Brooke's days may not be perfect, but she enjoys the life she's built with her husband, Julian. She loves working as a nutritionist for pregnant women and new mothers, and doesn't really mind the second job she's taken on to support her musician husband. Working as a counselor to teenaged girls at an elite prep school helps her feel even more fulfilled. Brooke works hard to help her talented husband succeed, but when he actually accomplishes his dream and hits the big time, Brooke finds that it comes with much more than she bargains for.
Julian is suddenly hiring new agents and publicists, flying around the country for weeks on end, and showing up in all of Brooke's favorite tabloid magazines. As she holds down the fort at home and tries to balance the career she loves with the new demands of her husband's career, Brooke feels pulled in a hundred directions. She's suddenly forced to make difficult decisions about her life and priorities. These decisions become even harder to make when she finds out that Julian has made an error of judgement that has landed in the pages of the most widely-read magazine in the country.
This is Weisberger's fourth novel, following The Devil Wears Prada, Everyone Worth Knowing, and Chasing Harry Winston. Having read the former, I felt the latter was pretty on par with the others. Weisberger is not my favorite chick lit author, yet I always find myself wanting to read her books. The stories she tells aren't ground-breaking, but there is a familiarity with them that most other authors don't have. I always get the feeling that she has been around the celebrity scene enough to tell authentic stories. After all, that's what made her famous. The Devil Wears Prada was supposedly based on her experience working for one of the major fashion magazine's Editors-in-Chief (rumor was Anna Wintour at Vogue). This novel is no different. There are many references to real people, and the processes that Julian experiences in his rise to the top seem very realistic.
What I liked most about this novel, and Weisberger's others, is that her main character is real...the glue that holds our faith in humanity together. They always figure out how to come back to reality and get what they truly wanted, which usually has nothing to do with the glam lives in which they ended up. Brooke is no different. She struggles through the changes in her life, marriage, and husband. She fights to be able to keep the career she's always wanted. And in the end, she makes the hard decisions. While Julian's fame goes to his head, it's not the same for Brooke. I like how Weisberger showed how instant celebrity affects the "normal civilian". Privacy? Gone. Family? Hassled. Friends? Only the true ones stick around and are worth keeping. I think a lot of people fantasize about the perks that come with celebrity status but never really consider everything else that comes with the package deal.
One of the funniest things to me about the story was Brooke and Julian's dog. His name was Walter Alter. Something about that struck me as humorous and real. I found that the dog actually made me feel more connected to Brooke, probably because his name was so cute and cheesy...something that I would be likely to choose. I felt like I could understand her better as a character because I could relate to her in that way. Weird, I know.
I recommend this book for adults who want a breezy read with emotion. Great for a vacation, and of course, a great beach read! :)
(Photo from bookfinds.com)
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