You’re going to think I’m crazy when I reveal this: this was a bargain book and I bought it at the airport. Not only that, but I bought it walking out of the airport. Compass Books at the San Francisco International Airport, Terminal 2 had a sale with about 20% off of paperback books. This was already a story I was interested in, based on the film of the same name, but hadn’t gotten around to seeing. I paid around $7 for this page-turner, and it was worth every penny and the shame of having no self-control.
In One Sentence: Two women ruin each other’s lives by helping each other.
Favorite Line: “Something terrible has happened. She’s vanished. I have no idea where she is… Moms, does Emily sound like the kind of mother who would leave her child and disappear for two days and not text or call or answer my texts or calls? If nothing is wrong? Seriously?… Okay, got to run now. I smell chocolate-chip cookies burning in the oven.” — p 9.
Review: This is hilarious, shocking, well-written, and reminds me of a modern-day V.C. Andrews meets Gillian Flynn. The satire of mommy-bloggers is spot-on and the twists keep coming from chapter to chapter. Stephanie, a widowed-mother and mommy-blogger, starts a friendship with another mother, Emily, at her child’s school. When that mother disappears, Stephanie tries her best to find her and without spoilers finds a whole lot more than she bargained for. The book switches between perspectives, which allows the reader to sometimes know more than the characters and sometimes be led astray ourselves. This is at-once the perfect summer beach-read and the book you’ll read before going to bed that will keep you up at night with twists on twists. With that said, I watched the movie after… and almost had the exact same experience all over again as they changed the ending completely with even more twists!
The Book Would Have Ended a Lot Sooner If: Emily never needed a babysitter.
The Film Fashion: The best part of the film adaptation is Blake Lively’s (Emily’s) entire wardrobe. Kudos to costume designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus for perfectly capturing why Emily is so intimidatingly seductive.
Read: A Simple Favor: Blake Lively’s Most Jaw-Dropping Fashion Moments, Explained
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