Who You Know

May 15, 2003
Alan's debut charts the very different lives of three women--sisters Rette and Jen and their friend Avery--as they bond through work at McKenna Marketing, over drinks at their favorite Boulder pubs, and at fun-filled, gossip-infested sleepovers. Alan does a masterful job of switching between first-person points of view to offer glimpses into each woman's life. Engaged and overwhelmed with her new job and her wedding plans, Rette dreams of loosing 30-plus pounds in time for the big day. Self-absorbed, model-perfect singleton Jen goes through men, martinis, and MasterCards at a dizzying speed and is petrified of being alone. And divorcee Avery longs to find herself and her soul mate, and reawaken her long-dormant passion for dance. As the three women face the trials and triumphs of life, they assist each other in ways that only best friends can--through unconditional love, unrelenting humor, and unwavering support. Reminiscent of " Bridget Jones's Diary "(1997) and " Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" (1996), Alan's is a novel to be savored like a good box of chocolates.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)