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| Odd Mom Out | Off the Record | One-Hit Wonder |
| Operation Sunshine | Outside In |
Odd Mom Out - Jane Porter (2007)
Advertising executive Marta Zinsser has moved from New York to Seattle to start a new agency and be nearer her mother who has Alzheimers disease. Her nine-year-old daughter Eva, who she conceived through donor sperm, really wants to fit in with the popular crowd in their affluent suburb (where people will behave better at breakfast if the Gates are nearby). Eva believes it would help if Marta was a bit more like the other immaculately groomed mums who are so involved in their children's school. Marta, who feels more comfortable in jeans and combat boots, joins in some of the PTA activities but struggles to keep up as well as run her agency, Z Design. Marta also believes she doesn't need a man but she soon runs into the irresistible Luke Flynn on her morning jog. A very convincing story about a working mother's relationship with her daughter, the pitfalls in the pursuit of popularity and why you should be leader of your own pack.
7/10
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Off the Record - Jennifer O'Connell (2005)
Did Jane Marlow have such an effect on her former neighbour that he wrote a hit song about her? That's what her brother thinks when he sees Teddy Rock on a music show, talking about his chart-topper Janey 245 from 13 years earlier. Suddenly plain Jane is in the spotlight - making radio appearances and being asked by her boss to woo Teddy as a client.
6/10
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One-Hit Wonder - Lisa Jewell (2001)
Bee Bearhorn had a number one hit single in 1985 - and was destined to become Britain's answer to Madonna. But instead she becomes a one-hit wonder. When she dies alone in a London flat 15 years later, it's up to her timid, gangly half-sister Ana to collect her belongings. Leaving their agoraphobic mother in Devon, Ana tracks down Bee's closest friends (and the only ones at the funeral) - the exotic singer Lol and long-time driver Flint - and they set out to uncover what happened to Bee. Why did she have a secret country cottage, who is Zander and where is her missing cat? Ana's journey of self-discovery as she finds out how Bee's glamorous life fell apart is told by the interweaving of past and present events. Well worth a read.
7/10
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Operation Sunshine - Jenny Colgan (2007)
Evie, a receptionist for Harley Street plastic surgeons, is just thinking that she needs a good holiday when her bosses invite her along to their medical conference in Cannes. What a perfect location for a glamorous holiday! Also coming along for the ride are her good friend Bailey, who's involved in her doctors' big secret project, another backstabbing receptionist, plus Evie's bullying brother and his gorgeous wife. Only problem is she's flying economy and staying in a fleapit of a motel while everyone else is living it up in luxury. With secret rendezvous and offshore shenanigans, it definitely turns into a holiday like no other. Unfortunately, it's not really a plot that would make you want to miss the inflight movie.
5/10
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Outside In - Courtney Thorne-Smith (2007)
Kate Keyes-Morgan has a starring role on TV show Generations and is about to face her worst acting nightmare - shooting a lingerie scene. Her husband and manager Hamilton ensures she retains her current stick figure through daily weigh-ins and a diet that consists of a few nibbles of egg whites and chicken. Then Hamilton leaves her for her demanding co-star, Sapphire Rose, who often shuts down the shoot for hours because she can't squeeze into her wardrobe (after all, how can you put on weight following a raw food diet of carrot and seed muffins, cheese and crackers and candy bars?). Hamilton's departure gives Kate her first opportunity to run her own life and career. She moves in with her wise-cracking make-up artist Paige and falls for Michael, who she thinks is a struggling writer but instead is Sapphire's long-suffering agent. This has lots of funny diva action and obnoxious lines from her horrible husband.
6/10