A Most Uncommon Degree of Popularity
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A Most Uncommon Degree of Praise:"Tellingly—and often poignantly—pinpoints the deep and unexpected feelings as a mother and daughter negotiate the tricky, often fraught, transition from child to teenager." —Elizabeth Buchan, New York Times bestselling author of Revenge of the Middle Aged Woman and The Good Wife Strikes Back"Kathleen Gilles Seidel is absolutely the most fascinating writer. She turns an insightful and entertaining eye on the elite world of private school teenage girls and the moms who care…maybe too much? Reading groups take notice! Lots to talk about here." —Susan Elizabeth Phillips, New York Times bestselling author of Match Me If You Can"Jane Austen lives! Kathleen Gilles Seidel's wit, social insight, and wry, compassionate view sound like no one else." —Mary Jo Putney, New York Times bestselling author of River Of Fire"A piercing tale of a perfect mother caught between her desires for her children and the realities of their lives, Kathleen Gilles Seidel's novel is a page-turning, irresistible read." —Amy Scheibe, author of What Do You Do All Day"What do you get when a super-charged turbo mom wakes up one day to find her teenage daughter suddenly on the outs with the in crowd? Desperate Housewives meets Mean Girls? No! Kathleen Gilles Seidel's witty and compassionate new novel." —Nancy Lieberman, author of Admissions"A heart-wrenching, funny, and insightful tale of privileged mothers and the children they love too much. I laughed. I nodded. I cringed. I gobbled this delicious novel up in one weekend." —Karen Quinn, author of The Ivy Chronicles"Seidel trains her masterly lens towards the troubling world of young Queen Bees and B-Listers, but smartly focuses on the mothers around them who ought to know better. A gripping and very adult tale, and above all, entertaining."—Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of The Matzo Ball HeiressPublishers WeeklySeidel catalogues the trials of upper-middle-class family life in a novel that will appeal primarily to the sort of people it aims to (gently) critique. Ex-lawyer Lydia Meadows is so busy bracing herself to deal with potential bullies that she's dazed to discover that her sixth grader, Erin, is-gasp-one of the popular girls at her posh Washington, D.C., private school. But when another girl knocks Erin from her pedestal, Lydia is shocked to find that Erin's fall from grace has reverberations in her own life. Four adult women, whom Lydia considered her best friends-cum- "professional associates... all in the business of raising children," adopt the petty behavior of their teenage daughters, which makes Lydia wonder where the line is between wanting the best for your children and being overly involved in their lives. Though there's the odd snippet of sharp social commentary, the story is bogged-down with minutiae (readers don't need to be walked through every car pool crisis to get the general idea), and Seidel beats some already-tired metaphors to death (the whole "it takes a village" concept, for example). This could have been a lively novel of manners, but dull prose and lackluster dramas (will the kids get into Sidwell Friends School?) flatten it. (Mar.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
