Posts Tagged ‘contemporary women’s fiction’
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Book Review: Stella Makes Good by Lisa Heidke
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Summary (Allen &Unwin)
Can mother-of-two, Stella forge a new life for herself after the end of her marriage? A funny and insightful novel about love, friendship and the quest for happiness.
Stella Sparks is on good terms with her ex-husband, Terry, despite the fact he left her for another woman. Stella’s philosophical – the marriage had run its course, they remain friends and the wellbeing of their kids is central to both of them.
Stella’s two closest friends, Carly and Jesse, envy her togetherness and wish they could emulate it. Jesse’s husband, Steve, is a control freak who’s driving her crazy, but she has two small children and can’t see a way out. Carly, meanwhile, suspects her husband is having an affair and isn’t sure what to do about it.
Stella’s life takes a distinctly upward turn when she meets a handsome, apparently single – no ring, anyway – father at her son’s school speech night. For Carly and Jesse, however, the search for happiness and fulfilment proves more elusive…
With a healthy dose of humour and romance Stella Makes Good is about the games we play, the secrets we keep, the unpredictable nature of life and the importance of female friendship.
Comments
I have been looking forward to reading Lisa Heidke’s latest book and it didn’t disappoint. Her characters are always women that I can relate to – women trying to balance home and personal commitments, trying to rediscover a sense of purpose in their lives and/or someone simply trying to find a way to fulfil some of their own dreams while also supporting their children, partner, parents and friends.
I enjoyed the multiple perspectives in the novel. Stella is written in first person and is the official central character, although her life is probably the least troubled. She shares the limelight with Jesse, Carly and Louisa, however, and I like the depth this adds to the story, especially given the focus on keeping secrets and making decisions. The different perspectives give much better insight into the way each woman is thinking as she makes the choices that she does.
Stella Makes Good was a fun way to get my 2012 reading underway. There were plenty of scenes that made me smile (Stella’s mother-in-law is particularly entertaining) and others that made me think about friendship and secrets and the truths that we hide from others and, sometimes, from ourselves.
Book details
Title: Stella Makes Good
Author: Lisa Heidke
Publisher: Arena, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-74237-867-1, 312 pages
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Related Links
- My review of Stella Makes Good at Suite101.com
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Book Review – Bittersweet by Melanie La’Brooy
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Summary (Penguin Australia website)
Sabrina Falks is the golden girl; a beautiful, successful actress who is engaged to the too-good-to-be-true Edward. Her life is glamorous and seemingly perfect – apart from her recurring desire to run away.
Her younger sister, Mimi, is funny and bright but also hopelessly lost, with no career prospects, no money, no love life and a string of disastrous mistakes in her past.
Estranged since a fight over their dark family history, Sabrina and Mimi enter into a reluctant alliance when Sabrina hires Mimi to be her bridesmaid. The sisters then do battle with intrusive paparazzi, out-of-control dress designers and, increasingly, each other.
As the wedding day approaches, long-buried family secrets emerge, and Sabrina and Mimi find themselves facing some unforeseen home truths …
Marriage, celebrity culture and the bittersweet bonds of family take centre stage in this warm, funny novel that sparkles with wit and wisdom.
Comments
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started Bittersweet. I was looking for something easy to read and at some time someone on Twitter had recommended Melanie’s books to me so I thought I would give it a try.
Bittersweet was a wonderful combination of comedy of errors style humour with some family, relationship and personal issues that added a real depth to the story. There were lots of light-hearted moments and the dialogue between the central characters was particularly entertaining at times. The cast of secondary characters offered lots of opportunity for farcical moments and general silliness.
Beyond the humour, dramas and bridezilla moments, there were some more serious scenes where the two sisters examined their lives and became aware of just how strongly the separation of their parents when they were children had impacted their relationship with each other and their view of themselves. Bittersweet touches on some interesting topics as Sabrina, Mimi and their friends and family come to terms with their past and deal with issues holding them back in the present. Celebrity culture and body image are also significant issues, offering both lighter and more serious moments throughout the novel.
My greatest delight was finding the author’s website. It is easy to see the source of the humour in the novel, particularly the dialogue of Mimi. I’m incredibly disappointed that Melanie La’Brooy isn’t on Twitter so that I can chat with her and try to convince her to be my friend (which goes a long way to supporting her decision to stay as far away from Twitter as possible).
Bittersweet was light and entertaining with just enough substance to make it really enjoyable. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author in the near future and would love any recommendations for which one I should read next.
Book Details
Title: Bittersweet
Author: Melanie La’Brooy
Publisher: Penguin Australia, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-14-320568-5 (450 pages)
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Related links
· Bittersweet review at Suite101
