Reviewer: Amy Lignor
Title: Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA
Author: Ellen Meister
Publisher: Avon
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-082481-5
Release Date: August 2007 (Originally published in August, 2006)
Genre/Sub-genre: Women's Fiction
Year/Setting: Present/Applewood, Long Island
Overall Rating: 3.0
Sexual Content Rating: Sensual
Language (Profanity/Slang) Content Rating: Mild
Violent Content Rating: None/Minimal
Ellen's Website: www.ellenmeister.com
Dear Readers:
The premise of this book is something all of us women dream about…literally. A Hollywood location scout arrives in Applewood, Long Island and picks an elementary school that would make the perfect backdrop for their movie. The star who’s coming to town? George "the hunk" Clooney. Good, solid, handsome premise. However, this book does not focus on Mr. Clooney, but instead, on the zany, sometimes mean antics, of the Applewood PTA.
First there’s Maddie Schein. She’s moiré of a home-town girl than a super-rich Applewood lady. She is madly in love with Bruce, her husband, who she thinks is having an illicit affair with his cousin, Jenna. In addition to that mess, she also finds herself wanting to have her own affair with Jack who has been her best-friend forever since their college days.
We also have Ruth. I have to say that I liked Ruth the best out of this book. She is a lovely lady who is smart-as-a-whip who is taking care of her husband who has suffered a stroke which has left him mentally incoherent at times. There conversations together, their strange relationship that seems to still have the underlying facet of love and partnership, is a truly good storyline. It also helps that Ruth takes no crap and no prisoners in the game that is her life. She’s such a well-thought out character, that when she cries, so does the reader.
More A-typical characters include Maddie’s best friend Beryl and, of course, Suzanne, who is the rich, face-lifted, secret-keeping snot who heads up the PTA and is trying her hardest to cut Clooney’s magical visit off at the knees. You tire of her quite quickly. Unfortunately, we’ve all known so many of these that she is no longer interesting enough to be a "bad-guy."
Lisa is the last thought-out character in the PTA committee. She is married to Adam, loves all her children with all her heart, but has to deal with a drunken mother who can’t seem to get her stuff together – although she tries more and more throughout the book.
If Desperate Housewives is your cup of java…I say sit back and enjoy it! Or, simply think about George Clooney coming to your town. YAY!
Amy
Question or comment regarding the review or the book? Click here and let Amy know.
Top
Reviews
Featured Reviews
Archived Reviews