THE BREAKUP CLUB

Author: Melissa Senate ISBN: 0373895585 1/2006 CHICK LIT Publisher: RED DRESS INK

Lucy Miller-Masterson: Superstar editor of bestselling books, supermom to a precocious preteen and superwife of a hot doctor... until she learns her husband's New Year's resolution is "Leave Lucy." Miranda Miller: Stuck under her big sister's shadow, this twentysomething editorial assistant hopes her perfect ex-boyfriend will come crawling back... with a diamond ring. Christopher Levy: The women at the office think he stole Lucy's promotion. The moms at the playground think he broke up his family. But this weekend dad can think only about figuring out fatherhood. Roxy Marone: This Brooklynite shocks her traditional family when she skips her own wedding to hop a train to Manhattan for a life-changing job interview.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Melissa Senate's fourth novel, THE BREAKUP CLUB, was just a joy to read! I loved it from the first page to the last page, and everything in between. Her characters are so well written that I was drawn into their lives. I laughed with them and I cried with them. I would definitely recommend reading THE BREAKUP CLUB. It's a funny, charming, and touching story about the lives of four New Yorkers who have found themselves broken up with the people they love.

First we meet Lucy, whose husband has decided to make leaving her his New Year's Resolution. Then we meet Lucy's sister, Miranda, whose boyfriend just broke up with her, yet she is determined that he will come crawling back. Then we meet Christopher, whose wife, with his year old daughter, leaves him. Finally there's Roxy, who leaves her fiancé standing at the alter. Lucy, Miranda and Christopher all work together, and soon Roxy joins them. There they discover they all have one thing in common—being broken up with (except for Roxy, but she's still upset over her fiancé). The situations these four people get involved in is sometimes just too funny, and other times, it's just plain sad.

One of my favorite scenes happens at the beginning of the book between Lucy, her relatives, a turkey, paper plates, and a very upset husband. You'll just have to read it to know what happens.

Being a mother, I totally sympathized with Christopher and his outings with his baby daughter. During his outings, he always seems to run into other mothers who are constantly telling him about the right way to raise his child. The scene in the playground with him and a group of mothers talking about how "breast is best" was just too funny!

I loved Miranda and how determined she was that her ex-boyfriend was going to come back to her, even though it's already been months since the breakup and he's already seeing someone new.

And who can forget the day when Roxy is supposed to get married, and she's sitting there letting her mother apply Rock-Me-Red nail polish to her nails while her aunt and her soon-to-be mother-in-law are arguing over the right shade of pink for Roxy's lips.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading THE BREAKUP CLUB. I hope that you can find some time to pick up this delightful book.

Julie Kornhausl