Odd Mom Out

July 16, 2007
Marta Zinsser has made her nine-year-old daughter Eva, conceived through sperm donation, her whole world. The two move from Manhattan to a wealthy Seattle suburb, where Marta plans to run a successful advertising agency from home and be close to her ailing mother. Soon however, Marta’s bohemian ways stick out like a sore thumb among the impeccably groomed housewives of Bellevue. Pressured by a tenderly and believably drawn Eva to be a “real mom,” Marta signs up for school chaperoning and committee duties, with near-disastrous results. And when Marta falls for a handsome billionaire, she must decide whether to refocus her lone wolf self-image enough to allow a man to enter the picture. The alpha moms Marta detests are cartoonish, catty villains, and self helpese creeps into the plot gaps. But Marta is an intriguing heroine: she values freedom and toughness, but her jeans and combat boots mask vulnerability, heartbreak and fear of change.

August 1, 2007
Single-by-choice mother Marta Zinsser prides herself on following her bliss; she doesn't worry what others think. But her daughter Eva wants nothing more than to be one of the cool girls. And so Marta makes an effort to conform for Eva's sake. But after tangling with the local alpha mom, helping care for her Alzheimer's-suffering mother, trying to land the client of a lifetime, and dating again after a ten-year dry spell, Marta wonders if it's time to give up and give in. Porter's ("Flirting with Forty") new novel is a return to the Pacific Northwest and another mom who's just trying to do her best by her self and her kids on her own terms. Vivid characters and quick dialog support a strong plot, although some elements of the subplot get too light a touch. Marta is smart and funny, but her narrative can get a bit talky (covering consumer culture's enablement of women's insecurity and the price working mothers pay compared to working fathers). Overall, however, the novel's got strong appeal for fans of women's fiction and mom lit. For all public libraries.Amy Brozio-Andrews, Albany P.L., NY

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2007
Marta Zinsser is not your typical suburban mom. Single, strong, and confident, shewears camouflage pants and chunky boots and rides a motorcycle.When her New York advertising firm asks her to open abranch in Seattle, she agrees to return to her hometown, mostly because of her mothers ill health. Now shes running her own firm out of her house, while her nine-year-old daughter is trying and failing to fit inat her new school.Eva is heartbroken, but Marta, who has never felt the need to be part ofthe pack, is at a loss as to how to help. Evas subsequentattempts to change Marta into a normal mom and her sudden, not-so-subtle hints that Marta should get married and create a regularfamily are funny and poignant. With the increasingdemands of her daughter, her ailing mother, and work, Martas life begins to spiral out of control in a way most women will all-too-readily recognize. Porters tale of a mother and daughtersjourney to normalcy is keenly emotional and truly uplifting.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)