THE MOMMY FUND

Author: Madeleine K. Jacob ISBN: 0452285763 2/2005 CHICK LIT Publisher: PLUME

Best friends Kate Thompson and Dani Strauss are contemporary moms who are struggling to keep it all together. Kate, a devoted wife and mother of two boys, seeks answers in self-help guides, while Dani, a wise-cracking, skeptical attorney, navigating the new waters of joint custody and the single life, looks for the solution in glossy magazines. When fate drops a million dollars into Kate’s hands, the girls impulsively take it on the road to get the "time to themselves" their busy lives never seem to allow. They head to New York City—the land of fabulous clothes, expensive makeovers, sexy men, and unlimited adventure—and it doesn’t disappoint. But fulfilling their fantasies also offers a surprising perspective—and suddenly their lives back home don’t look so bad. In the end, a renewed Kate and Dani recognize that they’re not the only moms who could use a break, and The Mommy Fund is born.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

THE MOMMY FUND, by Madeleine K. Jacob, starts out eerily similar to the story of my life, most days anyway, but ends up completely derailing itself near the middle. Fortunately, at the very end, literally the last few pages, its manages to jump back on track by bringing the characters full circle to the reason they needed their own mommy fund.

What keeps this train moving is the sincerity and reality Kate and Dani, the main characters, portray in the story. The two best friends, Kate, who stays home with the kids, and Dani, the working mom, are both characters who bring wit and humor, as well as the frustration and anxiety all moms feel in one way or another. They are easy to bond with and feel like real friends you know and love. Both of them are stressed out and wondering just what it is they are doing to make the Universe strike them so unfairly, when Kate unexpectedly comes into the gift of a million bucks. The girls decide it's definitely time for New York to become their playground. At least for a weekend.

That New York minute is where the book loses its grip on me and spins into a totally different story I want no part of. Dani, in a moment of no self-esteem, completely forgets about her girl's weekend away with Kate in favor of a playboy that a ninety-year old could see through. She meets him one night for a few hours and decides that, despite warnings from Kate and all the gigolo's pals, he is going to be Mr. Right. Yeah, right. Not that a little flirtation and romance on a girl's weekend shouldn't happen, but to ditch a friend that is paying for you to come along is downright crappy in my book. From that point on THE MOMMY FUND loses sight of the way it's headed. It takes some will power on my part to get back into it.

That part of the book is just a detour along the way to establishing the full story, so I will not say I didn't enjoy reading it. There are some truly funny and touching scenes that make you shake your head and think "I know just what they mean". I just wish that whole neurotic moment of Dani's could be eliminated. It isn't necessary to the plot and most certainly could have made me give this book a better review.

Shannon Johnson