The Botox Diaries

May 31, 2004
Moneyed suburban moms are the belles of this midlife romantic comedy. Divorced Jess Taylor saw the back side of 40 a few years ago, but doesn't much care. She's got her bubbly 10-year-old daughter, Jen, a house in New York City suburb Pine Hills and a fulfilling job at the Arts Council for Kids. She's also got a similarly equipped best friend—except Lucy has a glamorous TV producer gig, loving husband Dan, and now, suddenly, a famous TV show host lover. Jess is appalled, but secretly she wonders if she's not missing out. Enter Jacques, long-ago ex-husband, who's just as unsuitable—and sexy—as ever. Sprightly Jen is determined to get her mom hitched, up to and including booking her on a reality dating show. Meanwhile, Jess has to get New York City's wealthy and aptly named Alpha Moms together to cast their children alongside project kids in a small-scale benefit production of My Fair Lady
, which somehow ends up taking place at Lincoln Center. This amiable, good-natured comedy will put the reader in mind of her favorite flannel pajamas—not sexy, exactly, but comfortable and fun. Agent, Jane Gelfman.
(June)

Forecast:
The novel mines the same tired territory as a host of
Nanny Diaries imitators, but will fit the bill for those still mourning the end of
Sex and the City.

August 15, 2004
Best friends obsess about men, sex, and weight in this predictable novel by Kaplan (The Whole Truth ) and Schnurnberger (Let There Be Clothes ). It differs from its sister chick-lit tales in that our heroines are over 40, with children, wrinkles, and gray hair among their obsessions. Single mother Jess is best friends with Lucy, who has a terrific husband and a glamorous job producing TV shows. Lucy is having an affair with a self-absorbed actor, and Jess has once again been bowled over by Jacques, her unfaithful but charming ex-husband. And so it goes, as the two friends share every detail of their lives with one another. Will Lucy wake up and appreciate what she has before she destroys her marriage? Will Jess look beyond the great sex and realize that Jacques has not changed? Is Botox the answer? Chick-lit fans will probably enjoy what is a fairly entertaining and occasionally funny novel. The protagonists, notwithstanding their annoying lack of judgment about men, are likable. Recommended for popular fiction collections.--Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., MA

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2004
Best friends Jess and Lucy have seen each other through everything: Jess' divorce from her sexy French husband and the adoption of her daughter, Jen; Lucy's marriage to the perfect suburban father, Dan, and her tenacious clawing to the top of the television show production heap. Now they face their forties and must get through what appears to be a second childhood. Glamorous and flighty Lucy is having a hot affair with one of Hollywood's most beloved stars, dependable Dan is nursing a crush on his wife's best friend, and suburban single-mom Jess is herding a flock of bored young Park Avenue mothers determined to stage a charity production featuring ghetto kids and their own offspring. Only the strength of the women's friendship can get them through an hour of Thai massage, an orgy in Willie Nelson's trailer, and snobby PTA meetings. With snappy dialogue, hilarious and lovable characters, and enough tension to keep the pages turning, this first-time collaboration will be a great beach read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)