Book Description

Internationally bestselling author of The Other Woman returns with a sharply observed tale of a single girl swapping places with a married mother of two.

From Publishers Weekly

Vicky Townsley, single and successful features director of Poise! magazine in London, thinks that marriage and children are all she needs to be happy. Amber Winslow, wife and mother living in Highfield, Conn., feels like her life is out of control. When Poise! offers to help them switch lives in the interest of a magazine article, Vicky and Amber eagerly agree. What they find is that their own lives aren't so bad, and that happiness comes from within (nothing startling here). Landor's overly affected takes on British and American accents are more distracting than enhancing. Her high-pitched children's voices are annoying and her male characters ring false. The lightweight story is enjoyable but overlong. An abridged version that trimmed back on the nonstop inner dialogue and detail-filled scenes would have probably made for a less draggy audiobook.

From Booklist

Reality shows and contests are a hot topic for fiction these days, and Green (The Other Woman, 2005) is the latest writer to jump on the bandwagon. Green's vehicle is a Poise! magazine contest that gives a married woman the opportunity to switch places with Poise! features director Vicky Townsley, who at 35 is professionally fulfilled but unhappy that she's not yet found a man. She's hoping she may have met the one in Jamie Donnelly, a handsome Irish comedian who has a reputation as a womanizer. Across the pond in Highfield, Connecticut, Amber Winslow has what seems like the perfect life with her husband, Richard, and her two adorable children. But Amber is tired of keeping up with her competitive friends, and she sends a letter in to Poise! never expecting to win. Readers probably won't be surprised that Vicky and Amber learn to appreciate their own lives thanks to the switch, but they will enjoy watching Green peel the layers of the women's lives back, highlighting that both women have issues they need to change and others they need to accept. Green is a popular chick-lit writer, so expect demand.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Kristine Huntley

From AudioFile

An old story--two women exchanging lives for a month--has suddenly caught fire this year, in fiction and film, and is here superbly ignited by the incomparable Rosalyn Landor. She develops the two main characters into believable, full-bodied women: Amber, the discontented, wealthy Connecticut suburban wife and mother, and Vicky, the British magazine editor who craves love and a mate. Green takes a long time to develop her plot, but Landor keeps the pace going. Her vocal characterizations easily travel "across the Pond," from those of the soft-spoken American wife and mom to the sometimes brittle and authoritative English career woman. The outcome is no surprise--the swappers discover that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. M.T.B.

Book Dimension

length: (cm)19.7 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)12.8