This book kept me interested throughout, with a few twists I did not see coming. I did figure a few things out, but it was interesting how things conspired to work against Anna and her pregnancy. The funny thing is that this book is the basis for the next American Horror Story installment, but I found it to be not scary at all. It was much more of a mystery, thriller, with moments that were strange. The scariest parts had to do with pregnancy in general. I loved the stories that were riddled throughout of women from the past, all experiencing something similar to Anna. A few I might have preferred over this actual story. It helped create context, gave background into pregnancy and the history of the suffering endured. That those who are pregnant are often talked over, ignored, suspected of hysteria, hidden away, or prescribed the same thing over and over. Bed rest and advil. As though pregnant people do not know their own bodies, do not feel their own pain. Anna was being pulled on all sides and no one seemed to really consider her comfort and safety. Her job was an interesting choice, as it spoke to the lack of privacy that celebrities must endure with their fans, with social media, with the online community in general. Once you are famous there is no going back, people believe they have rights to you and your life. This effectively opens Anna up to possible harm to her and her child, to torments from those online saying she should not be a mother, to her location being shared. She also had to deal with press and appearances due to her being recognized as a possible oscar contender. Meanwhile, her husband, oh boy, decided to isolate her from her supportive social circle, claiming it was a good idea to leave the city. A person going through pregnancy needs as many of their personal friendships to be available to them as possible, in case they crave a kind and caring ear that would bring them comfort in a time of unknowns. Pregnancy is beautiful, but also terrifying and risky. People are just expected to know how to carry a child, to know what is happening to their bodies, to accept this is how they must live. They are expected to trust their doctor for everything, when maybe their doctor does not always have the right answer or does not listen closely enough to the patient. This book was good, but I would not say it was my favourite thriller ever. I liked how the ending was handled, though maybe there could have been more to it, but I did liked the route it took. I felt it reshaped the narrative of Rosemary's Baby (with the cult fear) into something altogether new and strange. It felt more rewarding this way, Anna having gone through all she did and the ending coming together as it did. It felt almost like a reckoning for all of the trauma that centuries of medical mistreatment has laid on people with a womb.
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