THE PENNY PINCHERS CLUB

Author: Sarah Strohmeyer ISBN: 9780525951179 7/2009 FICTION Publisher: DUTTON

Bestselling author Sarah Strohmeyer offers up a timely (and recession-proof) treat about the things money can—and can’t—buy. Living in New Jersey—the state that boasts the most malls per capita—Kat’s favorite recreational activity is a no-brainer: shopping. But when she discovers that her husband, Griff, has been hiding a secret bank account, her joyful consumerism suddenly loses its appeal. Are their fights about money more serious than she understood? Is he, as her friends suggest, preparing for a divorce? Just in case, Kat decides it’s time to start saving. Drastic times call for drastic measures: Kat starts by canceling cable and kicking her $240-a-month Starbucks habit. But what starts out as a simple effort to cut costs becomes an over-the-top obsession when Kat joins an eclectic but lovable group of savers called the Penny Pinchers Club. Soon she is pumping her gas at dawn (when it is thicker) and serving dinner made from food she retrieved at the grocery store dumpster. Kat is saving money, to be sure, but what she’s really saving is time—time she spends with Griff, their two kids . . . and an old flame who resurfaces at precisely the wrong moment, offering Kat a life where money is no object.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I have never had the pleasure of reading any of Sarah Strohmeyer's books before, but let me say that after reading THE PENNY PINCHERS CLUB, I will be running out and buying as many as I can get my hands on! This book is wonderful, evoking so many emotions in me and yet not miring me down in any of them. A light read, with some not-so-light moments, the time flew by while I was reading. Once I started reading, I literally could NOT put the book down!

Kat is a fabulous heroine with enough spunk and pluck to put the rest of us women to shame! When she suspects her husband is having an affair, sure, she sits down and has a good cry; but then she gets up, shakes it off and determines that she is going to save enough money to pay for a divorce. But along the way, Kat learned so many things about herself. She grew as a person, as a wife, as a mother. I have never been married, but Sarah Strohmeyer has given me great insight into what it might be like to be joined heart and soul to another human being. Kat and her husband have such great chemistry that through the entire book I was making excuses for his supposed behavior; hoping, of course, that I was right!

THE PENNY PINCHERS CLUB is a feel-good book, one that is easy to get lost in. My least favorite part of the book is the end because I wanted it to go on and on! I would suggest setting aside a few hours to read the entire book when you pick it up, because there is no way to put it down once the story has begun.

Kristal Gorman