Pamela Redmond Satran Younger Review

Overall Rating

Younger
Pamela Redmond Satran
Downtown, Jul 2005,
ISBN: 141650558X

Her husband dumped Alice for a younger model. With the encouragement of their daughter, Alice crosses the Hudson from New Jersey to Manhattan where she meets her best friend Maggie. One look at her middle aged pal upsets Maggie so that she decides a total make over is needed to convert the suburban mom into a hot urbanite. The years come off and forty-four years old Alice looks like she is in her twenties.

At a New Year's Eve party Alice meets Josh, who is much younger than her. Though their personal definitions to what are a couple shows the age gap, both insists they are not interested in a relationship. As she continues to see a man old enough to be her son, Alice also obtains her first job. However, pretending to fit in as a fellow twenty-something at work and in her "non-relationship" with Josh proves overwhelming as Alice wants to climb back out of the rabbit hole and confess to being a fortyish mother.

YOUNGER is a deep character study that looks at age discrimination especially in the workplace, but to a lesser degree in relationships. The story line centers on Alice who finds lying about her age difficult to keep up with, but knows the truth will not set her free as it probably would cost her job, the friends she has made at work, and Josh. Pamela Redmond Satran writes an intriguing thought-provoking drama.

Harriet Klausner