in their own ways. And I'll explain how as I introduce them to you.

The first character I'll talk about is Laura. She's a very successful lawyer whose totally in love with her son. Laura is a mom of an I believe an 8 yr old. Now her son is at a stage were he's asking her for a sibling. And she wants nothing more than to grant him his wish however the donor she used to conceive her son has not made any more donations to the bank.

Now here's where I relate with Laura. My son is 10 years old and he keeps begging me to give him a sibling. He asks for a baby sister. And it breaks my heart, because unlike Laura, I have no desire to have another baby. Maybe if I felt that I was emotionally or financially ready, I would probably consider it. Because like Laura, she fears her son would stay alone if something were to happen to her. And so do I. So you can see how Laura's story touched me. But Laura's ready to make it happen and she'll jump through whatever loops she gotta jump through to make it happen.

Motherhood is not a Baby Gap Ad.

Now let's talk about Wendy. Wendy's a married woman with twin toddlers. She has her hands full, husband and two toddlers. And like Laura, she conceived her children through artificial insemination. But it seems she feels like she got the short end of the stick. She loves her twins. But they are extremely hyper and disobedient. They drain Wendy's energy and easily becomes overwhelmed.

Now here's where I connect with Wendy. When my son was a baby and even now at times, he was/is extremely hyper. And as a child whenever he had one of his temper tantrums or went through defiance stage, there was nothing anyone can say to calm me down. Just like Wendy, I cried and at times cried right along with my son as she did with her twins. Motherhood was a blessing but at times it felt like a nightmare when you couldn't get a grip on things. It hurts me to say that, but I know I'm not the only one. So I know how Wendy felt, when she just couldn't take it anymore and just lost her cool. But the sad thing with Wendy was, her husband instead of helping, he'd rather sit in front of a computer and play SIMS. Having toddlers with behavioral issues and a non-compliance husband can lead any woman to a mental breakdown.

And lastly you have Vanessa, she was highly anticipating an engagement ring for her 29th birthday, but instead she received a mix CD. She wanted nothing more than to marry the man she loves and begin having a family. But he had different plans. He didn't want to get married or have any kids. Right there, would have been the perfect time to get out of the relationship. However, like many women, she stayed because she loves him and she thought she can change his ways. But one phone call changed everything in their relationship. The link that connects them all together. What she will do? How she touched me, you may ask? I, like Vanessa have stayed in a relationship just because I loved the person, even when their dreams weren't the same as mine. But luckily, I got out before I got in too deep.

I really really enjoyed this book. Once, I started reading I couldn't put it down. Carol did her job as an author to entertain and she did her job to research everything in the topic of sperm donation. She gave each character a great story. She made it believable. And that is why I was hooked the moment I started reading. I connected quickly with her characters and I loved that about her book. This is definitely a 5/5 stars and a Good Choice for Reading. For more information on the author you can visit her website here.

[...]

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Women, October 27, 2011

By 

Pat Fordyce (NorthCarolina USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Came First (Paperback)

This was a Goodreads Giveaway.

I totally enjoyed this novel of humor, love, and some sadness thrown in. We meet Vanessa. Laura, and Wendy. All from different walks of life. Laura, after a difficult divorce, decided she wanted to be a single Mom, no attachments except to her child. She is a hard working attorney, and felt she could raise a child quite comfortably. She has a sweet intelligent, and very loving 8 year old son Ian. The sub plot about the chickens is great, funny and heartwarming. Wendy and her husband after years of trying to have children, decide to seek help from a fertility Dr. The resulting twins have rocked her world. There is no such thing as a normal day in the Winder house. Finally Vanessa. She's living with a man, who loves her, but doesn't want children or marriage. All that Vanessa wants, and is dreaming about. She feels inferior because she never completed college, and works as a receptionist in a Dentist's office. Eric, her partner, went to one year of Med school, dropped out for his musical talent, which he feels he failed at too. Now works at Costco!

I couldn't figure out HOW Ms Snow was going to pull these women and there stories together, but oh, does she. I read the novel in a day, I couldn't put it down. I now have to seek out her other books!!! It's a wonderful story, and I highly recommend it.