Then Came You (2011) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

• Kimmie Park: A biochemical major at Princeton who played violin in the orchestra & worked in the admissions office with Jules.
• Frank Barrow, Jr.: Annie & Frank's oldest son; five years old.
• Marcus Croft: Sold his first business at age 25, his own hedge fund at age 31 & now 26 years later, had hundreds of millions of dollars & clients all over the world.
• Darren Zucker: The investigator who gave Bettina the report on her stepmother.
• Annie Barrow: Busy stay-at-home mom of 3- and 5-year-old sons; still carrying 20 extra pounds from her sons' births; barely had time to comb her hair & no money for stylish new clothes; uses internet a great deal; becomes a surrogate.
• Rory Croft: The baby.
• Bettina Croft: Daughter of Marcus & Arlene Croft; sister of Trey & Tommy; graduate of Vassar; Did internship as appraiser of European paintings at Christie's; went on to be junior appraiser at Kohler's; Has $10 million trust fund that she can access at age 21.
• Spencer Barrow: Frank & Annie's three-year-son; younger brother of Frank, Jr.
• Tommy Croft: Member of Dirty Birdy, a band which specialized in thrash-metal covers of female singer-songwriter ballads; second son of Marcus. & Arlene Croft; brother of Bettina & Trey.
• David Carter: Had been a substitute drama teacher at the high school Samantha (India) attended when she was sent to live with her mother; after her stepfather would not stay out of her bed, she became homeless. David won her over & married her.
• Leslie Stalling: The director of the Fertility Clinic
• Aunt Nancy: Annie's sister; married to a doctor; childless; college graduate; works as part-time bookkeeper & receptionist in her husband's office; spends most of her time working out, buying clothes to show off her new body; bossy.
• Gabriel: A college boy working at Target during the brief time Annie worked there. He started her thinking about going to college; Annie's husband saw them together at the bus stop & became extremely jealous.
• Kevin: India's boyfriend for 3 years. when she was 23 & trying to make it as an actress in Los Angeles; came from old family money.
• Jules Strauss: Beautiful blonde Princeton senior who becomes an egg donor to pay for her father's drug rehab.
• Lorraine Stavros: India's (Samantha's) teenager mother who dropped out of high school, had her, dropped her off at her parents' (immigrants from Greece) & took off to become a groupie to the Grateful Dead.
• Kate Klein: Private detective that Bettina hires to check out her stepmother.
• Greg: Julia's brother; has given up on their father.
• Rajit: Jule's boss for her job as a junior analyst at Steinman Cox, an investment & securities firm.
• Kohler: Where Bettina works as a junior appraiser.
• Chet: Kimmie's boyfriend at Princeton; one of Dan's friend, a high-fiving, barrel-chested lacrosse player.
• Dr. Scott: Nancy's husband; Annie's brother-in-law; does gastric banding;loves to play squash; "had the good looks & personality of a dried booger."
• Jared Baker: Recruited Julia to be an egg donor.
• Sophie: India's half sister.
• Violet Croft: 9-month-old daughter of Trey Croft; only grandchild of Marcus Croft; already has her own trust fund.
• Phil: India's stepfather.
• Dan Finnerty: Jules' boyfriend while she was at Princeton; good-looking, well-mannered, a rower with formidable shoulders & a fondness for 1990's-era grunge rock
• Jules Strauss: Real name of Julia.
• Amanda: One of Jule's apartment-mates; trying to be an actress.
• Ricky: The day doorman at Bettina's father's building that she has known since she was little.
• Corrinne Barrow: Frank Barrow's mother, a devout Baptist
• Frank Barrow: Annie's husband; African-American; works security at Philadelphia airport; going to school to become an airplane mechanic.
• Trey Croft: Oldest son of Marcus & Arlene Croft; brother of Bettina & Tommy; doting father of 9-month-old Violet.
• India: Marcus Croft's new 2nd wife; Bettina, Tommy & Trey's stepmother; has had her cheeks re-made, a nose job & a boob job & changed her name; told Marcus she was 37 when she met him but she was really 42; had run her boutique public relations for 5 years before she met him.
• Baba Mahatma: Formerly Michael Essensen of Brick, NJ; after a six-week sojourn in Mumbai, he re-named himself & opened a yoga center & spiritual retreat.
• Arlene Sandusky Croft: Marcus Croft's first wife; mother of Trey, Tommy & Bettina; went from stay-at-home mom, Martha Stewart, designer suits & heels to getting a belly piercing & tatoo, slipping Baba tens of thousands of dollars, filing for divorce & following him to Taos where he built a yoga retreat; now goes by name of Satya.
• Laurena Costovya: Add a description of this character.
• Paul
• Travis Martin
• Julia Strauss
• Sergeant Potts
• Dr. Theodore Dreiser
• Ms. Hicks
• Yaya
• Tia
• Anne Barrow
• Brian Blundell
• Manuel
• India Bishop
• Vanessa
• Satya
• Mr. Hoffman
• Lisa
• Rita Devine
• Janie Segal
• Daphne
• Raine Stavros
• Frank Junior

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• New York City: Where Bettina worked; where India transferred after she gave up on trying to be an actress; where India met Marcus.
• Princeton: Where Julia, Kimmie, Dan & Chet go to school; city where Fertility Clinic is located.
• Los Angeles: Where India lived for four years when she was young trying to make it as an actress & had all her plastic surgery.
• New London, Connecticut: Where India went to high school.
• Paris: Where Bettina had gone on her junior year trip.
• America: Where India's grandparents came to from Greece & Kimmie's parents came to from Korea.
• Pittsburgh: Julia's hometown, where her parents live.
• Taos, New Mexico: Where Bettina's mother lived at Babar's Enlightentment Center; where Baba built a retreat offering intensive yoga training, raw cuisine & a clothing-optional sweat lodge.
• Hoboken: Where Bettina went with Darren to meet her brother, Tommy where he was playing with his Dirty Birdy to give him the "dirt" she'd uncovered about her stepmother.
• Toledo: Where India spent her childhood.
• Manhattan: Where Bettina, Tommy & Trey grew up
• California: Where Rained promised to take Samantha (India) to live with her & her new husband where they would have a lemon tree in the backyard, eat fried shrimp & watch the surfers. She never kept her promise.
• Phoenixville, Pa.: Where Annie & Frank's big, old farmhouse is located, 45 miles outside Philadelphia.
• Philadelphia: Where Annie & Frank both grew up in a working class neighborhood.

First Sentence edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Mistrust: Describe this theme.
• Questionable Motviation
• Sacrifice
• Secrets
• Coping with Loss

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Jennifer Weiner (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3573.E3935 T53 2011
• Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Women's Fiction

Books Cited by This Book edit see section history