Suburban Chic and Scandal: A Look at When Life Gives You Lululemons

Lauren Weisberger’s When Life Gives You Lululemons is a sparkling, witty sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, shifting the focus to the glamorous yet tumultuous life of Emily Charlton, Miranda Priestly’s sharp-tongued former assistant. Now a high-profile image consultant, Emily faces a career crisis when her A-list clientele begins to dwindle.

The story unfolds in the affluent suburbs of Greenwich, Connecticut, where Emily joins forces with her old friend Miriam, a former high-powered attorney turned stay-at-home mom, and their mutual friend Karolina, a supermodel navigating a messy public scandal. Together, they tackle Karolina’s personal and professional dilemmas, exposing the absurdities and pressures of suburban life.

Weisberger’s satirical take on wealth, privilege, and the cutthroat world of image-making is both biting and hilarious. The characters are vividly drawn, with Emily’s sardonic wit and no-nonsense attitude providing the perfect counterbalance to the novel’s more heartfelt moments. Themes of friendship, reinvention, and resilience shine throughout the narrative, making it as empowering as it is entertaining.

Our book club loved this book – it was so much fun. It was light, funny, and full of drama. We talked about how Emily and her friends navigated all the crazy society challenges with humor and grace. It certainly shows how friends can help you get through anything. Enjoy the fun.

Rating: 8.5

An Ordinary Life

Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake is a poignant exploration of memory, love, and the intersections of past and present. Set during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the novel unfolds as Lara, the narrator, recounts a transformative summer of her youth to her three grown daughters while they all work together on their Michigan family orchard.

The narrative shifts between Lara’s present-day family life and her youthful romance with a budding actor, Peter Duke, whose star later rises to Hollywood fame. The story draws parallels between Lara’s youthful idealism and her mature understanding of love and sacrifice. The daughters’ varying reactions to their mother’s stories underscore themes of how family lore shapes identity and relationships.

Our book club mostly enjoyed the novel. We loved the looking back at one’s younger self as Lara explains her life to her daughters. We especially liked how the daughters reacted (some different some identical). We discussed how our pasts effect us and how and why we make the choices we do. I specifically loved the beauty of ordinary lives that Patchett’s tells so well in this book. I listened to Meryl Streep on the audible and she is so outstanding bringing Lara to life. Some of the other book club ladies read the book and thought it dragged a bit. I told them they should have listen to the audible.

Rating: 8.5

A Life’s Journey

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The title alone had us intrigued The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.  Immediately Elizabeth Taylor came to mind (but she actually married eight times – married Richard Burton twice).  Plus, we had read Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel Malibu Rising last spring and enjoyed it. When we like a book, we look at other novels that author has written. And just like the first book we were smitten.

When Evelyn Hugo, an aging star, who can still work a room, a movie set, and anything else she so desires, wants you to write her memoir – what’s a journalist to do?  Monique Grant is shocked when Evelyn asks her to not only write her memoir but to keep all proceeds from its sale. Monique is just starting her career and not a well-known entertainment journalist or author. Anyone would jump at this astounding offer, and she does with apprehension. Why me? (Of course, there is a reason – you’ll find out at the end).

Evelyn is all charm but with an edge. We follow her on her journey to stardom. As her darkest secrets are laid bare and the story concludes we are once again shown that no one has it all. We all suffer. We all grieve. We all do not get what we want. It’s about making the best of your live regardless.

We really liked this book.  We had fun visiting old Hollywood.  And appreciated how hard it must have been for so many to live their authentic lives. We talked about Elizabeth Taylor and about the tragedy of Marilyn Moore, among others.  We loved the fact that Evelyn wasn’t perfect. She did some stupid things. Some bad things. Who doesn’t have flaws?

And by the way:  Our book club has absolutely picked Harry as our hands down favorite husband.  Although….(don’t want to ruin the story).

Enjoyable.

Rating: 8.0

Photo by Vlad Bagacian on Unsplash

Love Heals

Shelby Van Pelt’s novel Remarkably Bright Creatures is a story about healing and finding love again. 

After her husband dies, Tova Sullivan works keeping her home in tip-top shape and takes a job at Puget Sound’s Sowell Bay Aquarium cleaning and talking with the creatures of the sea. Her favorite is an octopus named Marcellus.  Staying busy helps quiet the 70-year-old’s mind from wondering about her son, Erik, who died at eighteen from suicide. Tova never believed the coroner’s ruling.

Her friends don’t understand why she mops floors at the aquarium when she has plenty of money. Tova has a steely determination to live her life her way and on her own. She even refuses all offers of help when she decides to downsize from her childhood home.

The novel keys in on another character, Cameron. A thirty something, down-on-his-luck young man looking to find his father and get money for all the child support payments never made to his mother.  His mother suffered from mental illness and left Cameron with her sister to raise. Abandoned, Cameron can’t get his act together. Without a stable family, his ability to form secure attachments always falters and his relationships fall apart. Frustrated about his life, he leaves his hometown to find his father from a picture he found in his mother’s belongings. Cameron arrives in Tova’s town – coincidental?

Love – it’s what we all crave. It doesn’t always come in the Prince Charming package. And slowly, Tova Sullivan, let the pain of her incredible losses subside and allowed moments of affection, caring and love back into your life. 

And let’s not forget about Marcellus – the octopus.   If you happened to listen to the book, the narrator was amazing. Everyone at my book club loved this character.

We genuinely enjoyed this book. It’s a feel-good-happy book and it’s always nice to have a smile on your face when you finish a novel.  We discussed the general theme of the book – healing.  Everyone has people they loved who have passed away and the difficulty of grieving.  The deeper the love you have for someone – the longer the time you will mourn them according to a grief counselor I spoke with.  We also discussed love of family and friends and the great comfort they can bring.

It a lovely end-of-summer read. 

Enjoy!    

Rating: 8.0

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

The Innocence of Childhood

As part of the fabulous Pulpwood Queens our book club gets to discover lots of different books and their authors. During the last Girlfriend’s Weekend, I met quite a few. One author was Lesley Kagen who wrote Whistling in the Dark.  I’ll have a few more posts on other discoveries from that Weekend as my book club reads them.

The author is quite the entrepreneur. She’s also an actress, voice-over talent and a restaurateur.  Where she finds the time…. Her book Whistling in the Dark takes me back to my own childhood. We were pushed out the door by 9 am on Saturday and expected back for dinner around 6.  Somewhere in the neighborhood we would grab a p&j at someone’s home around 1. We were unsupervised and left to our own devices.  We made up games and entertained ourselves with made up stories and adventures. No one worried about child predators.

The novel introduces us to the O’Malley family in the summer of 1959 in Milwaukee. Sally O’Malley had promised her father on his deathbed that she would look after her sister Troo and keep her safe. But life had other plans. Sally’s mother had remarried an alcoholic and was in the hospital battling cancer. The stepfather abandoned Sally, Troo and their older sister Nell. Food was scarce and so was big-sister, Nell, who was more interested in her boyfriend then her sisters. 

Sally’s ten-year-old imagination goes into overdrive as two young girls go missing. She is convinced that her sister Troo will be next. Sally is spooked by all the attention a local cop is giving her and thinks maybe he’s the murderer. The tale spins as we follow the story through the eyes of this bright, inquisitive young girl.  

My book club loved this book. We talked about the freedom of our childhoods. No supervision, going from one neighbor’s home to the next with no thought of danger. No scheduled play dates.  We discussed the difference between our childhoods and our children’s. We all loved the detail and richness of this story. We felt like we were there running in the neighborhood or bicycling down by the lake. But the story really highlights the vulnerability of the children of this (our) era.

Pick up the book for your book club. It’s fun to reminisce.

Rating: 8   

Photo by Piron Guillaume on Unsplash

The Turncoat’s Widow: A Revolutionary War Mystery

Our book club was honored this month to host author, Mally Becker, and her new book – The Turncoat’s Widow: A Revolutionary War Mystery.

We so enjoyed reading her book that we were thrilled to be able to ask her questions about where she came up with the idea for a strong female lead in America’s revolutionary war. The seed of the story came about when Mally was looking through Morristown National Historical Park archival letters and she found a copy of an indictment for the crime of traveling from NJ to NY without permission or passport. 

So began her writing journey. And we were so glad she did.

The story begins with the death of the Philip Parcell. He had been held prisoner and was tortured by the British who were looking for a list of informants.  Before his death, he told a fellow prisoner (Daniel) to contact his wife, Rebecca and have her sell the list to General Washington.

Daniel escapes and goes in search of Rebecca. All is not well for her at home. She struggles to maintain their farm and must deal with hostile townspeople who think she’s a turncoat and threaten to take her farm away. She has wanted nothing to do with this war but finds herself square in the middle of it by the time Daniel finds Rebecca. Washington tasks both with finding the list. In turn, he will safeguard her farm and grant it to her if she prevails.

There’s a lot going on in this novel but it’s an exciting read with believable and interesting characters throughout. Plus, we all learned a bunch of things about women in that time period and about the war itself. Well researched. Your book club will love it.

Rating: 8.5

Against All Odds

Covid and crawdads – who would have thought of any connection between them. But this month our book club pick seemed so appropriate.  Isolation was a theme we all understood after this long, fearful year. 

Now imagine you’re a young girl and all alone. No one to love and nurture you.  One by one Kya’s family left home. First, at age six, her mother. Followed by her siblings and finally her drunken father. She had to prevail over unbelievable odds from an incredibly young age.

Kya’s coming-of-age story takes place in the marshes of North Carolina. Imagine the loneliness of a 10-year-old girl living by herself.  Shunned by the locals who nicknamed her “marsh girl,” she learns to take care of herself. Kya is helped by a few people like Jumini, his wife and a young man named Tate.

Her story of survival coincides with an investigation into the untimely death of Chase Andrews, a married man, who had dated Kya. The authorities and Chase’s mother are convinced that he was murdered. The story twists and turns like traversing the backwaters of the North Carolina’s marshes. Some of our members guessed the end and others were shocked by it.

A lot of controversary surrounds the book – critics abound. It is a bit unbelievable but so what. Delia Owens writes so lyrically about the marshes that I wanted to visit and that’s definitely not something I ever wanted to do.

Our book club liked the book, and we had some good discussions regarding the setting and the time period (the book was set in late 1950-1960’s). And, of course, the ending, which I don’t want to spoil here.  It’s a good discussion book for book clubs. 

Enjoy.

Rating: 8.0

Photo by Dave Chambers on Unsplash

Beyond The Ghetto Gates

Beyond the Ghetto Gates tells the harrowing story of the Jewish people in Ancona, Italy during Napoleon’s invasion through the eyes of a young Jewish maiden named Mirelle.  

Forced out of her father’s beloved workshop by the Rabbi, Mirelle struggles to confirm. She is told that her time is better spent learning to be a good wife from her mother.  A woman is unfit for the job after all.

In the meantime, the Catholics in Ancona grow increasingly anxious with the approaching French army, blaming the Jews. They lash out, killing, and destroying, and cause great suffering. Mirelle and her family try to pick up the pieces as the French army arrives.

With Napoleon’s capture of Ancona, the ghetto gates used to segregate the Jewish people are destroyed, and the French troops do away with the civil limitations imposed on the Jews, at least for a while. 

The story also follows two French soldiers, Daniel and Christophe. Lifelong friends, Daniel is Jewish, and Christophe is Catholic (but not practicing). They cross paths with Mirelle and her best friend, Dolce. A love story takes shape and a marriage proposal for Mirelle. Although, not the one she imagined.

Francesca, a married, devout Catholic woman living in Ancona adds another dimension to the story.  She is torn between her religion and her marriage vows.

We love escaping into the past with a good book.  And Beyond the Ghetto Gates was just the story to bring us back in time to the city of Ancona, Italy in 1796. We chose this as our book club pick for June and everyone loved it.  We had a Zoom meeting with the author, Michelle Cameron and asked all sort of questions about the origins of the book, the research as well as the characters. We highly suggest this book for other book clubs.

By the way, did you know that Napoleon wasn’t really short? 

Rating: 8.5

Teaching in the Time of Desegregation

We had the pleasure of spending an evening, via Zoom, with author, Eileen Harrison Sanchez for our book club, Between Friends. It’s so much fun when you host an author. We were able to get all the background for the novel, as well as answers to those questions that always pop up when you a read a good book. 

Freedom Lessons is Eileen’s personal account of her time spent in a small rural town, Kettle Creek, Louisiana. A few years earlier the U.S. Supreme Court mandated that schools desegregate, but by 1969 many had not. Eileen spent one-school year as a teacher for an African American school when it was directed to integrate into a white school in the same town. The integration took place at the last possible moment (overnight in fact) to not lose its federal funding.

Eileen decided to tell the story through the eyes of a young white teacher (Colleen), a black teacher (Evelyn) and a black student (Frank).  This gave depth to the story and we had a chance to see the effects of this move on the town and its students.  

The author taught second grade during her time in Louisiana and struggled to supply her students with basic materials and books. She was creative and managed to improvise with game playing and performance motivating techniques. Eileen reached out to her students’ parents and worked with them to get library cards for her students. It helped her gain their trust, which was not an easy thing to do at that time in the South.

In the current environment this is a wonderful book for book clubs to read and to start the discussion on racism. All of us enjoyed the book and, of course, speaking with Eileen.  We had lots of questions about her time in Louisiana and how she continued her efforts to seek fairness in the education for all ethnicities throughout her long teaching and administrative years.

We recommend the book and are happy we had the opportunity to meet such an empathic warrior who was brave enough to do the right thing.

Rating: 8.5

The Only Woman in the Room

Who doesn’t want to be the most beautiful woman in a room?  Most of us will only wonder. But to be stunningly beautiful, and an actress with a brilliant mind in the 1950’s was inconceivable to the male-dominated world. Author, Marie Benedict, had to write about Hedy Lamarr after she found out about her invention.

She captivated audiences in the 1940’s and 50’s with her beauty and acting ability. Hiding beneath that striking face was the mind of an innovator.  Hedy Lamarr is credited with inventing the basics for all modern wireless communications: signal hopping along with composer George Antheil.

Wanting to help the plight of the European Jews she undertakes to create something that would help the Allies – a superior radio-guided torpedo system. How she goes about doing this is quite interesting as is her escape from her abusive husband in Vienna right before the start of WWII. Her wily determination helps her flee Austria and the Nazis and make her way to Hollywood. She uses her beauty to her advantage, but she strives to be much more.

Our book club really enjoyed the novel.  Some of us looked up her background and talked about details in her movie career and her marriages.  We are always amazed at how women were ignored and overlooked in the 40’s and 50’s.  How little voice we had as a gender! Still more needs to be done, but we thank all those that came before us who paved the way, including Hedy Lamarr. 

Rating: 7.5