Hope in a Jar

March 2, 2009
Harbison (Secrets of a Shoe Addict
) pushes a thin plot to its word-count limits in her latest confection, the tale of two former friends who reconnect at their 20th high school reunion. When Allie Denty—tall, blonde and, these days, just a bit heavy—discovers her boyfriend in the sack with another woman, her primary coping mechanism involves a credit card and the Sephora counter. Allie figures that some Dior lashes will help her feel more confident at her reunion—an event that the lovely, formerly mousy Olivia Pelham has no intention of attending until her mother shows up on her doorstep, licking her wounds from a breakup with husband number five. At the reunion, Allie and Olivia have an awkward meeting and go their separate ways until Allie learns that a mutual friend plans to marry a cosmetically enhanced Mean Girl from their class. It’s “life makeover” time for both women, as they get in touch with their true feelings about beauty, careers and, most importantly, love. Like the face cream from which it takes its title, this is slick, light and indulgent.

June 1, 2009
Harbison (Secrets of a Shoe Addict, 2008, etc.) offers her heroine not one but two life-altering makeovers. Oh, what eye shadow and concealer can do.

Allie comes home to find boyfriend Kevin in bed with another woman, but she's not particularly bothered by the dissolution of their tepid relationship. What bothers her is that she settled for someone as not-quite-right as Kevin, and that he cheated. So Allie does what any girly-girl (if that term still applies at 38) would do to cheer herself up; she heads to Sephora to buy some hope in a jar. Since her 20th high-school reunion is coming up fast, it's money well spent. There she can catch up with Noah, her best friend since junior high, who has mysteriously failed to reply to her recent phone messages. But the reunion offers several unpleasant surprises. Sweet Noah, her Noah, arrives with Vickie, absolutely the meanest girl in high school. Also there is Olivia, Allie's best girlhood chum until a teenage falling-out ended their friendship. Olivia left town 20 years ago, and their meeting now is awkward and sad. Nevertheless, the two slowly rebuild the closeness of their past. And what brings teenage girls together? The reader gets a taste in the Allie/Olivia flashbacks, filled with nostalgic references to Bonne Bell Lip Smackers, Steak-Umms and the hot factor of Leif Garrett verses Parker Stevenson. While Allie is complaining to Olivia about Noah and Vickie (now engaged), the truth comes out: Noah has been secretly pining for Allie all these years, and the feelings are mutual; she just didn't want to risk their friendship. Now Olivia and Allie, working as the team they once were, have to convince Noah that Vickie is truly evil.

It's all entirely predictable, although Olivia's troubled relationship with her mother is nicely wrought.

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May 15, 2009
Two estranged friends meet again at their 20th high school reunion. Having dumped her cheating boyfriend, Allie realizes that investing in his career was a mistake, while Olivia feels increasingly trapped in her job as senior beauty editor of "What Now" magazine. They bond when mutual friend Noah decides to marry high school mean girl Vickie. Olivia invites Allie to New York for a confidence-boosting makeover, helping her confess her love to Noah. The chapters are intercut with high school flashbacks, which help explain why Allie and Olivia's friendship soured. Although the characters veer close to high school melodrama, even as adults, best-selling author Harbison ("Shoe Addicts Anonymous") keeps the plot moving briskly forward, and her many fans will want her latest. The makeover plot is sure to appeal to those who devour before-and-after scenarios on TV and in magazines, and the high school chapters will hit the nostalgia button for anyone who ever used Bonne Bell Lip Smackers. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 2/15/09.]Lisa Davis-Craig, Canton P.L., MI

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