The Smart One

June 2, 2008
Now divorced, 35 and resolved to become a teacher after a series of entry-level design jobs, Bev Bloomrosen takes up temporary residence in her parents' Long Island home while they're in Florida. There, she immediately gets drawn into older sister Clare's marital woes and younger sister Joey's struggle to stay off drugs. Romantic complications soon arrive in the form of the neighbors' son, Kenny, a comedy writer whose tangled past involves both Bev and Joey. The sisters share an adventure while removing an industrial drum from beneath Kenny's parents' house—until they open it to discover the body of a pregnant woman, possibly killed years earlier by Kenny's father (who is now in Florida with advanced dementia). Meister (Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA
) develops this uneasy mix of soap-opera secrets and slapstick humor with twist after twist to the point of reader exhaustion.

July 15, 2008
In this character-driven novel, the relationship of a trio of sisters is pushed to the brink by long-simmering jealousies and grievances brought to the surface by old flames and new loves. Bev is the middle sister, the smart one, divorced and between jobs, always conscious of meeting her family's expectations. Eldest sister Clare feels pressure to live up to her reputation as the pretty one, with her storybook marriage, beautiful family, and affluent suburban home. Youngest sister Joey is the talented one, the former rock star-turned-recovering drug addict who resists every encouragement to return to the stage. When the sisters discover a body concealed in a drum found in the crawl space beneath a neighbor's home, their sleuthing plays out against family drama and romantic tugs-of-war. Despite being punctuated by a couple of wrenching plot points and the somewhat ambiguous resolution, the novel is fast-paced and features great dialog. Meister's second novel (after "Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA") is a fresh take on the familiar "she's the smart/funny/talented one" refrain. Recommended for all public libraries.Amy Brozio-Andrews, Albany P.L., NY

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2008
Bev Bloomrosen, the middle of three sisters, has always beenenvious of her siblings. While her older sister, Clare, has gotten by on her looks and her younger sister, Joey, has everyone on edge with her wild past, everyone has always had high expectations for Bev. At 35 Bev has turned to teaching and is considering leaving New York for a job in Las Vegas. She agrees to spend the summer at her parents house while they frolic in Florida with their next-door neighbors andto help facilitate the sale of the neighbors house. Things get complicated when Kenny, the next-door neighbors handsome son who Bev has always carried a torch for, shows up, considering a move home. Bev is just as smitten as before, but despite the fact that Kenny seems interested, she cant get over the fact that he slept with Joey when they were teens. Add a murder mystery to this tale ofsibling rivalry fora perfect beach read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)