Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr (Review by Michaela Keegan)

5/5 stars

What does it mean to be a mother? Is a mother the one who carried you in her body? Who’s fed, cared for and loved you for 9 months? Or is a mother the one who you share your DNA with? The one who would do anything to get you back? These are the questions that you’ll be asking when you read Charlene Carr’s Hold My Girl.

The main characters, Katherine and Tess couldn’t be any more different but they both share the same desire to have a child. So when it’s discovered that their eggs were switched during an IVF procedure resulting in one child (Rose), the battle lines are drawn to see who is the rightful parent of Rose.

I really enjoyed how Charlene Carr wrote a novel that is very personal as she too went through IVF treatments. It is a topic that is so relevant and relatable to anyone who has struggles with fertility. As a person who is not a mother and, who may not have fertility issues, I can’t begin to imagine how heartbreaking this is. Though while reading this novel, I was able to put myself in the character’s shoes and try to understand what they were going through.

I also loved how dynamic the characters were. Sometimes you read a book and the characters are two-dimensional but in Hold My Girl, these characters almost come to life because of how well Carr created them. Almost everyone probably has someone similar to a Katherine and/or a Tess in their life. Or maybe you yourself are like them.

This page-turner will have you on an emotional rollercoaster, one minute crying and the next questioning everything. If you like Jodi Picoult books, you’re definitely going to enjoy this one.