From Publishers Weekly
Lizbet and Cassie Montgomery, Jewish sisters in London, seem to like their lives: Lizbet, cute but schlumpy, has a mid-level job at
Ladz Mag and a smart, sweet long-term, live-in boyfriend in product designer Tim; barrister Cassie, glossy, smart and hot, is married to fastidious BBC production assistant George Hershlag, which suits her fine. The two sisters have a close if constrained relationship, but when Lizbet announces she's pregnant, Cassie turns cold, even as their parents ("Vivica and Dad") are immediately thrilled. When, 30 or so pages later, Lizbet miscarries the baby in the second trimester, she plunges into despair. Cassie comes to her aid, but it may be too little, too late. Maxted (
Behaving Like Adults, etc.) alternates smoothly between Lizbet's and Cassie's perspectives, giving each a distinctive voice and nailing lapsed London Jewry amusingly. When she shifts to Cassie, she handles a series of major revelations with the same emotional acuity that she gives Lizbet's devastation at the loss of her baby. As Lizbet discovers her fabulous side (but perhaps not for the better), what looks from the outside like Cassie's comeuppance is full of crushing sadness. Maxted has to do a lot of wrangling to manage the happy ending, but it offsets this chick lit novel's surprisingly harrowing center.
(Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
Like so many of the early chick-lit writers, Maxted has graduated from tales about young women grappling with single life to those dealing with the question of motherhood. The titular sisters are Lizbet and Cassie, and the pair couldn't be more different. Scattered Lizbet is completely taken aback upon discovering she is pregnant, as she has never in her life longed for a child. She is surprised by how quickly she becomes excited about the baby and how her adoring boyfriend, Tim, is every bit as thrilled. High-powered attorney Cassie wants a child more than anything else in the world, but she is growing to loathe her arrogant husband, George. Their difficulties with conceiving a child put even more strain on their already faltering marriage. When Lizbet miscarries her baby, she has an emotional implosion so complete that it jeopardizes her relationship with both Tim and her sister. Cliff-hanger chapter endings guarantee that the reader will keep turning the pages, while clever plotting and truly interesting characters make the novel a standout in the genre.
Kristine HuntleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
