THE SMART ONE AND THE PRETTY ONE

Sisters reunite over a family cancer scare.

Lauren is busy living large in New York City when she gets a disturbing e-mail from back home in Los Angeles. Across the country, her big sister Ava gets the same e-mail at her law firm. The news: The sisters’ mother has early-stage breast cancer and will be undergoing radiation therapy. With little tying her to her job and city, the peripatetic Lauren retreats home to California. But she can’t leave her troubles behind: Along with loads of cute outfits Lauren is packing a nasty credit-card problem (she simply can’t say no when it comes to cute strappy sandals). More serious sister Ava doesn’t share this live-for-the-day attitude. For Ava, life is about sensible Aerosol shoes and racking up billable hours at the firm. When the two girls move in together it’s the traditional odd-couple scenario: Lauren’s the clotheshorse with a zillion face creams and Ava’s the tidy one who sticks to a budget. Nerves are frayed as the sisters meddle in each other’s lives. Despite her protestations, Lauren offers the excitement that Ava’s life needs. But rather than embrace her younger sibling’s zesty lifestyle and sunny outlook, Ava decides to teach Lauren about responsibility and puts her on a tight financial leash. In retribution, Lauren decides to become a stealthy matchmaker. Of course, each girl has the other’s best interests at heart, but the well-worn story line is pretty much a snooze, and comparisons between this work and Jennifer Weiner’s In Her Shoes are inevitable. LaZebnik (Knitting Under the Influence, 2006, etc.) understands the dynamic between sisters, but her characters are stereotypes and they weigh down the already dowdy plot.

Flatter than a ballet slipper.