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The Playgroup
I Don't Know How She Does It meets Unfaithful as a west side Manhattan mother joins an east side playgroup and the playing turns into high voltage sex and other dangerous games.
Before she signed up for the mommy role, Ellie Fuller was a stand-up comic, a good best friend, and a secret bulimic. As part of her recovery she adopts a whole new lifestyle, but when she takes a knowing step into unknown territory, that recovery and everything else is suddenly in jeopardy. At the Park Avenue playgroup where Ellie takes her daughter, Ellie meets Missy Hanover, an elegant ice princess who tempts her with what Ellie believes she might be missing. Ellie is soon in the midst of a secret affair and darker romantic entanglements, but the cracks begin to show. A skillful, addictive first novel that feeds right into the frenzy for "mommy" fiction.
Before she signed up for the mommy role, Ellie Fuller was a stand-up comic, a good best friend, and a secret bulimic. As part of her recovery she adopts a whole new lifestyle, but when she takes a knowing step into unknown territory, that recovery and everything else is suddenly in jeopardy. At the Park Avenue playgroup where Ellie takes her daughter, Ellie meets Missy Hanover, an elegant ice princess who tempts her with what Ellie believes she might be missing. Ellie is soon in the midst of a secret affair and darker romantic entanglements, but the cracks begin to show. A skillful, addictive first novel that feeds right into the frenzy for "mommy" fiction.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 14, 2008
So I get in my friend's van to get out of the rain at the soccer game both our kids are playing in (so whatever, I am not hardcore.) And my friend goes, "Oh my god you have to read this" and she digs around behind the passenger seat and tosses me this book. I have this thing about needing to read any book that lands on me. She told me, "it's not the best book in the world or anything, and really it has little to do with an actual playgroup except kinda, but, you should read this." So I did. As a mom with a full time job and a lot going on, a book like this can make for a nice little silly diversion. Not the greatest thing I have ever read, but I am not ashamed to have read it. It was kind of like watching Beverly Hills 90210 with my sister, we watched it, and we loved/hated it, but we would never admit it had any merit. Spoiler: The main character is frequently upstaged by her vagina.
May 6, 2019
Great book!
March 31, 2010
A sleazy and totally unbelievable story, with characters about whom I cared not a jot.
May 18, 2020
I picked this up for free at the campus library. While I found the raunchiness acceptable, the female lead was such a flaky, shallow character and just overall unbelievable.
November 28, 2015
I really liked the first half of this book - it's about a woman who enrolls her toddler in a prestigious New York City playgroup (sounded like a preschool to me) and feels like her lifestyle - breastfeeding her other baby, not having a nanny - makes her an outcast. Immediately I got a vibe like the Odd Mom Out show i've been enjoying on Bravo.
But this book takes a turn - a weird one. There are enough complexities to the main character's background to satisfy a book - she is recovering from an eating disorder, and lost a best friend when she became a mother to someone who chose career instead, but the friendship haunts her. And yet even with all that, the author decides that (spoiler alert) a LESBIAN AFFAIR between the main character and one of the other moms is in order. An affair that the other women's husband assists in and supports.
Anyway, what was a fun read to begin with became so unrealistic it was just no fun to finish.
But this book takes a turn - a weird one. There are enough complexities to the main character's background to satisfy a book - she is recovering from an eating disorder, and lost a best friend when she became a mother to someone who chose career instead, but the friendship haunts her. And yet even with all that, the author decides that (spoiler alert) a LESBIAN AFFAIR between the main character and one of the other moms is in order. An affair that the other women's husband assists in and supports.
Anyway, what was a fun read to begin with became so unrealistic it was just no fun to finish.
March 21, 2007
Spencer sacrifices character development to focus on hacky jokes and the upstairs/downstairs nature of the upper west and east sides of manhattan. But it ALSO tells the story of a comedian working towards a pitch to a major network. But it ALSO tells the story of a woman whose marriage falls apart. But it ALSO tells the story of a recovering bulemic. Every chapter includes at least one graphic sex scene, completely off-tone from the rest of the book. It's her first novel, which is clear by how all-over-the-place she is.
September 11, 2007
I picked this book up at the library, and in reading the dust jacket, I believed it was similiar to "The Nanny Diaries". A semi fictional, what things are really like on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. That was NOT the case. While there were one or two mentions of the actual playgroup, most of it was dedicated to the sex life and lesbian affair of the main character. While I have nothing against books that involve sex, it was not what I was looking for. I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone. It was like a trainwreck.
July 27, 2010
I picked up this book because it said it mainly was about a stay at home mom who is trying to find a balance between kids and life - aren't we all. LOL It took a turn that I wasn't expecting and at times was a bit unbelievable - I just had a hard time believing the main character sometimes. As the story went on, it began to fall together and turned out to be a pretty good story. It is explicit in some parts, so if that's not your thing, I wouldn't reccommend it to you. Otherwise, it's a quick read for the summer.
August 16, 2011
This was an interesting read. I made the mistake of reading other reviews after only a few pages of this book, so the story was kind of spoiled for me. Yes, this was a gut-wrenching book. Not because of the snooty women she associates with nor the lesbian affair she has. But it was her relationship with her parents, her ex-best friend, and family that really made this book worth it. Missy was just a distraction. All in all, an interesting book, and I do love me a happy ending...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2014
This book is very sexual. I didn't know it when I bought it online. The cover only says its about a stay at home mom who is struggling to find a balance between kids and keeping from going crazy. But its a whole another world when you read it. It was really good. All my girlfriends have read it and liked it.
February 11, 2012
Not what I was expecting at all. It got quite sexual and while I don't have a problem with that; there was just so much that it got quite tedious. I also really disliked the main character. She'd be mad and frustrated at her mom and then all of a sudden wanting to hug her for no real apparent reason. Luckily it was a quick read.
March 14, 2008
This book is all about addiction...to many things and in many ways! It was funny and I enjoyed it and by the way if you are not down for lesbian action....do NOT read the book! If you are...then hey go for it!
September 4, 2011
I picked this up on a whim at the library. I wanted to like this but it was off-putting. Perhaps it's because I'm past this point in my life, as my kids are moving out of the plagroup phase. This characters just didn't resonate with me.
May 10, 2010
This book wasn't quite what I expected. It took a few uncomfortable turns. It was a quick read and, in the end, proved to be a pretty decent story.
January 30, 2012
Funny, but MUCH racier than expected.
May 29, 2013
crazy , alittle fifty shade of gray
September 10, 2014
Lots more raunchy than I was expecting, also a bit depressing.
February 2, 2015
I thought this book was bad.
March 26, 2008
I couldn't even finish this book. It was too sexual for me.
July 1, 2010
I actually didn't finish this book, just not my cup of tea.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews