REVIEW: Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

In Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell, Cherry and her husband Tom had been together for nearly ten years before the unthinkable happened and they separated. Now he’s in LA watching his comic strip become a big screen movie and she’s back home in Omaha, Nebraska, working and taking care of everything they used to handle together. Cherry hasn’t really let on that Tom is staying in Hollywood. That they crashed and burned out as a couple. And it’s becoming more and more difficult to keep their probable divorce to herself. Her only confidantes at the moment are Stevie, the ginormous dog Tom just had to have shortly before he left for California, and Stacia, Cherry’s best friend since college.

At about the year mark of her life changing completely, Cherry decides to go to a concert by herself and ends up running into a former college classmate and friend. Russ was always kind to her, even though she was very different from the women she hung around with. Cherry knows being overweight made her the outlier in any friend group. But Russ doesn’t seem to mind her curves. Even though the whole world seems to be ripping her apart now that the movie trailers are out for Tom’s movie Thursday–which depicts Cherry, aka Baby, in all her “chubbiness”. The fact that Russ has no idea about the comic strip or subsequent movie is a major plus. But as they get acquainted all over again, it leaves Cherry to wonder if Russ could be in her future or if she actually communicates with Tom, would they get another chance to make things right?

‘Cherry wanted to feel free. She wanted to feel like someone with a future, not just a past.’

CHERRY BABY ran the emotional gamut from grief over the demise of a decades-long relationship to the wonder of rediscovering yourself to the confusion of whether to let go of the past or somehow reconcile. Rainbow Rowell’s messy and imperfect characters were wholly relatable. And the raw, unfettered feelings our heroine Cherry went through–particularly as this was told strictly from her POV–had me reeling right along with her.

Cherry was in a very vulnerable position in her personal life. She was separated from her husband, likely getting divorced, and grappling with her body image as a woman in her mid-thirties. And I think part, if not all, of that will be relatable for most women. Unfortunately, Cherry’s self-image was in the spotlight with the entire country commenting on her weight. It was a byproduct of her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s movie being made based on the comic strip serial he wrote with them as the main characters. It was so understandable how upset it made Cherry to see herself as the “chubby” woman with all her flaws out there for everyone to see. Combined with a lack of communication between Cherry and Tom, it was a recipe for disaster for their marriage.

TROPES/THEMES:

• Self-image & identity struggles
• Second chance at love
• Emotional depth
• Heartbreak
• Quick banter

CW: View Spoiler »Body image issues & shaming, alcoholism, infidelity « Hide Spoiler

Cherry was an endearing character even if she waffled about nearly everything throughout the book and made some choices that weren’t necessarily healthy or helpful at the time. The flashback chapters made such a difference, though. To see Cherry and Tom meet ten years ago and watch as their relationship changed and deteriorated was sad, but it painted a clearer picture of how they ended up where they were at presently. I won’t give away the ending or if they got back together–there was another love interest in the mix after all–but after everything Cherry went through, she landed in a very good place.

You can count on Rainbow Rowell for a romance that will put you through the emotional ringer yet have you coming back for more–and have you rooting for the characters the entire way till the end.

QOTD: Cherry was known for her colorful retro-style dresses and accessories. Are you known for your fashion sense or ability to accessorize?

Book Info:

Publication: Published April 14th, 2026 | William Morrow |

Everybody knows that Cherry’s husband is in Hollywood making a movie … Almost nobody knows that he isn’t coming home.

Tom’s the creator of Thursday, a comic strip that’s become an international phenomenon. It’s semi-autobiographical, which unfortunately means there’s a character based on Cherry … “Baby.”

Wide-hipped, double-chinned Baby.

Cherry never wanted this. No fat girl wants to see herself caricatured on the page — let alone the big screen. But there’s no getting away from it. Baby looks so much like Cherry, strangers recognize her at the store.

While Tom’s in L.A., getting rich and famous and being the Internet’s latest boyfriend, Cherry’s stuck taking care of the dog he always wanted and the house they were going to raise a family in — and wondering who she’s supposed to be without him.

Until the night Cherry ventures out to see her favourite band play, and someone recognizes her from across the room.

Russ Sutton knew Cherry when she was a young art student with a fondness for pin-up dresses and patent leather heels.

Russ knows Cherry. He likes Cherry.

And best of all … he’s never heard of Thursday.

Told with deep tenderness and shot through with Rowell’s signature wit, Cherry Baby is a second-chance romance for grown-ups. For people who understand how rare it is to get even one chance at love, and how impossible — and impossibly wonderful — it can feel to make it work.