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Carpool Confidential
Looks like we made it...
From the outside looking in, Cassie Martin's life is storybook perfect. She and her investment banker husband, Rick, have everything -- financial stability, a loving marriage, and a to-die-for apartment overlooking the Manhattan skyline that they share with their two young sons and one stinky but beloved dog. It may not be the height of excitement, but Cassie's content to take care of her family and compete in the superparenting sweepstakes of the New York City private school mom. Then one night, in one instant, everything changes. Rick has been offered an exciting new opportunity involving a...Barry Manilow retrospective? And he wants -- no, needs -- to try to get the feeling again.
I can't smile without you...or can I?
What can a woman do once she's been abandoned for brown polyester leisure suits and an a capella version of "Weekend in New England" other than hope her husband will eventually come to his senses? But as Cassie tries to keep her life afloat among the complications of financial insecurity, warring parents of her own, a mother-in-law who suddenly wants to become best girlfriends 4ever, and the advent of a third child in her life, it becomes clear that there's more to the Manilow story than meets the eye. And as fate would have it, Cassie's new work has her venturing into some of the city's hottest night spots -- definitely not the Copacabana -- and maybe, just maybe, into the arms of a man who will help her try to get the feeling again....
From the outside looking in, Cassie Martin's life is storybook perfect. She and her investment banker husband, Rick, have everything -- financial stability, a loving marriage, and a to-die-for apartment overlooking the Manhattan skyline that they share with their two young sons and one stinky but beloved dog. It may not be the height of excitement, but Cassie's content to take care of her family and compete in the superparenting sweepstakes of the New York City private school mom. Then one night, in one instant, everything changes. Rick has been offered an exciting new opportunity involving a...Barry Manilow retrospective? And he wants -- no, needs -- to try to get the feeling again.
I can't smile without you...or can I?
What can a woman do once she's been abandoned for brown polyester leisure suits and an a capella version of "Weekend in New England" other than hope her husband will eventually come to his senses? But as Cassie tries to keep her life afloat among the complications of financial insecurity, warring parents of her own, a mother-in-law who suddenly wants to become best girlfriends 4ever, and the advent of a third child in her life, it becomes clear that there's more to the Manilow story than meets the eye. And as fate would have it, Cassie's new work has her venturing into some of the city's hottest night spots -- definitely not the Copacabana -- and maybe, just maybe, into the arms of a man who will help her try to get the feeling again....
- GenresChick LitContemporary
432 pages, Paperback
First published October 16, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 30, 2021
Four stars for the writing and character building, but the ending was just so open ended, I have no idea what MC's will decide to do next.. she (h) was absolutely going to throw out her cheating hubby in the last couple of pages but then in the last sentence she reconsiders...I think? Or does she? I have no idea how that conversation ended, so I don't know how it's supposed to turn out and I really wish the author would let us know :(
Otherwise a great book, I do recommend it if you don't mind ambiguous endings
Otherwise a great book, I do recommend it if you don't mind ambiguous endings
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2008
As a stay at home mom, this book hit home! The main character was faced with challenges in her marriage that we all hope to avoid, yet she found her way out with her determination and perseverance. This book made me look at the assumptions I had about my own life and marriage. I've realized that maybe I should keep one foot firmly attached to my career because you never know what life is going to bring you.
September 1, 2020
Another book that had promise, but in an overpopulated chick lit genre this one just doesn't stand up to the competition. Boring.
November 30, 2023
I thought this book was pretty enjoyable. I was worried it would get too "chick lit"y, but for the most part all of the characters felt pretty fleshed out. I liked that the book even did a red herring with the back cover blurb - haven't seen that before.
It makes me a little sad to realize blogging is already a bygone thing. You wouldn't think writing would ever get outdated but in the age of video, the big bucks $$$ are no longer totally believable. That said, the blurbs they included were actually pretty funny (most of the time when fake "super popular blogs" etc are included in a book, you have to sort of pretend to believe anyone would care about them).
Issues: I think Rick was a bit caricatured at times in the book, like when Cassie notices the financial issues after going to the accountant and he just congratulates her for her journey of self discovery or something? I didn't really get, at all, why he was pretending to be spiritually awoken or whatever. It just felt a bit hard to swallow at times (his reactions)
My other issue was that I expected a little more self reflection on Cassie's part rather than just playing the Barry Manilow blame game. In a way, Rick wasn't wrong - she considered their money a shared asset when it had the potential to be taken away from her, but when they were married she acted as if she didn't care at all what he did with money despite disagreeing with how he spent so much - ultimately treating it like "well it's his money so he gets to spend a bizarre amount on these trivial things." And this whole time, she could have fired Maria for doing almost no housework... so why didn't she? She had a bit of a "these terrible things just happen to me and I'm not an actor in my own life" attitude that wasn't fully addressed.
Similarly, her approach to money sometimes seemed inconsistent and hard to understand. If you're truly worried about money and all the bills piling up, you don't buy a bag of Depends just because some lady wearing a hat at the grocery store thought you needed them. You don't put your niece in a private school without knowing if anyone will pay for it. YOU DON'T TURN DOWN your mother-in-law's offer of $$ when it could help keep your kids in a house. You don't think about throwing an expensive ring into an ocean or w/e. You don't order 7 manhattans at the club. IDK. This all bothered me because she spends a lot of time sort of thinking she's above crazy spending and woe is me Idk if I can buy a Christmas tree, but ultimately, that's not the poor man's approach to saving money.
saw the twist of the sex club coming once it occurred to me "that's odd, why does it seem like this is going to happen in one of the last chapters? Ah, yes..." but, that's ok.
Ultimately through it was a fun read.
It makes me a little sad to realize blogging is already a bygone thing. You wouldn't think writing would ever get outdated but in the age of video, the big bucks $$$ are no longer totally believable. That said, the blurbs they included were actually pretty funny (most of the time when fake "super popular blogs" etc are included in a book, you have to sort of pretend to believe anyone would care about them).
Issues: I think Rick was a bit caricatured at times in the book, like when Cassie notices the financial issues after going to the accountant and he just congratulates her for her journey of self discovery or something? I didn't really get, at all, why he was pretending to be spiritually awoken or whatever. It just felt a bit hard to swallow at times (his reactions)
My other issue was that I expected a little more self reflection on Cassie's part rather than just playing the Barry Manilow blame game. In a way, Rick wasn't wrong - she considered their money a shared asset when it had the potential to be taken away from her, but when they were married she acted as if she didn't care at all what he did with money despite disagreeing with how he spent so much - ultimately treating it like "well it's his money so he gets to spend a bizarre amount on these trivial things." And this whole time, she could have fired Maria for doing almost no housework... so why didn't she? She had a bit of a "these terrible things just happen to me and I'm not an actor in my own life" attitude that wasn't fully addressed.
Similarly, her approach to money sometimes seemed inconsistent and hard to understand. If you're truly worried about money and all the bills piling up, you don't buy a bag of Depends just because some lady wearing a hat at the grocery store thought you needed them. You don't put your niece in a private school without knowing if anyone will pay for it. YOU DON'T TURN DOWN your mother-in-law's offer of $$ when it could help keep your kids in a house. You don't think about throwing an expensive ring into an ocean or w/e. You don't order 7 manhattans at the club. IDK. This all bothered me because she spends a lot of time sort of thinking she's above crazy spending and woe is me Idk if I can buy a Christmas tree, but ultimately, that's not the poor man's approach to saving money.
saw the twist of the sex club coming once it occurred to me "that's odd, why does it seem like this is going to happen in one of the last chapters? Ah, yes..." but, that's ok.
Ultimately through it was a fun read.
December 21, 2007
From the moment I heard about Carpool Confidential I was dying to read it (for reasons that will become clear...). Also Meg Cabot highly recommended it on her blog recently and we always listen to Meg!
After 11 years of marriage, Cassie and Rick have an apparently idyllic life that includes two gorgeous kids, a Brooklyn apartment with breathtaking views of Manhattan and a holiday home in Nantucket. But then out of the blue, Rick announces that he's unhappy with the way his life has turned out and he's leaving Cassie to go and find himself ... and work on a Barry Manilow retrospective. I love Barry Manilow - and not even ironically - so this was right up my alley.
Cassie is flabbergasted since Rick has always been dependable, even a bit
To read the rest of the review, please visit
http://www.trashionista.com/2007/11/b...
After 11 years of marriage, Cassie and Rick have an apparently idyllic life that includes two gorgeous kids, a Brooklyn apartment with breathtaking views of Manhattan and a holiday home in Nantucket. But then out of the blue, Rick announces that he's unhappy with the way his life has turned out and he's leaving Cassie to go and find himself ... and work on a Barry Manilow retrospective. I love Barry Manilow - and not even ironically - so this was right up my alley.
Cassie is flabbergasted since Rick has always been dependable, even a bit
To read the rest of the review, please visit
http://www.trashionista.com/2007/11/b...
July 23, 2008
Fun story about how much adjustment is made to all family members lives when a divorce occurs. The main character sees many of these events as ironic, and adds a really fun, lighthearted voice to a serious subject.
January 4, 2008
Such a fun book! The Barry Manilow tie-in is inspired!!
July 17, 2008
Cute and realistic. Certainly not great literature.
November 7, 2008
Total fluff and a great read. I loved it for what it was!
Read
August 3, 2011I'm only halfway through the book and I just feel like kicking Rick in places where the sun don't shine!!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews