Praise for The Atlas of Love

“Don't miss Laurie Frankel's The Atlas of Love; this story of women's friendships and redefining ‘family’ flows with lovely writing.”

    -- Nancy Pearl

“Laurie Frankel displays a great ear for dialogue and a witty turn of phrase in quick characterizations....She makes the lovely optimism shared by the three young women compellingly real.”

    -- Seattle Times

“Frankel proves insightful on the topic of friendship, incorporates a foodie’s love of cooking, and overly idealizes a few of the characters; but this is a feel-good novel, after all, and ultimately a celebration of modern family life and the myriad forms it can take.”

    -- Booklist, Aug. 2010

Strikingly pure of heart, voice and message, The Atlas of Love tells the story of a life lived on the treadmill of academia. It is likely to be a favorite of your bookseller, because it's a life that will resonate—a lot of hard work, little traditional payoff, yet, somehow, all worthwhile. Therein lies the brilliance of this book. Frankel puts the reader into that frame of being, where it becomes easy to understand how a friend would be willing to give so much to help sustain another. Though the payoff is hard-earned and unusual, it's also extraordinary. Frankel’s prose flows easily, heavily laced with candor, wit, and emotion, in a way that brings to mind a modern Jane Austen of the Pacific Northwest.
    — Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Awards Committee

Janey, Jill, and Katie meet in grad school in Seattle and, despite their different personalities, become fast friends. Jill is harsh and straight to the point; Janey, sweet and dependable; and Katie, a devout Mormon on the lookout for her perfect husband. Jill starts dating a great guy, until she gets pregnant and Daniel can't handle her decision to have the baby. Janey has a solution to Jill's dilemma: all three women will move in together and jointly raise the child, named Atlas. This works beautifully for a while as the friends bond with adorable Atlas. But of course, things take a wrong turn. Jill starts abusing her friends' dedication, and when Daniel steps back into the picture, quite an emotional mess ensues. How far can female friendship be pushed? What are the limitations to parenting, and when is a baby yours? Told from Janey's point of view, the narrative is sprinkled with literary techniques that color each chapter beautifully.
Verdict Frankel's debut is a wonderful literary treat that offers a fresh twist on the modern family, one that relies on the bonds of women.

    -- Library Journal Starred Review, Beth Gibbs

This beautifully written debut novel offers something for everyone—humor, richly drawn characters and a tender exploration of love, friendship and food.

    -- L.A. Times Magazine

The Atlas of Love is an engagingly funny novel with a memorable premise-- three women graduate students from very different backgrounds team up to raise a child--that deepens into a moving and challenging meditation on the power and the limits of female friendship. Laurie Frankel writes with a light touch and a keen eye for detail, blending academic comedy and domestic drama with unusual skill.

    -- Tom Perrotta, author of The Abstinence Teacher and Little Children

Immensely likable, playful and literary, this is a novel full of love.

    -- Cathleen Schine, author of The Three Weissmanns of Westport and The New Yorkers

It’s been a long time since I’ve been so charmed by a book as I was by this beautifully written, highly literate story of friendship, parenthood, and every other kind of love you can imagine.  I was captivated by Janey, a narrator whose wit and generous spirit caused me to forget that she wasn’t a flesh and blood person—and to wish that she were.

    -- Marisa de los Santos, author of Love Walked In and Belong to Me

Packed full of hilarious and insightful observations on life, love, and literature, The Atlas of Love deftly explores the boundaries of friendship and family, and the true meaning of motherhood.

    -- J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Commencement

Once in a great while, a book is so beautifully written that when you close it, all you can do is sit quietly and hold it to your chest.  Laurie Frankel's The Atlas of Love is that book.

    -- Sandra Kring, author of The Book of Bright Ideas and Thank You For All Things