Eighteen Acres

August 23, 2010
Wallace, a former White House communications director for George W. Bush, does a fine job of making politics both maddening and glamorous in her compelling but uneven debut. Dale Smith, a White House correspondent, is sleeping with the husband of President Charlotte Kramer, the first female president, who faces a tough re-election campaign, while Melanie Kingston, Kramer's chief of staff, is so busy struggling with PR disasters and poll numbers that she doesn't have time for a man of her own. A possibly avoidable chopper accident on a trip to Afghanistan exposes the affair between Dale and the first gentleman, leaving Dale in the hospital and giving President Kramer a chance to connect with the American people. Though the stories of the three women intersect in interesting ways, they all come across as sexy workaholics with designer clothes and handbags, who simultaneously despise and admire D.C. politics. Still, a game-changer late in the campaign gives the plot a nice boost, revealing the strength of the female bonds.

August 15, 2010

Given Wallace's previous gigs as G.W. Bush's communications director and an advisor to the McCain-Palin ticket, it is impossible to read her first novel about the tribulations of the country's first woman president without trying to glean factual nuggets from the often-transparent fiction.

Moderate Republican Charlotte Kramer, 45th president of the United States, heads into her re-election campaign struggling with the troubled economy and war in Afghanistan left by her (Republican) predecessor and beset by criticism that she's too cool and unemotional—aside from being female, white and Republican, she sounds a lot like Barack Obama. Chief of staff Melanie Kingston, who is burned out after 15 years in the White House, learns from her media source that Charlotte may be about to face a sex scandal on top of her governing issues. The truth that Charlotte already knows but doesn't want to share with Melanie is that her husband Peter is the one having an affair, with White House correspondent and weekend anchor Dale Smith. The presidential marriage has been a sham for years since Charlotte began putting her career before Peter and their children (cardboard characters conveniently tucked away at boarding school). When Charlotte comes under sniper attack in Afghanistan, her Secretary of Defense Roger Taylor—whose devotion is barely platonic—saves her life by switching helicopters with the press, causing Dale serious injury. Wracked by guilt, Charlotte drops everything to sit by Dale's bedside until she's well enough to travel. Charlotte fires Roger and acknowledges Peter and Dale's relationship in what turns into a PR coup. Then her trusty vice-president drops off the ticket so she can replace him with the crude, despicable Tara Meyers, a conservative Democrat with no experience but vaulting ambition; fashionista Melanie's antipathy toward Tara comes across largely in her disdain for Tara's clothes. Meanwhile go-getting Dale recovers under Peter's care only to go to work for Tara. The poor men in this novel are such pushovers.

No serious insight into how governing works, but an enjoyably gossipy dishing of Inside-the-Beltway residents of all persuasions.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 1, 2010

Imagine the Republican Party winning the 45th presidency and also making history by inaugurating the first woman President. In her debut novel, Wallace capably visualizes this scenario while infusing the story with the richness of her professional experiences as political commentator, White House communications director under George W. Bush, and adviser to the campaigns of John McCain and Sarah Palin. President Charlotte Kramer is well served by her highly competent chief of staff, Melanie Kingston, as she faces a tough economy, the rigors of the Afghanistan war, low poll numbers, daunting reelection prospects, and a disintegrating marriage. Equally entertaining to envision is how a "First Man" might fare. Mr. Kramer, an entrepreneurial agent for NFL athletes, maintains his own schedule, lives in separate quarters, spends quality time with their teenage twins, and, feeling increasingly distanced from his spouse, falls in love with a young, bright, and ambitious White House correspondent. VERDICT An insider's politically balanced view into the 18 acres of the White House, its politics, and the intriguing affairs of state. A must for political junkies and fans of political fiction.--Sheila Riley, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, DC

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2010
Melanie Kingston, White House chief of staff to the nations forty-fifth president, Charlotte Kramer, has spent 15 years in the 18 acres that constitute the White House complex. As her boss and dear friend President Kramer considers running for a second term, the two are confronted with political and personal turmoil that threatens their collective and individual careers. Melanie has no social life to speak of as she navigates the politics within and outside the White House. Charlottes marriage is falling apart, her husband is having an affair, and her closest adviser and friend makes a judgment that threatens national security and tests the bonds of friendship. Dale Smith, a reporter in love with the presidents husband, fights her conscience and professional ethics as she struggles to climb to the top of television news reporting. Wallace draws on 13 years experience as a political commentator and news reporter, many of those years spent working in the White House, to deliver a portrait of three women caught in the whirlwind of Washington politics.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)