Ok....this is my first official review book from William Morrow Publishing! I received it this week along with 2 others and read this one rather quickly. I picked it to read first since it looked like something that would not require me to do more thinking than I wanted. At school, I have been reading many books in order to select next year's Battle of the Books. That is where my reading time was focused, so I didn't a potato chip book. A potato chip book is what a friend of mine refers to as something that is tastes good for you without providing much nutrient....kind of like a Lifetime Movie...something we all crave every once in a while. (though I must admit....it has been decades since I have watched a Lifetime movie). Sorry, I digress.
This is a book that centers around Frances who is a teacher at a private school. She is single due to a recent break-up and is still hurt from the experience. Her best friend, Jill, also teaches at the school and the two of them quickly become bosom buddies (almost too quickly) with a new teacher, Lisa. Nothing too complicated here...characters are not too complex, but entertaining...not to mention emotional. And I don't mean I was emotional while reading it, the characters -mainly Frannie-- were crying and sobbing on almost every page. Lifetime movie-like. The story's climax is when the new Headmistress, Emma comes onto the scene. She is perfect in every way...too perfect and a little stepford-ish. She has a dark secret which is revealed in a violent tragedy at the school which will "kind of" change everyone involved. After all, life does move on...I suppose. There is not much information or time given to the dark secret which deals with domestic abuse. I believe if there was more of a focus on this topic....I would have been more invested in the characters, but this was not the case.
Happy endings everywhere....one gets married, one gets pregnant, and one finds true love....Oh and the dog in the story (of course there is a cute, sad puppy dog)....he gets a happy ending as well.
Not the best book I have read....certainly not the worst. Happy to be reviewing books from Harper Collins...the next two should be good. One is a reissued edition of a novel by John Irving....more on that later.
