Customer Reviews

Multiple Choice

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This fluffy little book was just okay. Even though it was under 250 pages, by the time I was halfway done with it I was thinking, "hurry up already." I couldn't stand the passages with the daughter (which took up a large portion of the book) - she was such a spoiled, snotty, hard-to-take girl. Totally unlikeable and not at all sympathetic to this reader. I've learned that if the first book I read by an author is "just okay", I'm not going to make the mistake of trying to read something else by the same author in hopes that the next one is better. I'm cutting my losses with this one.

I thought Must Love Dogs was a cute book. It had humor, and was entertaining to read.

This story had the potential to be entertaining. Mother daughter relationships are always full of ups and downs. However, this book never went anywhere. Olivia, the daughter, was an annoying brat. Her mom, March wasn't very interesting. The dad and brother had nothing to contribute (unless you count the whole finger nail clipper dilema interesting...not). Whats the point of this story???!!

I kept waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. Except....I fell asleep.

I enjoyed Life's A Beach so I picked up this book without even reading the sleeve. I am so disappointed. I can't stand the bratty daughter. I can't feel for this mother who allows her daughter to treat her so badly. I don't understand why she couldn't/didn't tell her that she was going back to school. None of the characters hold my interest. I am glad I just borrowed this book and didn't spend a cent on it. Very very not worth it. Bleh!

This book is meant to be read by middle-aged mothers. As a young adult I found the story completely boring. Unfortunately I have a problem starting a book and leaving it in the middle. Claire Cook left no room for interpretation. There are no signs into deeper reading, no witty outtakes about life or humanity, and no jazz to the story whatsoever. The plot hardly spent any time on one of the main components that the book claims to be about-- the mother's second chance at a college experience. Maybe 7 pages out of the entire book were spent on that? Multiple Choice was very mediocre and of no interest to me, at least.

When March Monroe's daughter, Olivia, starts college, March decides it's time to finish her own degree. In order to do this, March must drop her clients (she's a "Life Coach") and juggle domestic life - caring for her husband, teenage son, a bird and a cat - with her hectic course schedule.

March quickly learns her school (a local community college is all she can afford, since her daughter is attending a pricey university) requires all students to do an internship. March chooses to intern at small local radio station. To her dismay, she finds her belligerent daughter Olivia is also interning at the same station.

Instead of the fun mother-daughter episode this COULD have been, Olivia is resentful and hateful to her mother and she's convinced March is trying to ruin her life.

This book reads like the daily journal of a suburban wife and mother. There are cute moments, but it's rather lightweight. Where there could have been major conflict, there was none - unless you count the numerous times Olivia is mean and hurtful to March. Where there could have been a growing and evolving of primary characters (namely, March and Olivia), there was none. Especially when it seemed obvious that Olivia needed to grow up and March needed to grow a backbone and stand up to her mouthy daughter.

There were a couple times throughout the book where I thought there might be something going on with Olivia beneath the surface. March kept noticing Olivia had new items of clothing or jewelry and so I suspected that Olivia might have been getting money from somewhere or gifts from an never-mentioned boyfriend. But, nothing came from those potential plot points - Olivia was merely spending her college allowance on things and then asking her parents for more money.

Olivia treated her mother so poorly, she deserved a good slap or two. Instead, March would grit her teeth and take the abuse from her daughter. She'd pour on the sweetness, hoping against hope that she'd experience just one moment of love and niceness from her daughter.

Olivia's behavior seemed better suited for someone younger - like 14 - who was still living at home and rebelling against parental authority. Not someone who was 18 and experiencing college life on her own.

The novel had several opportunities for major conflict and passed them by. Nobody grew or changed as a result of this semester where both March and Olivia were in college. It's disappointing when you want to root for the main character but that person doesn't even try to improve her situation.

And I seriously question the logic and sanity of a character who would take Quantum Physics to fulfill a general math requirement!

This book is very watered down. It's like showing up starving for a Thanksgiving Day meal and finding all that's being served is salad. There just wasn't any substance to it and it didn't go anywhere. The daughter was a little brat and the Mom allowed it. The characters had no character and it just didn't feel real. It was my mistake too because I didn't know that this is the kind of book the author writes so I had higher expectations.

I had recently come to the conclusion that I was never going to be able to read all the books I wanted in a life time without some help. I decided to use my time in the car as a way to read more books, so I picked up Multiple Choice from my library to listen to in the car.
I actually enjoyed the audio book, and I will definitely be searching out more to "read" in the car. However, the content of the book was just okay, thus the three stars.
A mother daughter conflict theme is nothing new, and parents going to college at the same time as their own children is not a novel idea. However, there were some interesting parts of the book, and I believe the actual reader of my audio book made these more enjoyable. If I had read this on my own, I might have been tempted not to finish it because it was a lackluster story.
The wonderful part of the book is the main character, Marge, while at first finding her life mundane and boring, gained new insight into her life. She found more joy in her children and with her husband, and I believe that is the main piece of advice to gain from reading this book. The grass is not always greener on the other side...so cliche, but definitely sums this book to a tee.
I would definitely give the audio book a go, but as I said the "wow" factor of the story is not there.

Since I found this book in the bargain bin for $4.98, it should have come as no surprised what a stinker it turned out to be. There wasn't one likable character in the entire thing, other than perhaps Etta. Even March, the main character, was so judgmental and whiny, it was hard to route for her. Like the other reviewers, I found the daughter Olivia to be a ridiculous, over the top character. Who acts like that? Maybe a younger teen, just going through puberty would be at that "I hate my mom" stage. But if a college age girl still treated her mother with that much contempt, then yes March, you must have done something wrong in the way you raised her. The entire book was just a description of March, going through the motions of her rather mundane life. I half expected the author to describe her using the toilet or shaving her legs. I read to escape or be entertained, neither of which happened during this aggravating snooze-fest of a novel.

I really enjoyed this book. Yes, it's a quick read and not especially deep but it sure hit home with me as my daughter (whom I am very close with) is getting ready to go off to college. I told her I was reading this and the basic storyline - Daughter at college, Mom decides to go back to college albeit a different college and they both apply and get the same internship - and her response was, you had better not do that Mom. My daughter sometimes talks to me that way and I talk that way back to her the same way. It just rang all too true to me and I could relate to March. A keeper.

I couldn't believe how self-centered, rude, and obnoxious Olivia, the daughter, was! Please...if I had ever thought to speak to my mother that way, the last thing she would do is "fight the urge to hug me"....I wasn't expecting this to be a heavy book, which obviously it wasn't, but it wouldn't have hurt the author to make ONE character likeable. March is a wimp, the daughter spoiled, and the son and father couldn't even pretend to be interested in March's college life? I guess I can see why she was so wimpy considering everyone in her family was lazy, selfish, and rude.