This One Is Mine

September 15, 2008
Former television producer and writer Semple (Arrested Development
; Mad About You
) bashes Hollywood celebrity, New Age nonsense and struggling relationships in this smart and funny debut. Violet Parry, who puts aside a TV writing career to have a baby and take care of the sumptuous L.A. home of her legendary impresario hubby, David, scratches a seven-year itch with D-list rocker Teddy Reyes. Yet Violet is hardly ready for the roller-coaster ride with a man who thinks only “about my rent and my car and getting laid and staying sober.” Meanwhile, David’s conniving sister, Sally, sets out to snag a rich husband, training her sights on Jeremy, a robotic sports-stats genius with a promising TV career. In one of the most hilarious sendups of New Age claptrap, David figures out if he’s willing to stick around to see where Violet’s wild ride will take them. Semple’s takes are tack sharp as her delightful cast is driven comically and tragically ever deeper into a culture of artifice. Semple obviously knows her turf, and she does an exquisite job of stomping all over it.

November 1, 2008
Violet Parry is unhappily married to LA rock 'n' roll manager David when she falls for Teddy, a man whose circumstances are her polar opposite. Things are bad for Teddynot only is he a struggling musician but he is also a recovering drug addict infected with hepatitis C, and, as Violet notes, he's the first person she's known who's missing a tooth. Violet endears herself to Teddy by paying to fix his truck and inexplicably pursues him. While Violet struggles with her marriage, David's younger sister, Sally, is hunting for a successful husband, and she has in mind Jeremy, a soon-to-be-famous sportscaster. Sally has problems of her ownshe's diabetic and buried under credit card debt. All the players come together at Sally's wedding, where Violet has hired Teddy's band as the entertainment. Teddy becomes the catalyst for change for both Violet and Sally as the author skillfully interweaves two different story lines showing that the choices we make in the name of happiness can affect us and those closest to us in unexpected ways. This debut novel by a former television writer is sure to be a hit with readers who like women's fiction set in upscale LA (e.g., Gigi Levangie Grazer's "The Starter Wife"). Recommended for all public libraries.Karen Core, Detroit P.L.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2008
Semples first novel is an alternately hopeful and cynical look at the lives of a debauched group ofL.A. natives. Violet Parry, a depressed housewife, is married to a neglectful rock mogul, David, and is the mother of a toddler, Dot. She feels trapped in an unbearable situation until she meets Teddy Reyes, a crass former addict and bass player whom she finds irrepressibly charming. Violets entanglement with Teddy grows increasingly complicated until it threatens to shake the very foundations of her life and marriage. Semple also delves into the story of Sally, Davids manipulative sister, who is on the hunt for a wealthy husband and is willing to trample over her friends and family to find him. Both women veer dangerously closeto disaster in their efforts to find whatever they believe is missing from their lives. Although Semples characters may not always be likable, one still feelsa desire topull them back from the edge. Fun and engrossing lightreading.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)