Perfect Is Overrated [Paperback]

Karen Bergreen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 17, 2012

Think you want to be the perfect mom? Think again…..

Kate Alger has finally found the cure for her post-partum depression.  After years of suffering, all it takes to bring this mommy back to life were a few gruesome homicides!  When someone starts offing the alpha-moms from Kate’s daughter’s preschool, Kate—who worked as an Assistant District Attorney before she had Molly—realizes it’s time to get out of bed, dust off the skills and find out who is killing all the mommies she loves to hate.

Wickedly funny and slightly twisted, Perfect Is Overrated is a romp through the life of one very needy mom, her cockeyed family, gorgeous ex-husband, and the entire insane, entitled, over-dressed , over-zealous, eternally jealous parent body at The Hawthorne Preschool.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Here are a few things Karen Bergreen knows about: mothers you love to hate, sexy exes, the drill (and charm) of hanging out with little kids. Perfect Is Overrated throws all of it into the wash cycle and suds it up with humor and warmth.  If you read it, you'll recommend it, too!" --Molly Jong-Fast, author of The Social Climbers Handbook

 

“Perfect is Overrated is such a fast, fizzy, fun read! Buy one for yourself and six more for the other moms in the pickup line, then decide which mom you’d take with you if stuck on a deserted island. For me, she’d have to love mascara and be witty.”—Kelly Killoren Bensimon, author of I Can Make You Hot!

About the Author

KAREN BERGREEN's first career was as an attorney who clerked for a federal judge.  Her second career as a stand-up comic has led to appearances not in front of the bench, but on Comedy Central, the Oxygen network, Court TV and Law & Order. She lives in New York City. 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (July 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781250001764
• ISBN-13: 978-1250001764
• ASIN: 1250001765
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #828,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karen is a stand up comedian and a former lawyer. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.

Still curious? Or just not ready to get back to work?

Go to her website at www.karenbergreen.com.

Or better yet visit her on Facebook @followingpolly. She needs the distraction from her kids.

You can try Twitter @karenbergreen, but Karen finds that annoying.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 - Stars Not Quite Perfect July 29, 2012

By Dianne E. Socci-Tetro TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Perfect is Overrated- Karen Bergreen

*ARC SUPPLIED BY PUBLISHER*

So, here we have yet another book about the somewhat over-privileged, self-absorbed, over-indulgent mommies of New York City. Mommies who feel that they just have to get their perfect kids into the perfect pre-school. Or do we?

What at first glance looks like that is what this book is going to be about, we quickly come to learn that it is not...it is about post-partum depression and murder. It is about misunderstandings, half-truths, and subterfuges.

This book had me going for quite a while. I never did figure out who-dun-it until they actually showed their hand. This was an entertaining book, but not the funny romp that it is touted to be.
Although the characters are well written and the narrative is adequate, this book was written in a way that just rubbed me wrong. There were so many side stories, that I started wondering if they had been added just to fill in for something the book was lacking. Too many side stories that left too much unsaid. And one side-story in particular really does seem to have been thrown in there just to have a convenient person around to help during the climax.

This is by no means a horrible book, it was entertaining and I never once thought to not finish it, I just think that this author could have done so much better.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down! July 21, 2012

By KE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I had been looking forward to this book for months! I LOVED it - couldn't put it down and was thankful for the rainy summer day that allowed me to immerse myself in the life of Kate Alger (I started in the morning and finished that same day). I found Kate's insights funny and loved the depth of all of the characters. There were the characters I just despised, as well as those I loved. Karen Bergreen's writing is clear and conversational and so descriptive. I could feel myself in the scenes.

The book kept me in suspense, and I kept trying to guess "whodunnit." I definitely did not expect the end, and certainly, I was bummed to reach the last page. I can't start another book. I want to savor Perfect for a bit. LOVED it. And of course, loved Following Polly (I couldn't put that one down either).

More, please, Karen Bergreen!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Book- Start to Finish September 13, 2012

By Rosey3102

Format:Paperback

I know this sounds redundant because all of the other reviewers say the same thing, but I couldn't put this book down. And frankly, I'm not sure why. I just loved Kate so much--I identify with her and I don't even have kids. Loved the mystery and the surprise twist but I really have a place in my heart for the supporting cast. My favorite character is Phillippa Von Eck.