Single in Suburbia
Wendy Wax
Bantam, Jul 2006, $6.99
ISBN: 0553588972

In Atlanta Amanda Sheridan is stunned when her spouse of almost two decades Rob traded up by simply leaving her and their two children to be with his younger beautiful girlfriend with nothing to take care of his family. Her plan beyond sticking a dipstick up his butt is nonexistent as Amanda has been a stay at home mom for over fifteen years and has no marketable skills except housekeeping, but she refuses to quit.

She makes friends with ignored trophy wife Brooke and trice divorced Candace as the trio open up Maid for You. Amanda utilizes her only skill to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. However in suburbia a person like Amanda cannot be seen cleaning homes as that is unacceptable at least in her former circle. She masquerades as Solange de Papillion and along with her two buddies begins to learn that SINGLE IN SUBURBIA means fun if one is willing to ignore the disdain of people once considered friends.

The three women make this a fine contemporary fiction as their camaraderie helps each to cope with male loss, male indifference, and male nothingness. The story line focuses on Amanda's efforts to take care of her children without revealing to the burbanites that they are in trouble. That leads to I Love Lucy zaniness that is amusing but also takes away from the strength of the tale, a liable protagonist surviving as a single mother in suburbia.

Harriet Klausner