Mary Carter, She’ll Take It

She'll Take It

Mary Carter

Strapless, Mar 2006, $12.95

ISBN: 0758213549

After every binge, Melanie Zeitgar vows never again. However, the cycle repeats itself whenever something goes wrong. So the wannabe actress fails to get a part that she auditioned for, she steals from some store; she breaks up with a boyfriend, she shoplifts; visits from mom; monster thievery; her vibrator has no battery, "stealaholic" at work. Melanie is a kleptomaniac having an urge to purloin stuff whenever she perceives something has gone wrong in her life.

Currently she is binging on chocolate and shoplifting as her squeeze Ray the musician, has failed to call her. However, as she rationalizes his failure to communicate by wondering if her beloved might have been in an accident, she meets a hunk whose heart she must steal as he has purloined hers, but the problem is he is also the guy who could send her to jail for robbery.

Though Melanie is an interesting character, she is also unlikable and consequently will not gain the readers sympathy for her kleptomania. Still, her thieving reactions to anything she deems negative makes her a fascinating protagonist, especially how often afterward she vows not to steal again. The chick lit format allows some extra insight into her personality, but the underlying deep rooted psychological causes of her kleptomania are revealed in the latter half of the tale, after the audience's opinion on the protagonist is cemented.