THE ME LIST

A dissatisfied young mother finds that an unlikely friendship yields surprising results in Balko’s novel.

Olivia, a former project manager, has lately been working as a stay-at-home mom. She thinks that her successful Realtor neighbor Patricia has no flaws, and she resents it. In fact, she thinks of her as “perfect Patricia,” and her constant judgment of her—and of herself—essentially drives the novel. She struggles with insecurities brought on by a traumatic childhood with a difficult mother and an absent father, and her everyday stress and anxiety is compounded by the demands of motherhood. She has an affectionate husband, Steve, and a young daughter, Samantha, whom she loves dearly, but many of her thoughts are shaped by overwhelming self-doubt. When Olivia runs into Patricia while shopping at Target one day, her inability to speak up for herself inadvertently works to her advantage; she ends up going to lunch with Patricia, who offers her part-time work as her assistant. As they carve out a business relationship, the two women walk a rocky path toward friendship. Throughout, Olivia maintains a steady stream of self-deprecation that soon wears thin; as a result, readers may sometimes find it difficult to sympathize with her. Balko presents the two main characters as opposites, with Patricia a classic Type A personality and Olivia firmly Type D. This broad-stroke characterization is further imbalanced by Olivia’s biased, negative assessments; when the author has Olivia insinuate that Patricia is a narcissist, it doesn’t seem a fair judgment. Readers will find that the story takes a more appealing turn once Patricia inspires Olivia to tackle some personal goals, and when Olivia embraces her own vulnerability. Making major life plans and achieving them is admirable, and readers will cheer Olivia, even as she approaches the task with trepidation.

An uneven but ultimately engaging tale of a reluctant go-getter.