She Makes It Look Easy: A Novel [Paperback]

Marybeth Whalen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2011

Ariel Baxter has just moved into the neighborhood of her dreams. The chaos of domestic life and the loneliness of motherhood, however, moved with her. Then she meets her neighbor, Justine Miller. Justine ushers Ariel into a world of clutter-free houses, fresh-baked bread, homemade crafts, neighborhood playdates, and organization techniques designed to make marriage better and parenting manageable.

 

Soon Ariel realizes there is hope for peace, friendship, and clean kitchen counters. But when rumors start to circulate about Justine’s real home life, Ariel must choose whether to believe the best about the friend she admires or consider the possibility that “perfection” isn’t always what it seems to be.

 

A novel for every woman who has looked at another woman’s life and said, “I want what she has,” She Makes It Look Easy reminds us of the danger of pedestals and the beauty of authentic friendship.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marybeth Whalen (www.marybethwhalen.com) is the author of the novel The Mailbox, a member of the Proverbs 31 Ministries writing team, and a nationwide speaker to women’s groups. She lives with her husband and their six children outside Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

Product Details

• Paperback: 309 pages
• Publisher: David C. Cook (June 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781403707
• ISBN-13: 978-0781403702
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #911,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marybeth Whalen is the wife of Curt and mom of six children. The family lives outside Charlotte, NC. Marybeth is the author of the novels "The Mailbox," "She Makes It Look Easy" and the upcoming "The Guest Book". She also serves as director of She Reads, an online book club focused on spotlighting the best in women's fiction. Marybeth spends most of her time in the grocery store but occasionally escapes long enough to scribble some words. She's always at work on her next novel. You can find her online at www.marybethwhalen.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is not a teen love story - it's real life and real womens issues! June 26, 2011

By Atara

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the first Christian novel I have read since high school and I'm 38! I absolutely love it! I admire the author for not stooping to a simple teen love story while talking about grown women. I'm married, with kids, and I work - I have seen more of life and I want a novel that respects that. I believe the author nailed the outer and inner dynamics of networking in church, vying for power in social circles, how the grass still needs to be cut on the other side, and all sorts of things in the middle. If you have ever been envious of someone, questioned your choices in life, and wanted to fit in I think you will relate very quickly to this book. I would not call it a romantic love story, it is really about two women moving through the hard parts of life and really, aren't we all just people doing that? Something about this book helped me remember that I am not the only one with feelings of wanting more, not being good enough, regret, people pleasing, etc. Some of the thoughts by the characters I could have written! The author really nails it to a "t!"

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Christian Fiction - REALLY??????? June 21, 2011

By A. Newberry

Format:Paperback

This was a very disappointing book! At the beginning I thought Justine was a little off, it was like she wanted Ariel to be her little protege` with all the organizational, being a better Mom skills, and recipes. It turned out that Ariel and her husband David were actually the better grounded couple and Justine had the nerve to use that against her when her husband lost his job, because they were swimming in debt. What annoyed me the most about this book is that adultery was not put in it's proper place. It was not called a sin, nor was it looked upon at as a bad thing. This is a Christian book, written by a Christian author and in the course of the story she did not have one person stick up for the woman in the neighborhood that Justine had been maliciously gossiping about, whose husband had cheated on her. There was no show of Christ's love or grace towards any of the ladies outside of Justine's circle. The book ended abruptly with no real show of a conclusion. Having been Betsy, Tom's wife the one cheated on, I would've liked to have seen some kind of remorse or at least Justine being honest with herself at the end. None of that happened. It was all swept under the rug, just like it is done in the day to day world. I can't in all good conscious recommend this book because it doesn't line up with anything that I believe or what God says about adultery.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The Grass is Never Greener on the other Side July 3, 2011

By Jeanne Anderson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Ok, first of all, the fact that this was supposed to be a Christian Book bothered me somewhat. It doesn't address the issues of adultery, lying and greed well enough for me for the Christian point of view.

Take that away and you have a tale of Ariel moving to a nicer neighborhood and wanting to work on making her family more organized and stable. Then there is Justine, Ariels new neighbor, all that Ariel would like to be. Perfect mother, wife, cook, seamstress, friend, so on, and so on, yet under it all there is nothing perfect about Justine.

I was able to get through the book and it wasn't too bad a read, if not a little sad for the people that were hurt, yet that is the hard knocks in "real" life; but to portray this as a Christian Drama just doesn't sit well with me. The sins were not addressed as would have been expected, otherwise this was not bad writing.