The Rosie Effect
After a finale that can belong in a rom-com flick, the second book takes us to New York, where Don and Rosie are settling in their highly academic roles; Don's an assistant professor at Columbia while Rosie pursues a PhD while attending medical school. How hardcore is that? Well, as unbelievable as it is, their work-life balance gets thrown off completely when Rosie reveals that she is pregnant. And Don? He has an inward meltdown and gets away as fast as he can. For a person who could never recognise emotional cues, he had a hard time realising his feelings for Rosie. Having overcome that huge obstacle, the sudden prospect of unplanned fatherhood is too soon to his liking. Flustered and confused, he tries to help Rosie in every way possible, but what if the father cannot emotionally connect to his child?
In the first book, Rosie was non-committal to a serious relationship with Don as he told her that he is unable to feel love. This same dearth of emotion makes Don an unsuitable father in Rosie's eyes, a fact that is only reinforced by the many decisions he foists upon her based on scientific knowledge rather than asking for her opinion. While Rosie is having to juggle two degrees, a pregnancy and a husband with emotional limitations, Don is doing everything he can to keep Rosie and Bud (Baby Under Development), he doesn't understand why his efforts are backfiring. Well, it's obvious what Rosie would say when he surprises her with a military-edition pram built with materials sourced from Korea (!!!) that would probably withstand an artillery onslaught.
Everybody has got problems here, but they could have been easily resolved if only people would talk to each other openly, but of course, the literary world would not be what it is if stories did not have the chaotic element. I enjoyed yet another book of Don's fixer-upper exploits and now I'm keeping my fingers crossed for somebody to make this series into the next greatest romantic comedy. Move over Lara Jean!
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