Rating: 
Summary: Mainstream at its best
Review: Twenty-four years old Tracey Spedolini lives in a crummy New York efficiency. She works as a secretary in a crummy ad agency where her boss takes advantage of her. She is fifty pounds overweight and in love with a drop dead gorgeous wannabe actor.
After three years with Will, Tracey retains true, but Will rejects any commitment to her. He is doing summer stock in a small town, but refuses to allow Tracey to accompany him there. She is hurt but turns mortified when she finds herself attracted to Buckley, someone she met at a party. Tracey plans to have that confrontation discussion with Will and perhaps step out with the new man in her life.
SLIGHTLY SINGLE is a fascinating mainstream novel about a woman starving for love who lies to herself about her boyfriend. Readers will feel the doubts, denial, and discomfort that Tracey suffers from in her relationships with men. Wendy Markham provides an insightful tale about a nice person unable to stand up for herself when the male of the species is unkind to her. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: I shouldn't even rate this book
Review: I should not even rate this book because I have cheated. I did not read it. Well, I read up to page 14, but I was whined about what a pathetic book this was at every other sentence which led to my boyfriend literally ripping "Slightly Single" from my hands, hurling it across the room, and motioning to the bookcase for me pick something that would salvage the brain cells that Wendy Markham had not annihilated.
In short, this so-called "novel" contrives to be hip while writing in such a manner that everything has mundane yet overly described features (she says, bitterly, typing out the words of her amazon review with disdain, noticing that her short fingernails need a good manicure.....) Ick.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny in parts, but too insecure to "stick"
Review: Unlike the many books I've read recently Slightly Single is defintely not one I will share with my girlfriends. The book really brought me down. Not the funny, feel good, "chick lit" I usually enjoy. Very little plot, just day to day in the life of a gal with little self esteem and pined for a guy who had little or no affection for her. I purchased this book because I received Wendy Markham's Slightly Settled as a gift and wanted to read Slightly Single first. I certainly hope Slighty Settled is a better read.
Rating: 
Summary: slightly single and slightly wanting to scream at Tracey!
Review: O.K. I read this book precisely because it was supposed to be a formulaic, breezy summer romance in the same vein as Bridget Jones Diary...Unfortunately, this book is nowhere near as good as the original BJD...Come to think of it, it's nowhere near as good as the off-the-wall BJD sequal, The Edge of Reason. The character of Bridget Jones is slightly insecure but fun. By contrast, the lead charactor here is really insecure but annoying. See the difference? You don't mind putting up with Bridget's hangups because she's ultimately still kinda cool in an offbeat kind of way. You do, however, mind putting up with Tracey's hangups because she's a doormat, plain and simple. This book is a fast read, I'll give it that. It also strays from the "happily ever ending" that is part of the traditional formula for this type of book. While some people may enjoy this slight deviation from the norm, I found it rather annoying. I mean, if I wanted to read something different, I would. I guess what ultimately disappoints me about the book are two things: (1) the lead character is annoying, and (2) the book was mis-marketed as a fun summer romance, which it really isn't. If all you're looking for is a couple of funny scenarios you might be able to relate to, then this book is good for that. However, if you're looking for anything else, say a good summer romance or a lead character that you actually like, then I'm afraid this book falls short of that. Instead, I suggest "Thirtynothing" by Lisa Jewell, which is funny, romantic, neurotic, and sweet...all the things I'm looking for when I read this type of book in the first place!
Rating:
Summary: idiotic protagonist, fluffy plotline - typical red dress ink
Review: "Slightly Single" opens at the beginning of Tracey's second summer in New York, which she will be spending alone, since her gorgeous, inattentive boyfriend is spending the summer acting upstate. Desperate to find meaning in his absence, she throws herself into a prodigious self-improvement program (weight loss, of course; saving money; vague stabs at classic literature) and (cue sappy music) ultimately rediscovers herself. The big problem with this book is that the protagonist is so darn stupid. She doesn't realize that her long-term boyfriend isn't into her, despite his obvious indifference to everything about their relationship. She doesn't realize that her job is going nowhere, despite the fact that she has a college degree and her boss calls her his secretary. She's obsessed with her weight, of course, and with her crummy apartment and lack of wedding ring, and she's so preoccupied with improving these areas of her life that she overlooks all possibilities for professional or romantic - not to mention personal - improvement. The bigger problem with this book is that it doesn't get much better. The main character never realizes that her weight - whatever it might be - is not a reliable indicator of her value as a person, or that her boyfriend - even if he's really hot - isn't necessarily right for her, or that there are bigger things in life than double lattes. Her life changes, but the dynamic forces are all external to the main character. At the beginning of the summer, Tracey is an immature, insecure, shallow fat girl with a boyfriend and a boss who don't deserve her. At the end of the summer, the boyfriend and the boss and the fatness have all changed, but she's still immature and insecure and shallow, and you get the feeling that the next summer will find her "Slightly Single" all over again. Fortunately, this mindless book is short and easy to read and highly palatable - the chapters slide past, and Markham tells a good story. As a beach read or a Saturday afternoon treat, this book is fine. As anything else - a work of literature, a commentary on contemporary womanhood, a role model (heaven forbid) for young women - it's deplorable.
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