Book Review and Giveaway: Henny on the Couch by Rebecca Land Soodak

Synopsis: Kara Caine Lawson has worked hard to become the woman she is-wife, mother and successful shop owner. Having survived a turbulent childhood, Kara understands that life could've just as easily gone another way . . . and even if she isn't gliding through the trials of lost library books, entitled customers and routine date nights, at least she's not sipping a Dewar's all day like her mother did. 

But then Kara unexpectedly encounters paintings by her now-famous college boyfriend just as she's beginning to suspect that her daughter Henny's difficulties may be the sign of something serious, and all of her past decisions are thrown into dramatic relief.

Review:  I wasn't too sure about this book, something about it just was and was not appealing at the same time. But then I opened it at 3 chapters in, I realized it was going to be a super quick read! The author does a great job in showing the REALITIES of modern motherhood. While we all don't have nannies, we know about working mother guilt, and questioning our parenting decisions (and having them questioned). How the parents deal with their daughter's educational issues is also realistic and heart-breaking at the same time.

The author does a great job in showing how a mother-daughter relationship can influence the daughter when she becomes a mother, and the decisions she makes. Going back and forth between present and the past worked really well in this book, as it helped you to understand the characters and their actions. Showing how the 'might have been' in Kara's college relationship was interesting and very realistic- the what if dreams we have are never as good as reality!

I loved the book pretty much til almost the end, when I felt like the author's political narratives went askance of the characters' realities. Kara and her husband are living the American dream- they borrowed from their mortgage and had investors, to make not only Kara's business a success, but to help her husband's firm succeed, to the point where it is up to being bought out by a West Coast firm. They have a great apartment, with a side apartment for their full time nanny, and have the means to travel. So the political paragraphs seemed very out of place, and thrown in to make the book 'current'. I found myself hurrying to the end, feeling let down. But all said, the rest of the book was worth the read. It's definitely a great Summer read.

About the Author: Henny on the Couch is Rebecca's debut novel. Rebecca has contributed to Salon, Big Apple Parent and About Our Kids. In August 2008, The New York Times ran an article about an ad/rant she posted on Craigslist in search for a Nanny. The piece was picked up by the Associated Press and covered in newspapers around the world.

A former Psychotherapist, Land Soodak is also a painter. She lives with her husband and four children in Manhattan and Litchfield, CT. http://rebeccalandsoodak.com/

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Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from Grand Central Publishing, via bookblogs.ning,  for review  purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or other, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it