"Oh calamity!"

This book started like a slow moving train weighted down with a heavy cargo. There were a lot of characters, and it felt hard to keep up with all the gossipy quips of the catty mothers. With relentless speed, the momentum built, finally taking off to a predictable destination- but it didn't matter. The ride was terrific. By the time I got to know them, the characters lively quirks made them so well defined that when the final chapters arrived, I felt like they were my own neighbors. I loved this book. The mothers were wonderfully neurotic, professional micro managers squeezing details of everyday life into slots that please their well ordered and compulsive minds. I have known several of them, and recognized the little lies that are used to keep the appearance of perfection in tact. Every stereotype was there, from earth mother, to the helicopter corporate mom's and their minions who always manage to manipulate the school. Jane was sweet, and I loved her growth. Madeline angst over her teenage daughter, her warrior heart , her insecurities made her endearingly real. Celeste, well, all I am going to say is I know a Celeste or two, and have seen them struggle the narrow line of real or imagined, love and hate, and the lies they use to survive.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman