On This Day

December 12, 2005
Carlson, who is well-known for her Diary of a Teenage Girl and True Colors series for the YA market, is back in the realm of adult inspirational fiction with this light, quick read, which follows five women through one wedding at a lakeside inn. The women are each connected to the bride in some way—her aunt, her best friend, her grandmother, her new sister-in-law and her fiancé's boss's wife. And each woman is tackling relationship problems of her own: Elizabeth questions the value of her marriage; Ingrid wonders if she is engaged to the wrong man; recently widowed Margaret misses her dear husband; Laura feels out of place with her wealthy in-laws; and Suzette suspects her husband is cheating on her. Most of their individual stories come to a crisis point and are resolved in the course of the day. Though Carlson is known as a Christian writer, faith plays a minor role; it's rarely referred to and isn't a visible part of most of the characters' lives. The story progresses seamlessly as it moves from character to character, changing narrators with each chapter. In the end, while most of the characters are likeable, they lack depth and distinctiveness, and readers may understand their feelings without really empathizing.

February 1, 2006
Gathered at the rural Lakeside Inn to attend the wedding of Michael and Jennifer Fairbanks, five different women connected to the bride and groom face their own life crises. One will discover that her husband is having an affair, while another will contemplate walking away from her spouse of 25 years. Female-centered topics, such as postpartum depression and marital relationships, dominate the latest work by this Rita Award -winning writer's ("Homeward") angst-ridden, cross-generational girlfriend fiction. The soap-opera plot is a bit heavyhanded and the character development is weak. However, fans of this popular CBA author will enjoy this yarn, which may also have crossover appeal for Danielle Steel's readers. For public libraries and wherever Carlson is in demand. The author lives in central Oregon.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2006
The "day" is given over to a posh resort wedding. Events play out through the eyes of various observers: a family friend, the bride's aunt, the bridesmaid, the bride's grandmother, and the bride's sister. None of these women is entirely secure in her marriage. One is a new mother, weary to her soul; another has financial troubles and is resentful of the wedding's extravagance; another is a snob; and yet another is dealing with her husband's affair. Although the women will appeal mainly to female readers, they all seem quite real, and any story by Carlson is worth encountering. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)