From the moment I heard about Carpool Confidential I was dying to read it (for reasons that will become clear...). Also Meg Cabot highly recommended it on her blog recently and we always listen to Meg!
After 11 years of marriage, Cassie and Rick have an apparently idyllic life that includes two gorgeous kids, a Brooklyn apartment with breathtaking views of Manhattan and a holiday home in Nantucket. But then out of the blue, Rick announces that he's unhappy with the way his life has turned out and he's leaving Cassie to go and find himself ... and work on a Barry Manilow retrospective. I love Barry Manilow - and not even ironically - so this was right up my alley.
Cassie is flabbergasted since Rick has always been dependable, even a bit boring, and has never shown the slightest interest in any sort of Easy Listening music. But off Rick goes, without telling Cassie exactly where he's going, how long he'll be away or whether he's coming back. He doesn't even give her a contact number, saying instead that he'll get in touch with her.
At first Cassie's in total denial, but soon she realises she has to take care of herself, which is when she learns not only that Rick has been planning this escapade for quite some time, but also that he's left her and their sons financially insecure and may have been less than honest about a number of other aspects of his life.
Before giving it all up to have kids, Cassie was a journalist, and an old friend and contact suggests she blog about her experiences for a New York magazine. The blog becomes extremely popular very quickly, but while Cassie finds writing about what she's going through cathartic, she also has the additional worry that her fellow PTA moms will work out the real identity of the blog's author.
Cassie is witty and charming and I warmed to her immediately. Rick is an utter sleaze and I wanted to wring his neck. Plus the supporting characters - Cassie's friends, mother-in-law, niece and sons - are great fun and admirably avoid cliche. The other PTA moms *are* rather cliched, but all the more fun for that somehow.
Plus the chapter headings are Barry Manilow song titles. What's not to love?
There was one aspect of the plot that I absolutely didn't buy, but this is Jessica Benson's first chick lit novel* so I'll forgive her. I can't wait to see what she writes next. Highly recommended.
* Benson has previously written historical romances. I've never read any, but when I do I'll start with one of Benson's.
Rating: 4/5
Like this? Try Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA by Ellen Meister