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Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA

Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

At once tender and hilarious, this captivating story turns suburbia upside down, revealing the inner lives of three characters who have more humor, heartache, and heat than one PTA can hold

When a Hollywood location scout comes to Applewood, Long Island, and announces that the local elementary school might make the perfect backdrop for an upcoming George Clooney movie, the PTA's decorum crumbles like a cookie from last week's bake sale.

Enter Maddie, Ruth, and Lisa, three women who become the glue that holds the project together . . . and wind up forging a bond of friendship stronger than anyone could imagine.

A good thing, too, because each one of them is about to come apart. Maddie Schein, an ex-lawyer trying hard to fit in and save her marriage, gets knocked off balance by Jack Rose, an old college friend hell-bent on seducing her. Ruth Moss—rich, sexy, and outspoken—has more to give and less to enjoy than most people think. Indeed, since her husband's stroke left him embarrassingly uninhibited yet completely impotent, she's more of a caretaker than a wife. And modest Lisa Slotnick, a loving parent who wants nothing more than to fade into the scenery as she tends to her children, must deal with the humiliation of being thrust into the spotlight by her scandalous, alcoholic mother.

When these three get together, a powerful alliance is formed. But is it strong enough to overcome the obstacles to getting the movie made in their town? And will their friendship be enough to mend their hearts and homes? Join them as they reach for the stars . . . and try to pull off a Hollywood ending of their own.

Review:

"Cat fights erupt among Applewood's soccer moms in Meister's eager-to-please debut. The local PTA, driven by ber-wife Suzanne Podobinski, is raising money to build a small stadium at the elementary school when a location scout, searching for a place to film a movie starring George Clooney, happens into their Long Island town. The PTA quickly dissolves into factious committees, and Meister uses the ladies' competitiveness to delve into the histrionic relationships of suburban housewives: lawyer Maddie Schein has an inferiority complex that's exacerbated when she imagines her chiropractor husband has a crush on his cousin; brash, show-offy songwriter Ruth Moss secretly longs for satisfaction after three years of caring for her impotent, half-paralyzed husband; and mousy Lisa Slotnick, married to a millionaire computer geek, is in for a rocky ride after her alcoholic singer mother shows up. As tension mounts, the ladies cast aspersions, scheme, connive and resort to blackmail (a ploy that comes in handy after Suzanne is spotted in a poolside mnage trois). The comic book — inspired cover and Lisa Kudrow blurb are the icing on this cupcake of a novel." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA is a novel about three women who come together when Hollywood announces plans to shoot a movie in their children's schoolyard. Maddie Schein is an emotionally-needy ex-lawyer whose marriage is on the rocks. Brash Ruth Moss has it all except for one thing: her husband was left brain-damaged and sexually uninhibited from a stroke. Timid Lisa Slotnick wants nothing more than to fade into the scenery, but is thrust before the spotlight by her alcoholic mother, a singer whose career has failed.

Synopsis:

Three women come together when Hollywood announces plans to shoot a movie in their children's schoolyard. "Ellen Meister's characters are so funny, smart, and real, I feel like I've made three new friends!"--Lisa Kudrow.

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About the Author

Ellen Meister grew up in the PTA-enriched heartland of suburban Long Island and spent her early career in publishing and advertising. She lives in New York with her husband and three children. This is her first novel.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Mary Akers, January 10, 2007 (view all comments by Mary Akers)
The cover of Ellen Meister's debut novel has a Lichtenstein-inspired tongue-in-cheek rendering of four women standing before a backdrop of Suburbia, USA. The woman in the foreground has a thought-bubble that reads, "A MOVIE STAR IS COMING TO TOWN AND MY FRIENDS WANT TO DATE HIM!"

But the thought-bubble should read, "A MOVIE STAR IS COMING TO TOWN AND MY FRIENDS WANT TO SHTUP HIM!" Because--let me just tell you now--in Applewood? There's a whole lotta shtuppin' goin on.

Not that there's anything wrong with shtupping...I'm just saying.

Seriously, I had so much fun reading this book. The main characters are likeable and quirky, with real lives and families, real faults and longings, that make you see them as full, complete people and not the cardboard cutouts so many authors working in similar genres have produced. (And, actually, I'm not even sure what I mean by "similar genres," since I have to say that even though a hot pink cover has become synonymous lately with a "chick lit" label, this novel is not your traditional chick-litty book. It's full and rich and generously sprinkled with emotional, humorous, sexy surprises.)

And the minor characters delight as well: the husband, who, following a drug-induced stroke (more or less of his own making) is left impotent and yet perversely sexually uninhibited; the private investigator who is an emotionally sensitive wreck; the alcoholic blues-singing mother who keeps trying to upstage a talented daughter who could care less about being upstaged; the womanizing best male friend turned almost-lover; the evangelical pure-on-the-surface, animal-in-bed widower who is also Applewood's most eligible bachelor; the smooth-veneered catty PTA maven who has her own dirty little secrets; and, of course, the infamous roving rock that has spawned so much trouble. (Do rocks spawn??....if they do anywhere, it would be in hyper-fertile Applewood.)

What? You've never heard of Applewood Rock? Why, it's right up there with Plymouth Rock, people. Wars have been started over lesser objects. But don't believe me: get the book, slip between the covers, and have the time of your life. This is a seriously funny, engaging, endearing read.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060818630
Publisher:
Libri
Subject:
General
Author:
Meister, Ellen
Subject:
Domestic relations
Subject:
Motion picture industry
Subject:
Contemporary Women
Subject:
General Fiction
Publication Date:
August 2006
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
310
Dimensions:
9.14x6.40x1.08 in. 1.25 lbs.
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