Synopsis: A childless couple contracts with a lonely drifter to carry their sole remaining embryo, but little do they know that the baggage she brings includes criminal connections and demonic possession. Review: The Surrogate was simply terrible. Cardboard characters, overstuffed plotting, and an implausible storyline just really got on my nerves.
Synopsis: Subtitled “New Thinking About Children,” shows how some of the new paradigms in education and childrearing are not supported by research data. Review: I had already read some of NurtureShock, since several of the chapters began as articles in “New York” magazine. It’s pretty fun to watch the authors pick apart some current sacred cows, like the purported virtues of educational baby DVDs, or the merits of testing kindergarteners to track them into gifted programs, or the benefits of teaching thankfulness. As a parent…
Synopsis: When a yoga-loving vegetarian gets knocked up by her deadbeat boyfriend, her cruise ship hostess mother moves on in, and hilarity ensues. Review: Stretch Marks was cute enough, but it wasn’t the most original take on the subject I’ve ever read. I liked Mia well enough, but at many points I felt like her struggles were genuine enough. It also bugged me how blind she was to her ex-boyfriend Lars’s shenanigans. It’s not like my expectations were that high, but I was hoping for…
Synopsis: An examination of the science of sex differences. Review: Apart from some outdated and irresponsible advice about breastfeeding (says the LLL leader), I got a lot out of Why Gender Matters, which I listened to on audiobook. Dr. Sax talks about how the neurological differences between men and women, and how that influences how we perceive the world and the choices we make. He applies it to teaching and to childrearing. In short, his argument is that gender blind education is harmful because it…
Synopsis: The true story of 39-year-old film critic who has a one-night stand that leaves her Knocked Up. Review: Accidentally on Purpose is heartwarming, honest, and achingly real. Mary F. Pols is a fantastic writer and she managed to avoid many of the pitfalls of the autobiography by just letting the story tell itself. I was most interested in her relationship with Matt, her 29-year-old unemployed, directionless baby daddy. In many ways she tried to parent him, too, only to have to let go and…
Synopsis: A tight-knit group of 4 couples must deal with the sudden and suspicious deaths of two of their own. Review: The Castaways put me off at first because it reminded me of The Big Chill, a movie I’ve never liked. I’ve never really been able to put my finger on why, except I know it has something to do with Glenn Close’s smug smile throughout. Perhaps it was because although they were ostensibly reuniting because of a death, they were so solipsistic in their…
Synopsis: It started out as just another car insurance problem, but for call center worker Mina, the conversation with Peter just might turn wonderfully personal. Review: Crossed Wires is a sweet, gentle, tender book. The sole bit of edge is provided by Mina’s wayward teenage sister, but she spends most of her time offscreen (so to speak) where she can’t wreak too much havoc. The romance between Mina and Peter unfolds quietly and organically. Author Rosy Thornton doesn’t try to make things too cutesy, which…
Synopsis: A Princeton admissions officer faces a long-buried secret in the height of application season. Review: The college application process, shrouded in secrecy and constructed with fuzzy logic, proved quite fascinating in Admission. Watching Portia speak to prospective students, looking over her shoulder as she read through applications, and hearing her defend a process most believe inherently unfair and corrupt perked up a book with an otherwise unimpressive plot. Portia and her long-time boyfriend Mark have reached a crisis in their relationship, just as Portia…
Synopsis: After the suicide of his troubled daughter, a British journalist heads out to recuperate in Mexico and flee the ghosts that still linger even after he was acquitted of the murder of his wife. Review: Everything You Know is a much better book than its title would indicate. Author Zoe Heller is well-known for Notes on a Scandal, which became a great movie with Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. Everything You Know lacks that book’s tawdrily catchy premise, but goes much deeper into its…
Synopsis: A bereft woman’s mother’s desperate act triggers a violent spiral affecting a whole community. Review: The Tree of Hands was lesser Ruth Rendell. It dates back to 1986 and she’s really grown as a writer since then. It definitely has her trademark nuanced characterizations but the story wasn’t as gripping as later works like The Rottweiler have been.