Author:
Meggin Cabot
Publisher:
Avon Books [HarperCollins]
Published:
First Printing, 2002
Format:
5-1/4" x 8" Softcover Book,
374 pages
(384 total pages).
ISBN:
0-06-009619-5
Rating:
4/5
This is the sixth book in the "Kelly Ripa Book Club" and as usual it is
entertainment first, social and intellectual relevant a distant second.
I've liked most of the books so far and they are books that I would
never have read otherwise. So far the books have been enjoyable
readings and a far cry from the fantasy/science fiction/military books
that I read and sometimes get a bit tired of.
Unusual is that the story is told through the medium of email. "The Boy
Next Door" is composed of hundreds of emails from the less than a dozen
main characters, writing to each other throughout the six months of the
story. It's interesting because of the disjointness of it all. It's
like you keep jumping forward and getting a little more story before
jumping again. Still, it is a coherent story which I should get to.
Book
Melissa "Mel" Fuller is a staff writer for the New York Journal,
writing the Page 10 gossip columns though yearning to expand her
horizons into more serious reporting. Too bad she loves keeping up with
the goings on of the rich and famous. Mel's best friend Nadine Wilcock
also works at the NYJ as food critic which is how she met her
betrothed, Tony Salerno. Nadine is rather frantic about her upcoming
wedding and trying to lose weight to fit into the family wedding dress.
The NYJ is a typical almost-tabloid newspaper. Not very successful and
quite jealous of its main rival, the New York Chronicle. The NYJ is
full of normal people like Dolly, the alcoholic sex-crazed socialite;
Tim, the gay computer programmer; Aaron, the Pulitzer Prize-winning
writer who wants Mel back (too bad he cheated on her, even worse that
he told her rather than keep his big mouth shut); and George the editor
who's always harping on Mel to come to work on time and make her
deadlines.
Into this life there comes a tragedy. Mel finds her neighbor, the
elderly Helen Friedlander, unconscious in the old woman's apartment.
After getting Helen to the hospital (where she stays in a coma
throughout the book), Mel is the only one left to take care of Helen's
dog Paco and the two cats (like I'd remember cat names). Helen's only
relative is a nephew, Maxwell, a fashion photographer who could be on a
photoshoot anywhere in the world. Mel really needs to contact Max
because taking care of the pets (especially Paco since you have to walk
dogs a lot) is ruining her work productivity.
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Mel does
manage to email Max, who replies that he'll take the next
flight back. But what a dilemma for poor Max, who wants to spend a few
weeks with his new girlfriend, Victoria's Secret Wonder Bra model
Vivica
(lately the former girlfriend of Donald Trump). What to do, what to do?
Aha! Max emails John Trent and calls in his marker. He needs John to
impersonate Max because aunt Helen is worth millions and if she does
wake up from her coma Max doesn't want to be written out of the will.
And who is this John, who would help the somewhat pathetic excuse for a
human being that is Max? Why, John Trent is one the Park Avenue
Trent's, his family fortune being quite astronomical. But John is the
black sheep of the family (black sheep as in wants to make it on his
own without the family's money and connections, not black sheep as in a
bad boy because apparently most everyone else in the family is in some
sort of rehab or minimum security prison).
Irony is that John is a crime reporter for the New York Chronicle. Not
that Mel is going to find out since John is now Max Friedlander, a much
nicer guy than his reputation makes him out to be (his reputation
according to Dolly that is). And Mel is John's perfect mate. A
midwestern-grown girl who is pretty, honest and caring, easy to talk
to, and doesn't want him for his money. They both love weather
disasters and animals and they are made for each other. Too bad about
that whole impersonation thing that John hasn't told Mel about...
Recommendations
It boils down to a romantic comedy and I love that genre and loved this
book. The email angle is a novel idea and usually works (there are a
couple of times that an email has to expound a long scene). The emails
only have "From", "To" and "Subject" headers -- it would have been nice
to get the date and time since it's tough to tell the passage of time.
You do have those mail touches like weird handles "IH8BARNEY", some
people typing in ALL CAPS, and the disclaimer-as-sig at the end of
Human Resources emails.
But there were other things that didn't seem right. Nobody had sigs.
Half the emails start in the subject and continue in the body (which I
guess people do write like that though I've rarely seen it myself). And
there's one part where they "prove" a person's identity based on the
"From" field (like that can't be forged). Still, those are problems I
see because I am familiar with that particular topic. It doesn't
detract from the story and most people won't notice.
In the end, I do recommend "The Boy Next Door" as a worthwhile book to
buy and read. |