If I Had You

This book is about Tess, the wayward daughter who shows up at her parents pregnant. Nora does not seem to be at all accepting towards her daughter. Tess takes off after having her baby, leaving her (Tansy) for her parents to raise. It turns out that Nora doesn't disapprove of her daughter. She is suffering from her own trauma of having an abortion many years ago. I thought this was a very good book overall. I loved the reconciliation theme towards the end with Tess, and admire Tess for her decision to chose life for her unborn baby. I liked the character of Ben and how he seemed to be there for Tess. At times, some of the dialog seemed a little stilted. The only other thing that I didn't like was that nobody seemed to like Tess. Nora didn't seem to like Tess, Creede was annoyed with Tess, Creede's father was disapproving of Tess, and the church ladies were disapproving of Tess. Yeah, Ben stood up for her, but it seemed that everyone was too hard on her. It would have been nice to see someone reaching out to Tess, to help her go in the right direction but in a loving manner. The book also mentioned something about Nora discovering the truth about herself and her abortion. I didn't really seem to grasp what that truth was. Was it guilt? Was she disapproving of Tess because of the guilt over her own abortion? This part seemed rushed towards the end. Bedford interwove her own abortion experience into the book, so she knows what a woman who has had an abortion goes through. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

...and that's saying a lot! What a compelling, beautifully written story! If Deborah Bedford's storyline hadn't grabbed me by the throat, her writing style would have. Some of the breathtaking images she paints with words, simply beg to be put on film. And the intricate relationships between her characters are so true-to-life and touching, you won't be able to put this book down. It made me want to buy everything she's ever written.