For what it's worth, I read it in a night after being sucked into the plot. Ad agency exec Lindsey commits career hari-kiri and skulks back home to Bethesda, where she wrestles with jealousy of her beautiful twin sister and tries to put her life back together. Many a reader will relate to Lindsay, who has always carved out her niche as the "smart" sister. If the trajectory of Lindsey's path feels familiar - Girl Loses Herself, Girl Has to Figure Out What's Important, Girl Finds Her Path - well, that's why ladies like myself like these novels. Good fiction books, whether they are written by Ian McEwan or Jodi Picoult, offer us escapism or fantasy wish fulfillment, much like putting together my NCAA bracket. (I had Georgetown beating Kansas. Like I said, fantasy).
Incidentally, future novelists take note: it's helpful to have a female novelist heavyweight like Jennifer Weiner in your corner. I bought The Opposite of Me: A Novel (my first book purchase of the year!) because of a Weiner-sponsored contest where pre-ordering Pekkanen's book guaranteed you a copy of a Weiner book. And since I'm now firmly on the Local Girl Does Good bandwagon, go see Pekkanen read and do a book signing - she is at the Enoch Pratt library on March 23 and Politics and Prose on April 3.
