Worth wading through the tears for the generous helping of Daisy Dooley wisdom.
Self-help junkie comes to terms with her divorce.
Daisy knew she married the wrong man. It was obvious, yet rather than trust her instincts, she forged ahead with her marriage plans to avoid becoming that desperate cliché—a desperate-for-babies career gal in her late 30s. A few years into her painfully dull marriage, Daisy has the courage to get out and try again. Don’t be mistaken by this one heroic act. Daisy isn’t naturally prone to action. To the contrary, after she leaves her husband, Daisy enjoys a nice long pity party held at her mother’s country digs. Besides her tireless mum, Daisy relies on her two closest pals, Jess and Lucy, to help mend her wounds and to listen to her ramblings. Be prepared for the tear fest that ensues as Daisy performs a postmortem on her marriage. Things appear pretty gloomy for this jobless divorcee as she prepares to re-enter the dating pool. Cue more floodworks when Daisy has a disastrous first “PPD” (post-divorce date). It gets so bad that readers stand the chance of drowning in Daisy’s misery and misfortune. But Pasternak (Princess in Love, 1994) gets things moving again. Daisy lands a job and starts revamping her love life. Reinventing herself as a self-help guru, she garners attention from book lovers and publishers as she helps London’s singles mend their hearts. Romantically, things start to look up when Daisy reconnects with Julius, her lifelong love. But don’t wait for the neat and tidy happy ending. Pasternak’s second novel is an unexpected treat: Daisy challenges everyone in her orbit to embrace living in the moment and to let go of expectations.
Worth wading through the tears for the generous helping of Daisy Dooley wisdom.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-446-17794-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: 5 Spot/Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
Honeyman’s endearing debut is part comic novel, part emotional thriller, and part love story.
A very funny novel about the survivor of a childhood trauma.
At 29, Eleanor Oliphant has built an utterly solitary life that almost works. During the week, she toils in an office—don’t inquire further; in almost eight years no one has—and from Friday to Monday she makes the time go by with pizza and booze. Enlivening this spare existence is a constant inner monologue that is cranky, hilarious, deadpan, and irresistible. Eleanor Oliphant has something to say about everything. Riding the train, she comments on the automated announcements: “I wondered at whom these pearls of wisdom were aimed; some passing extraterrestrial, perhaps, or a yak herder from Ulan Bator who had trekked across the steppes, sailed the North Sea, and found himself on the Glasgow-Edinburgh service with literally no prior experience of mechanized transport to call upon.” Eleanor herself might as well be from Ulan Bator—she’s never had a manicure or a haircut, worn high heels, had anyone visit her apartment, or even had a friend. After a mysterious event in her childhood that left half her face badly scarred, she was raised in foster care, spent her college years in an abusive relationship, and is now, as the title states, perfectly fine. Her extreme social awkwardness has made her the butt of nasty jokes among her colleagues, which don’t seem to bother her much, though one notices she is stockpiling painkillers and becoming increasingly obsessed with an unrealistic crush on a local musician. Eleanor’s life begins to change when Raymond, a goofy guy from the IT department, takes her for a potential friend, not a freak of nature. As if he were luring a feral animal from its hiding place with a bit of cheese, he gradually brings Eleanor out of her shell. Then it turns out that shell was serving a purpose.
Honeyman’s endearing debut is part comic novel, part emotional thriller, and part love story.Pub Date: May 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2068-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
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