Odd Mom Out (Paperback)

by Jane Porter (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Marta Zinsser has made her nine-year-old daughter Eva, conceived through sperm donation, her whole world. The two move from Manhattan to a wealthy Seattle suburb, where Marta plans to run a successful advertising agency from home and be close to her ailing mother. Soon however, Marta's bohemian ways stick out like a sore thumb among the impeccably groomed housewives of Bellevue. Pressured by a tenderly and believably drawn Eva to be a real mom, Marta signs up for school chaperoning and committee duties, with near-disastrous results. And when Marta falls for a handsome billionaire, she must decide whether to refocus her lone wolf self-image enough to allow a man to enter the picture. The alpha moms Marta detests are cartoonish, catty villains, and self helpese creeps into the plot gaps. But Marta is an intriguing heroine: she values freedom and toughness, but her jeans and combat boots mask vulnerability, heartbreak and fear of change. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Marta Zinsser is not your typical suburban mom. Single, strong, and confident, she wears camouflage pants and chunky boots and rides a motorcycle. When her New York advertising firm asks her to open a branch in Seattle, she agrees to return to her hometown, mostly because of her mother's ill health. Now she's running her own firm out of her house, while her nine-year-old daughter is trying and failing to fit in at her new school. Eva is heartbroken, but Marta, who has never felt the need to be part of the pack, is at a loss as to how to help. Eva's subsequent attempts to change Marta into a normal mom and her sudden, not-so-subtle hints that Marta should get married and create a regular family are funny and poignant. With the increasing demands of her daughter, her ailing mother, and work, Marta's life begins to spiral out of control in a way most women will all-too-readily recognize. Porter's tale of a mother and daughter's journey to "normalcy" is keenly emotional and truly uplifting. Hatton, Maria

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: 5 Spot; 1 edition (September 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446699233
• ISBN-13: 978-0446699235
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #166,519 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pacing is quick and breezy, November 30, 2007

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

It's been a difficult year for Marta Zinsser and her 11-year-old daughter, Eva. Marta relocated with Eva from New York City back to the Seattle neighborhood where she grew up (and couldn't wait to flee from), mainly because Marta's mother is suffering from Alzheimer's. There was also an old boyfriend who Marta wouldn't mind being away from. But settling in is proving to be harder than both Zinsser women anticipated. Eva yearns to be part of the popular crowd in her middle school and bemoans the fact that Marta is not like the other mothers. Other moms don't wear ripped jeans, go without makeup and ride a Harley. Other moms look impeccable, wear perfectly applied makeup and revel in the numerous committees their kids' school spits forth. Eva so wants to belong, and Marta thinks if she tones down her own distinctive personality, things might go easier for her daughter.

"Toning it down" was the last thing Marta would have considered back in her Tribeca neighborhood a year earlier. She loved her fast-paced life as an advertising executive and single mother to her daughter. Too bad her professional success didn't trickle over into her private life. After a painful breakup with a married boyfriend, Marta decides that although love might not be in the cards, why should she give up her dream of being a mother? One artificial insemination later, she's the proud parent to a baby girl, who she happily raises amid the hustle and bustle of New York City. But when Marta's mother is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, she decides that a move back to Seattle is needed and accepts a position out west.

Shortly after beginning the new job, she realizes that being her own boss would suit her rebellious personality far better and starts her own advertising firm. She sets up shop with a small affable staff in the carriage house behind her own: a perfect solution for a working mother. But now, her sweet daughter reads wedding magazines obsessively and dreams of hanging with the popular kids. As much as Marta stresses the joy of being your own person to her daughter, it falls on deaf ears. Eva wants to be like all her peers --- and desperately wishes that Marta could be like all the other moms.

Much to her chagrin, Marta tries to assimilate, for Eva's sake. But trying to run a successful company, organize a birthday sleepover and volunteer at Eva's school, Marta is left with precious little time for a private life. That is, until she meets Luke, who is tall, handsome, wealthy and (icing on the cake) loves Marta for the quirky soul she is. But after being so horribly hurt before, can she put the past aside and move forward?

ODD MOM OUT is a lively entry into the new "Mommy-lit" lexicon (a subgenre that came after "chick-lit" and "lad-lit"), where the reader can root for (and relate to) the harried working mother, trying to balance work and home. The novel's pacing is quick and breezy. Like Jane Porter's previous book, THE FROG PRINCE, it tackles relatable topics: Do you have to surrender your identity to get ahead? And can an overworked, underappreciated, working single mom find love? Readers hope the answers are "no" and "yes," respectively.

--- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved "Odd Mom Out", and you will, too, September 18, 2007

By	J. R. Benjamin (Duvall, WA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The ad agency Marta Zinsser works for has sent her to Seattle with her pre-teen daughter, Eva. This isn't Marta's first time in the Emerald City. She grew up here. At the same time, the city's now full of pearls-wearing, twin-set clad, Mercedes-driving alpha mommies, and she's definitely out of place. Eva wishes for a mom that was a bit more traditional. Marta worries about losing her sense of identity and additional heartbreak as she copes with the realities of bringing up a child on her own. She's not looking for a man, but Luke Flynn's been looking for her his whole life.

I love Jane Porter's books. Whenever I open one, I know I'm going to walk in someone else's shoes for awhile, and I also know I won't put it down till I finish it. Marta's combat boots became pretty familiar to me as I read about the struggles of a single mom who spends her days juggling as fast as she can. I'm not a mom, but I found that Marta experiences the same insecurities and fears as all women do.

Jane's characters leap off the pages of her books and lodge in your heart. "Odd Mom Out" is her best book yet. I can't wait for the next one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For any mom!, October 28, 2008

By	A. Morton (Pacific NW, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I got this book AFTER reading her next "Mrs. Perfect" and enjoyed it just as much. Jane Porter has a great ability to pull out the things that make up our everyday living and turn them from something frustrating to humorous - almost any situation seems better when you realize you're not the only one to feel totally overwhlemed by it!