Play Dates: A Satirical Novel of Divorce, Reinvention, and Survival in New York's Elite Society

by Leslie Carroll

With her sharp wit and riveting style, Leslie Carroll plunges us deep into the world of the overscheduled children of New York, and the oversexed, over-lipoed, overpaid people who raise them -or pay their nannies!

What happens when a trophy wife gets turned in for someone even younger, blonder, and prettier? Claire Marsh doesn't take it lying down. She may have lost both husband and housekeeper in the horrible divorce, but even if she's not able to keep living in the manner to which she's accustomed, she'll do what it takes so that her daughter will—with a little help from her slightly wild, slightly out-of-control sister MiMi.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction

402 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 18, 2005

About the author

I used to tell people that I was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx; but the truth is that apart from the stellar education I received at the Fieldston School in Riverdale, much of who I am was shaped by my two grandmothers, who encouraged me to follow my bliss long before it became the sort of catchphrase you find on tee-shirts and new-age tchotchkes. My East Side grandmother took me to FAO Schwarz, the New York City Ballet, and afternoon tea at the Plaza Hotel, where I dreamed of becoming another Eloise. My West Side grandmother took me to the Central Park carousel and the zoo and treated me to colorful paper parasols and gummy, lukewarm pretzels from the vendors whose wares my East Side grandmother deemed too "dirty" for human consumption.

There are writers on both sides of my family, and although I always loved to write, I never anticipated that it would become my profession. I had wanted to be a ballerina; and though my club feet were corrected at birth (from the stilettos I adore now, you'd never know) and my short Achilles tendons made my toes turn in (corrected at the age of 9), I was never going to end up en pointe.

About a year later, I decided to become an actress when (if?) I grew up, and I never looked back. I majored in Theatre at Cornell University, worked in summer stock, and took classes with a couple of acknowledged masters. I performed a lot of Shakespeare and other classics in New York parks, basements, church choir lofts, and the occasional Off-Broadway theatre; then founded and ran my own nonprofit theatre company for several years. And when things got slow, and I found myself working three survival jobs simultaneously (one of them as a journalist and editor), I decided it was time to pursue an additional creative avenue.

Fast forward a decade. I'm now a multi-published author in three genres, as well as a freelance journalist. And I've also adapted a number of classic texts (Ivanhoe; The Prisoner of Zenda; The Scarlet Pimpernel; Mark Twain's The Diaries of Adam and Eve) for the stage. I began writing women's fiction and historical fiction simultaneously, but my first published novel was the urban romantic comedy Miss Match in 2002. In 2005, as I continued to write about feisty female New Yorkers, my first historical novel was published under the pen name Amanda Elyot. While keeping those literary plates spinning I made my historical nonfiction debut in the spring of 2008.

In what I laughingly refer to as my spare time, I'm still a professional actress, working when the scripts and the roles excite me.

I'm such a native New Yorker that I still don't have a driver's license, "Big Sky Country" means Central Park, and the farthest I've ever been from the Upper West Side for any great length of time was my four-year stint upstate in Ithaca, at Cornell, known for its rigorous academics and its equally harsh permafrost.

My birthday falls on the same day as two of my heroes—F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jim Henson. So I reread The Great Gatsby every year and number Miss Piggy among the great actresses of her generation. My favorite color is deep hydrangea blue, and it just kills me that it doesn't look good with red hair.

I live in Manhattan with my husband Scott—who is my hero and everything I ever dreamed of. For the past couple of years we've been considering an addition to the family in the form of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, but this midwestern working mom just cannot empathize with New Yorkers who live outside their means, insist on private school (even when the teachers, curriculum, and culture of the school are obnoxious, judgmental, and hostile), and overschedule their kids with extra curricular activities. This was sometimes amusing, but I can't believe I read the whole book. Too long, too much priviledge.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny book about a stay at home raising her daughter in the Manhattan area, where it is all about who spends the most and has the best parties for thier kids, but not how good of a parent you are. Claire is married to a much older man, she is in her mid-twenties and has never had a job because she married right out of highschool. Then the jerk leaves her for another woman and Claire must get a job, keep up with the other mothers, and keep up with her daughter's busy schedule. Lots of interesting characters, love Claire's sister and her daughter. Funny book.

[aCupcakeBlonde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as I thought it would be in the beginning. The story is told from three different narrators perspectives. A young newly single mother, her 8-year-old daughter and her older sister. While I enjoyed Claire and her daughter Zoe dealing with a divorce and having to be on their own for the first time, Clarie's sister Mia was annoying and not my favorite narrator, which may have led to my disliking parts of this book. Overall, kinda so-so on how I enjoyed this book.

[Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably have liked this book more in book form. The narrator reading as a little girl voice was really annoying. But the story was great overall. Life changes really do affect your children, and you want to keep things as steady as possible for them. But could the outcome make them stronger? It's possible that they make you both stronger.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot more than I thought I would. I have read a lot of books where the over-indulgence and ridiculous wasting of money by Manhattanites is central to the story, but luckily, that didn't play as much of a role here as I thought it would. I really liked the character of Zoe; I am a sucker for a precocious kid who isn't very annoying and I rather liked how the narrator voiced her. Her diary entries were a little sophisticated for even an intelligent 2nd grader, but they were entertaining. Of course the story wrapped up a little too neatly with everyone getting their happily ever after, but it was a nice, light read with lead characters that I actually liked! Claire's sister Mimi is a bit annoying; I think her character is the one that actually suffered from the way she was voiced on the audiobook, but I also don't think her story was interesting enough to make her the third protagonist of the book. Seeing the events of Claire's life post-divorce through her and Zoe's eyes was more than enough. Perhaps the author should have devoted a book just to Mimi and her life, so her character and the people in her life could have been fleshed out a bit more. Other than that, this one was a fun listen/read.

[Diana Santoso · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun and touching read. I'm surprised it didn't get more stars here.
I enjoyed it from the very beginning to the end. I love how it's told from three perspective and all of them are women. I love how fluid is it. I love the struggle, it's touching sometimes. I love the happy ending, didn't feel it was cheesy at all!

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it was shallow to a point - so if you are not into chick lit slight fluff don't bother..BUT - I read it a few years ago and found it entertaining if not eye rolling at some points..another BUT - I also got it..City life is different from average small town to medium size city life and even in my suburban neighborhood it reflected so much of what this author was going through. Struggling to be the perfect mother, wife, live through the embarrassment of divorce, losing a job, not being able to afford the "premium" preschools. I grew up in a small town where private school's hardly existed and weren't needed, married a city guy who's family made fun of me for going to public school, like the lowest of the low. All in the geographics and money and status.

I was in my 30's when I had my daughter and watched all the 20's trying so hard to live some image that had been ordained to portray success. Play must be structured, kids had to eat on a strict schedule, you had to be perfect, nails, hair, weight, the right neighborhood, cars, etc. Play groups became more stressful in politics than my marketing career had ever been. In effect, the book was and still is a reflection of the credit spend mentality that existed, a shell, image without a lot of substance, since most of those women I dealt with are now working/downsized/divorced. I was just more relaxed and comfortable in my own skin and loved observing the strugggles and felt bad for them, but it was amazing what a 10 year age difference could do, i.e. parenting instructions are just someone's theories, not an absolute, kids are just as happy with pots and pans as they are with the latest Vtech toy, especially if you have a pc and can by 5 Below software - it's ok to budget in case something happens! The birthday party nightmare..oh boy....bleeding money and time....

It was funny to me, some validation, a little relatable and a good fluff read. If you aren't into that don't waste your time, but if you want something akin to a Hallmark or upbeat Lifetime movie then read it.

[Diane Ramirez · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not a big reader of chicklit so I'm a terrible source for a review of this book. As a dabbler in the girly art, I didn't really appreciate this. The narrators (three of them, all female) were talkative to the poing where I wanted to tell them to shut their yaps. And while I do have the female genetics working for me, and I do get excited when the Perfect Guy comes along, the little bit of a feminist in me is never pleased when the Perfect Guy's coming along equals the Happy Ending. The cynic in me wants to scream out -- when do we get to see his temper come out? Or, I bet he leaves his toenail clippings on the nightstand, Claire!

There were some things I never did understand, and that's as a been-there-done-that single mom. Why why why did this struggling mother with no tolerance for bull keep sending her daughter to the overpriced, overambitious, and extremely snooty Thackeray Academy? How could she see the damage that was being done to her daughter by the nutty school and NOT pull her out immediately? And did the author not find her main character a bit too indulgent of her daughter? She's a strong girl, not a delicate and rare lotus petal!

On the other hand there were some genuinely sweet moments that moved me. Well, about TWO genuinely sweet moments, but that's something.

Again, this is not my genre so it's quite unfair for me to say anything negative. But if you happen to be thinking of giving the chick thing a try, I recommend you start somewhere else.

[Flavia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Spoiler alert!! The chick is divorced, can't continue being a home-mom and pay for all the extra-curricular activities her 7-year-old is entitled to, + the tuition of a very high-end private school where the teacher is a monster who hates both mother and child....why insist on the school, then? no explanation to that, or to many other terrible dilemmas, such as how to organize a birthday party that is up to par with the competing rich females of her milieu. But, luckily, all is resolved with mom and auntie getting hot understanding men and rewarding designer/artsy careers. Oh, all's well that ends well. Ex-hubby, the guy who abandonned those lovely creatures, is deservedly punished for his bad deeds by having to put up with a skinny b... who has the figure and personality of a toothpick.
Only read if you have many hours to spare and want to dedicate them to something lame...

[Melody Loomis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been years since I read this book, and I think I liked it okay. But if I remember correctly, there was this bit in the back of the book where I guess they were interviewing her, and the mom was just totally out of character from the rest of the book. I guess this book really wasn't that memorable which is why I only gave it 3 stars.

[Katie Powers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am just a few pages into this and already annoyed. The newly divorced mother is complaining about having to be w/ her daughter 24/7 for the entire summer since both her husband and housekeeper left her. Boo frickin hoo. We'll see how long I last w/ this one...

Well, I finished it. Would not recommend. Predictable but unrealistic.

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a good, fun chick lit read. But it does touch on the common problems of a newly single mom trying to cope with child care, finding and keeping a job, and everyday life with the private school snobs. A woman trying to find just what she can and cannot manage in her new life.

[Sue Kozlowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this. The book describes some of the excesses bestowed upon children of the rich in NYC. Claire is divorced and her daughter goes to a private school. She tries to maintain the lifestyle her daughter previously lived.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and easy read. Nothing heavy or earth-shattering, but I did enjoy it.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was definitely just a barely OK book; not worth reading unless you're really bored....but I bought this at a library so if anyone wants to take it let me know..

[Sarah]

Play Dates by Leslie Carroll (2005)

[Jordana Horn Gordon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan.

[Carrie Flatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

great easy read...

[Karen Thomson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm struggling to find something good to write about this one....it started poorly and really just went downhill, with the end interview being the absolute worst part. The daughter's narration was almost as terrible. Has this woman ever met a 7-year-old? Ugh. I could go on, but I've already wasted too much time on it.