Mommy Tracked [Paperback]

Whitney Gaskell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2007

Praised for her “smart, funny, sexy, and refreshingly real” novels, author Whitney Gaskell delivers a warm, witty, and wise new story of four women coping with the challenges of motherhood, men, and each other.

For Anna, Grace, Juliet, and Chloe, the idyllic town of Orange Cove, Florida, is home…but even in paradise, balancing the challenges of motherhood and life is never easy.

With a son in the throes of the Terrible Twos, divorced restaurant critic Anna has too much on her plate to reenter the frightening world of dating—no matter how expertly her new admirer wines and dines her….Grace has three beautiful daughters and the perfect husband, yet she’s increasingly obsessed with one nagging flaw: her excess baby weight…. Ambitious Juliet is desperate to make partner at her law firm. Fortunately, her husband stays home with their twins. But at the office, Juliet is finding more than work to occupy her time....When newest mom Chloe gives birth, her husband seems indifferent to parenting their son. Chloe is so overwhelmed that she finds herself slipping into a nasty habit she thought she’d overcome.…

Filled with humor, charm, and richly developed characters, Mommy Tracked illuminates four friends’ intertwining lives—and their joys and mistakes along the way.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As comfortable as fuzzy slippers and still as sharp as stilettos, Gaskell's latest (after Testing Kate) celebrates motherhood, marriage and friendship with humor and vibrant insight. Four young Florida mothers help each other through trying times in this sparkling example of "mom lit." Anna Swann is a restaurant critic, single mom to a toddler and afraid to date again. Anna's a member of Mothers Coming Together ("MCT"), an informal support group presided over by Grace Weaver, who's happily married with children but obsessed with dieting. Juliet Cole, a third member of MCT, is an attorney who doesn't want to get "shunted onto the mommy track with no hope of making partner." Unfortunately, her ambition is taking time away from her increasingly dissatisfied house-husband and their twin daughters. Newcomer to MCT, pregnant Chloe Truman desperately needs a "mommy mentor" and to knock a bad shoplifting habit. After her water breaks during a party at Grace's home, the four women bond and discover that "Mothers matter... for better or worse," and friendship does, too. The novel's lessons-leaning to balance personal lives with parenthood issues and make important choices-are redeeming, even if Gaskell does play it safe with a predictably heart-warming resolution.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

A newly divorced restaurant critic and a single mother, Anna is a perfect candidate for the support group, Mothers Coming Together, but she can't imagine what she'll be getting involved with. The group's president is so obsessed with her postpartum weight that she is binging and purging. Juliet is an ambitious litigator with a crush on her boss, even though her husband is a wonderful stay-at-home dad. Chloe becomes part of the group after she goes into labor at a party and has to rely on the other women while her husband fluctuates between lying in a fetal position and vomiting. These four flawed friends support each other through hard times, and there are many. Gaskell ups the fun quotient with such colorful characters as sex-toy purveyor Melinda; Emily, the very sexy children's librarian; and Mandy, "the most competitive mother in Orange Grove." Poignant, funny, and peppered with snappy dialogue, Mommy Tracked is a great addition to the friendship book list, which includes Waiting to Exhale (1992), The Circle of Five (2003), and The Dirty Girls Social Club (2003). Mosley, Shelley

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (August 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553589695
• ISBN-13: 978-0553589696
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi! My name is Whitney Gaskell, and I'm the author of PUSHING 30, TRUE LOVE (AND OTHER LIES), SHE MYSELF & I, and the forthcoming TESTING KATE.

For more information about my books, check out my website at www.whitneygaskell.com, and also my blog at www.literarychicks.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Like Making Four New Friends!, April 28, 2008

By 

Ivieisme (Coral Springs, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mommy Tracked (Paperback)

I really loved this book. It was amazing how I found a piece of myself in every character, as well as parts of my friends and sisters. Being a mommy myself in Florida certainly helped me relate, but I think anyone can, mom or not. Her characters are so real it feels like you know them. Any mommy knows that a light, fun, enjoyable read is much easier to pick up between feedings, changings, carpooling, cleaning, laundry, work, husband.....(I could go on & on....)This fit the bill perfectly. I hope to see a sequel!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, heart warming and so very true!, August 31, 2007

By 

Robyn "Bibliophile" (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mommy Tracked (Paperback)

Once again Gaskell delivers a wonderful read! Mommy Tracked is witty and touching all at the same time. New and experienced moms can relate to Juliet, Anna, Chloe and Grace as they struggle with motherhood, careers, husbands and their own identities as women in a world where the job of mothering changes daily. I loved the opening mom's group scene so much that I laughed out loud, and cried later in the novel with Grace. Gaskell is a talented writer--her characters are so real I expect them to leap off the page and come over for a glass of wine.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read!, May 4, 2008

By 

Kama K. Mcconaughy "Kam" (Lone Tree, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mommy Tracked (Paperback)

Every suburban mother can identify with at least one of the characters in this book. The heroines in this story struggle with real life issues in a humorous way. My favorite part of the book is the competitive nightmare mom with the perfect kids getting what's coming to her! You will laugh out loud!