Book: She Makes It Look Easy

She Makes It Look Easy by Marybeth Whalen is one of the books that has been sitting in my "to read" stack.  I'd previously read The Mailbox by this author (reviewed here).  I won this book in a blog giveaway and was looking forward to reading it and finally was able to this past week.

The two main characters are Ariel and Justine.  Ariel, mom of three boys, has just moved into the house behind Justine's house in the neighborhood where she's always dreamed of living.  They share a fence with a gate and Ariel imagines being friends with Justine who seems to rule the neighborhood.  Ariel gets caught up in trying to be like Justine who appears to have everything together with her clean organized house, proper daughters who don't get into mischief like Ariel's boys, and perfect looks.  Ariel soon learns that everything is not always as it appears.  She gets suspicious of Justine when another new family, Tom and Betsy, move into the neighborhood, and Ariel learns Tom was Betsy's high school boyfriend.

I think there is a lot in this book to which a women reader will be able to relate.  It is so easy as a woman to compare yourselves to other women, imagining their perfect life or trying to be like someone else, when in reality the inside is crumbling away and nowhere near perfect.  We cannot forget to realize what we do have instead of wishing for someone else's life.  

This was a quick read for me and kept me interested.  I like how the chapters were alternately written from the perspectives of Ariel and Justine.  

(Note:  I found this review was in drafts so I am publishing it now, not sure why I never published it at the time I actually read this book!) 

Have a day of blessings!