BEING COMMITTED

Author: Anna Maxted ISBN: 0060096691 6/2004 CHICK LIT Publisher: REGAN

After her disaster of a marriage ends when she is just twenty, Hannah is convinced you have to be out of your mind (or desperate) to tie the knot. And life without a husband at thirty-one is just fine, thank you very much. She has a steady job working as a private investigator (albeit a mediocre one); a devoted boyfriend of five years, Jason; and a wonderful relationship with her dad (it's a shame her mother is such a lost cause). Then, on a romantic weekend retreat to a faux-ancient castle, Jason proposes marriage, leaving Hannah with no choice but the obvious: to turn him down cold. Much to her horror, four weeks later, Jason becomes engaged to his next-door neighbor, a fine baker and "proficient seamstress." Has Hannah blown her last chance at a solid relationship as her family claims? Jason agrees to give her another chance -- but only if she meets his terms, among them a promise to dust off the many skeletons in her closet.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Frankly, I had a hard time becoming involved in the story at the beginning. The heroine seemed so clueless about life and insensitive towards others; it was driving me crazy. Thankfully, several events allow the heroine to suddenly take a step back from her life, as she’s always known it. She is able to alter her attitude and realize that what she’s taken for the truth for many years really isn’t the whole truth.

I found many of the secondary characters to be refreshingly three-dimensional—people with real life problems who didn’t always cope with them the best way. While Hannah seemed almost flippant and uncaring at times, I continued to read in order to find out what happens with others like her sister-in-law, her mother and her ex-husband. After finishing the book, I’m much more likely to forgive Hannah for her awful behavior and thoughtless actions than I was while reading it, for it seems as though Hannah has finally matured enough to accept the shortcomings of others in her life, as well as admit to her own mistakes.

While BEING COMMITTED has some faults, overall, the story is an intelligent and enlightening look at life. I liked seeing Hannah mature and change through the story. BEING COMMITTED is for chick-lit fans who like a bit more meat in the plot than the typical chick-lit comedy.

Kendra Patterson