Rating: 
Summary: Yawn!
Review: Crittenden's non-fiction is whiney, drole, outdated and boring...same can be said for her so-called "fiction".
Rating:
Summary: Marie Antoinette plays milkmaid in this dim debut novel
Review: Having read this book when it was serialized in the Wall Street Journal, I was not altogether unprepared for Danielle Crittenden's "discovery" that at-home motherhood can be a distressingly low-profile existence for women who feel that they deserve continual attention as well as external affirmation for what they have chosen to do. This book is a whiny, unsatisfying look at a lifestyle that most working families in America (assuming they're still fortunate enough to be employed, that is) would find quite plush. Amanda, on the other hand--forget the devoted husband,two healthy children, the house in a decent neighborhood--feels very, very sorry for herself. "Amanda Bright" is soggy and preachy, not the amusing, "Bridget Jones"-style romp that the publicists imply.Crittenden should stick to being a professional anti-feminist polemicist, essayist, and television talking head. Novelistically, she is completely unbelievable as a Washington stay-at-home Everymom, probably because she never has been one. As part of a prominent Washington power couple--her husband is former White House speechwriter David Frum--this novel will get much more of a publicity push than other first efforts. Having sanded down her conservative Republican "fingerprints" in order to appeal to a wider audience probably feels like enough of a concession to her, but she undoubtedly would have done better to write from her true beliefs. Enough of them leak out as it is--for instance, all of the feminists in the books are humorless and doctrinaire. Envy is the leitmotif of Amanda Bright, who remains in a perpetual and unattractive state of covetousness: Other people, not her, have fancy houses, job titles, summer homes, nannies, inside tracks to posh private schools. Virtually every character she introduces is judged harshly by Amanda and found wanting for some cardinal sin. Her college friend Susie is self-absorbed, Susie's billionaire boyfriend is married, and the sole at-home dad she knows, Alan, is re-slotted in Amanda's mental Rolodex under "loser" for staging an unsuccessful play at a suburban old-folks' home. The book's obligatory happy ending involves a new job for Amanda's husband Bob for "more money than you can possibly imagine," a new house built to order, and a new baby, who is described lovingly but as, yes, a commodity, like the house and the job. I hope that no sequel is planned for when the new baby starts her highly selective preschool and Amanda Bright's "me-me-me" hormones go back into overdrive.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mother's Dilemma
Review: Ms. Crittenden has captured in this look the essence of a common dilemma faced by many mothers, making those difficult choices regarding career and family and how best to satisfy competing demands on our time and emotions. Amanda may not be "every woman" but this reader was able to sympathize with her daily struggles and see in her a young mom just wanting to do the right thing, for herself and her family. Ms. Crittenden takes you on a journey, not only of Amanda's self discovery but likely of your own.
Rating: 
Summary: Only got halfway through
Review: I just couldn't get into this book. The fact that Amanda couldn't catch a break ANYWHERE started to get on my nerves. I read the other reviews here and skipped to the end to see if the ending was as ridiculous as everyone said. I must say I concur with everyone else! I should have chucked this after Chapter 1, when Amanda snapped at her three year old daughter for saying "Indian princess" instead of "Native Amercian princess". Who the heck yells at a three year old for that?! I know this is only fiction, but if I ever came across this woman in real life, I would run the other way fast, taking MY three year old daughter with me!
Rating: 
Summary: Why not the 'burbs?
Review: Crittendon excels at describing some of the emotions and situations that come with motherhood and home life. She doesn't have easy answers, which is fine. It's an entertaining novel. I found it amusing that Amanda wouldn't even consider moving to the suburbs. The DC suburbs are full of intelligent and compassionate people, even in - gasp - Rockville. The schools are good too. Why should Amanda live in Woodley Park anyway if she needs a map to find her way around the zoo?
Rating: 
Summary: I actually liked this
Review: I was suprised when I came to this site and saw that so many people did not like this book.
As a new mom, I found myself agreeing with a lot of Amanda's thoughts. I was releived to know that there are other's out there struggling with the same issues as me, even if it is only in a novel.
The book helped me understand myself a little more, and was a great way to relax and "escape" while on my lunch break at work.
Rating:
Summary: Sparkles with bright intelligence
Review: What do you do when you've traded a NEA job for choosing dinner from the local organic food store---preferably something your husband and two hyper-energetic kids haven't eaten before? How do you cope when the mothers in your children's elite Washington D.C. playgroup buy facelifts and renovations like you buy burgers at Burger Chalet, or when your friend dates a billionaire who happens to be a major part of your husband's DOJ prosecution of the rogue Microsoft-esque monopoly Megabyte, or when you're more exhausted after raising children than your radical feminist mother was during protest marches? What do you do when the world screams for you to go back to work...and you want to?
If you're Amanda Bright, like Dorothy, you discover you need not look any further for happiness than your own back yard. A funny, witty, sometimes insightful story.
Rating:
Summary: Only got halfway through
Review: I just couldn't get into this book. The fact that Amanda couldn't catch a break ANYWHERE started to get on my nerves. I read the other reviews here and skipped to the end to see if the ending was as ridiculous as everyone said. I must say I concur with everyone else! I should have chucked this after Chapter 1, when Amanda snapped at her three year old daughter for saying "Indian princess" instead of "Native Amercian princess". Who the heck yells at a three year old for that?! I know this is only fiction, but if I ever came across this woman in real life, I would run the other way fast, taking MY three year old daughter with me!
Rating:
Summary: I Wanted More Out of This Book
Review: Without giving away too much of the plot, I have to say that this book disappointed me. When I first heard of the book, I was excited! I thought this was going to be a story about a woman just like me, a stay at home mom with dreams of a career but also the desire to stay home and raise her own children. Sure, I identifed with Amanda a little, but I also felt like she just complained too much. Of course, it's incredibly hard to give up your job, and of course, it's even tougher to stay home all day with children, but she could have applied herself a little more and did more with her life! I was just frustrated! I wante Amanda to inspire me, to fill me with gratitude because I have these precious moments at home. I wanted her to prove that you can have a life and have children too. Needless to say, I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to, but maybe that was the point the author was trying to make... You can't have everything. However, my philosophy is a little different... enjoy what you do have.
Rating:
Summary: Unhappy, pitiful, miserable main character
Review: What a complete waste of my time. I'm a working mother of two. The description on the back made it seem as if this woman was me. She is so far from anyone I know. I don't like her. I can't understand how she can't make any worthwhile friends. The ending was ridiculous and contrived. Whole book was an utter letdown.
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