Amy Poeppel
Limelight

Limelight

I love novels about New York City and was intrigued by the Broadway angle here: everyone's counting on teen pop star Carter Reid to anchor a much-anticipated musical revival, but he is wholly uninterested in fulfilling his contract. Enter Allison Brinkley, a newly unemployed mom who just arrived from Dallas and still feels like a fish out of water in the city. When a series of minor disasters connects her with the young star, one thing is clear: Carter needs a parental figure in his life. I downloaded the audiobook narrated by Carly Robins, and it was a great listen for a solo road trip. (Note: I was especially glad to have the car to myself; it's seriously sweary.)

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Musical Chairs

Musical Chairs

Bridget planned for the perfect summer ... but then it all went wrong. First her boyfriend breaks up with her, over email (!). Then her two twenty-something children, each dealing with their own crisis, invade her empty nest. And then the classical trio that is her livelihood comes unglued, and her aging father sets his own nearby house on fire. In the course of one short summer everything that can go wrong, does go wrong—and to fix it requires Bridget to fess up to secrets she’s buried for more than twenty years. It’s not the summer Bridget planned for, but it delivers the second chances she needs—and it’s hilarious, with laugh-out-loud dialogue and a pitch-perfect ending.

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Small Admissions

Small Admissions

Author:

From the publisher: "In this witty, hilarious, and entertaining novel that’s 'The Devil Wears Prada meets Primates of Park Avenue' (The New York Times), a young woman is unexpectedly thrust into the cutthroat world of New York City private school admissions, from award-winning author Amy Poeppel. Despite her innate ambition and summa cum laude smarts, Kate Pearson has turned into a major slacker. Miraculously, Kate manages to land a job in the admissions department at the revered Hudson Day School. As the process revs up, Kate meets smart kids who are unlikable, likeable kids who aren't very smart, and Park Avenue parents who refuse to take no for an answer. Through a comical and crazy run of wildly unpredictable interviews, subtle bribes, outright threats, final judgments, and page-turning twists, the highly competitive and occasionally absurd world of private school admissions is brought to light in all of its outrageous glory that is reminiscent of Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep."

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The Sweet Spot

The Sweet Spot

From the publisher: "Amy Poeppel brings her signature “big-hearted, charming” (The Washington Post) style to this wise and joyful novel that celebrates love, hate, and all of the glorious absurdity in between."

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