Book Whore

I’ve been a Book Whore lately. Or a Book Pimp. I'm not sure. And I don't want to make Manic Mom's Mental Myriads into Manic Mom's Book Reviews, but when one comes up that I need to share, well, it's my blog, so I'll do the sharing 'round here (Just made me think of Counting Crows)...

Anywhooo...

I bring you, The Bright Side of Disaster by debut author Katherine Center...

OK, we’ve figured it out that I love books, right? Well, here’s one I just drowned myself in, and finished it in a 24-hour timeframe, while still doing the other daily crap a SAHM of three kids does – taking kids to the movies, to the park, out to lunch, doing laundry, dishes, freelancing, blogging, and yes, I read this book and slammed myself into the world of the characters!

The Bright Side of Disaster is classified as Chick Lit and it is, but without the goofy I-Need-A-New-Pair-Of-Shoes context (no offense to you Manallanno-Ding-Dong-Choo-wearing gals out there!)

Dean and Jenny are engaged and living together but then Dean kind of freaks out and deserts Jenny and her nine-month pregnant self THE DAY BEFORE SHE HAS THE BABY!

Jenny is a Goddess! She figures out that life without a man is better than life with a bad man, and she rises to the challenge of single motherhood, all baby-in-one-hand-a-handful-of-grapes-in-the-other! (Sidenote: I wish I knew about THAT diet when I had my kids!)

Along the way of her journey, because when you think about it, isn’t every book about the main character’s journey, Jenny discovers she’s more amazing than she ever thought possible. She’s given life to another human being, she’s “made eye lashes!” She offers care, and comfort, and love to another person who wholly depends on her 24/7, 365. I look at the character of Jenny and wished I could have been a mother like that!

Enter cute pajama-clad neighbor. And ooh, in my book, Gardner is a HOTTIE! He’s hot, he’s handy, he’s handsome, he’s a helluva neighbor, great with babies and single mothers! Fortunately he’s got his eye on one single mother in particular: Jenny.

Of course, the jerk comes back (for those of you not paying attention here, it’s Dean), and for some unknown freaky reason Jenny starts having sex with him again!

(I think because as writers we are supposed to give our characters grief, and what better way to give Jenny grief than to make her sleep with Dean again!) But can you really blame her? She’s lonely, she wants to be comforted, he sneaks into her bed and kisses her neck… how can you NOT want sex? OK, so I don’t blame Jenny. And the two of them having sex did cause the anxiety a reader WANTS in a book.

So, Dean is back. Gardner has disappeared because he has discovered the bad boyfriend has returned. But then Jenny smartens up and kicks the jerko out, because come on, he can’t even manage a ten-minute walk around the block with his adorable little girl WHO HE HASN’T EVEN MET TILL SHE’S SEVEN MONTHS OLD!

The Bastard!

Can you tell I’m a little connected to these characters?

Anyway, of course, I can’t tell you the ending, even though I’d really, really, really like to. Just put it this way, when I finished the book, I thought to myself, “Awwwww!”