The Continuity Girl - Leah McLaren

The Continuity Girl
Leah McLaren
5Spot

Chick Lit/ Humor

Unlike so many people, Meredith Moore has a job that is pretty much perfectly suited to her personality. She works on film sets as a Continuity Girl. She’s the one who makes sure that the glass is in the same hand from take to take; or that the actor’s hair is parted on the same side from shot to shot. After she, very uncharacteristically, walks off a set in Toronto, she’s surprised when an offer immediately comes in for her to work on a big-budget film in London. Going to London means seeing her mother, Irma, an infamous poet of the 60s who is still the life of any party. But, since Irma had a hand in getting Meredith the job assignment, and since she needs a change of scenery, she goes.

Before leaving, something monumental happens. Meredith turns 35 and realizes that all of her eggs are also thirty-five years old. She’s hit with a sudden longing for a baby. Not a husband, but a baby. Since she’ll be out of her comfort zone in London, she plans to look around for a suitable DNA donor. Meredith and her friends call this activity “genes shopping.” While she’s there, Meredith meets quite an assortment of men, from a photographer who specializes in unconventional subject matter; to the second son of an earl whose first love is his falcons; to a reclusive movie producer and financier. The strange thing is that, as much as Meredith tries to force life to fit her mold, life obviously has other plans for her.

This is one of those cases where the back cover blurb, all about wanting a baby, doesn’t do the book justice. It’s true that Meredith does want a baby. But, to be honest, that desire does not consume this entire book. There’s a lot more going on here. There are plenty of secondary characters who add depth, humor, and a nice combination of realism and eccentricity to the story. The author writes with a pointed and sarcastic wit that perfectly balances the subject matter. It’s just as much a story of Meredith and her mother finding some kind of common ground; or of Meredith finding her own way; as it is about her desire for a child.

Rating: 7 ½
April 2007
ISBN# 0-446-69959-4 (trade paperback)