Book Review - Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA

Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA
Ellen Meister
Avon
ISBN # 0060824816

I had the supreme joy of reading this book last week. I laughed out loud at page 23 and continued to be heartily amused, surprised and moved to tears until the very end.

Applewood Elementary is offered the chance of a lifetime – a movie shoot, a new stadium and a visit from George Clooney – and it may happen, if the members of the PTA can find a way to work together. In the process of working through the planning, secrets are revealed, feelings are hurt and the bonds of sisterhood are established.

If you’ve ever been to a school event and looked at the people around you, did you think about what their inner lives might be like? The well dressed woman with the perfect manicure and the designer handbag may have won her fortune through terrible misfortune. The harried mom with the baby on her hip, the diaper bag slipping off her shoulder and the toddler trying to pull out of her grip – she may be a poor, stay at home mom or a high powered executive who barely has time to eat. This book will cause you to wonder even more.

Ellen Meister is a master of blending romance, mystery and humor in the form of what most people would pass off as “chick-lit”. Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA is one of those books you grab off the shelf with the intent of being entertained for a few hours, not expecting to be drawn into a world you might actually live in. (August 1, 2007, 400 pp, $13.95)