Carpool Diem [Paperback]

Nancy Star (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2008

Annie Fleming's family has always adjusted well to her hard driving career. How could they not? Annie keeps them in line at home with typed, edited, and proofed to-do and not-to-do lists for her husband, her babysitter, and her daughter. (No TV on a school night, please!) But when an obnoxious co-worker conspires to force Annie out of her job, she finds herself out of work and face-to-face with her family, who, it turns out, isn't quite as well-adjusted as Annie thought. Husband Tim doesn't have near the follow-through that Annie does (ordered to downsize his employees, he can't fire anybody!) And daughter Charlotte doesn't even try to make the local soccer team - a cut-throat, take-no-prisoners system run by Winslow West, a man who dreams of the Olympic gold his young charges will someday win for him.
Here Annie is unemployed and Charlotte's the one with the quitting attitude? Annie doesn't think so. She's determined to get Charlotte on the A team, but finds that the soccer sidelines are more cutthroat than a boardroom ever was.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Any parent who's had to juggle a career and kids will relish Star's believable characters and spot-on assessment of the minivan set. Star scores big."

(Kirkus )

"A winning story! Readers will cheer as Annie helps her family get off the sidelines and into the game of life." (Jane Porter )

About the Author

Nancy Star is a former movie exec turned novelist. She has spent at least a year of Sundays standing on the sidelines at her daughters' soccer games, but never once, in all that time, did she ever yell, "Attack", "Get her", or "Kill them."

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: 5 Spot (March 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446581828
• ISBN-13: 978-0446581820
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,716,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Think I Know These People, May 24, 2008

By 

Nancy Grisso "Stepfordmomto2" (Tehachapi, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Carpool Diem (Paperback)

Funny premise. Annie Flemming, a high powered woman, has always felt that her life was darn near perfect. Her husband and daughter have no problem with her choosing her career and travel over them, the baby-sitter takes up the slack and other things are adjusted for. Annie leaves notes and detail daily plans - what could go wrong. That is until it all comes crashing down.

Well, the unthinkable happens and Annie is forced out of her high powered career. When she returns home and sees her life and family for what they are her life starts to spin out of control. Her husband isn't nearly as tough as she thought and her daughter Charlotte doesn't seem to have the same type of drive that mom does. Well, that will soon change if Annie has anything to say about it.

So, what does take-no-prisoners Annie do, she applies her know how and becomes a soccer mom. If she can organize and motivate a boardroom how hard could this be. Little did she know that the cut throat atmosphere of the elite level of travel team soccer could do her and her daughter in.

Very funny moments, but I did take it a little personally when a comment was made about "if you think soccer is bad, have you ever tried to talk to a hockey mom". If it wasn't so true, it would have been funny.

Great book if you do or have ever had kids in highly competitive sports. More than one character will have you spinning down the hall of memories and certain parents and coaches that made you want to scream.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprising delight, April 1, 2008

By 

Jane Cooperman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carpool Diem (Paperback)

I have always enjoyed Nancy Star's work, but this novel blew me away. My children are grown, they didn't play in a travel league, I didn't think I would really care about soccer mom issues - and I was blown away anyway. This book has a much wider scope than I expected. The "do-ers" out there will easily relate to Annie, and if they are like me, they will be envious of her transformation. The scene with the coach standing on a mound in a thunderstorm evoked King Lear! Bravo!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aims! Kicks! Scores!, March 20, 2008

By 

Debra Galant (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carpool Diem (Paperback)

You don't have to be a soccer mom to enjoy Nancy Star's hilarious satire on the youth soccer scene. The writing is extremely sharp, and her ear for on- and off-field dialogue is pitch perfect. The cover of this book makes it seem like "chick lit," but this should be required reading for every suburban dad who coaches any youth sport, or just watches from the sidelines.