[Related Books 05] • Slightly Suburban

It seemed exciting at first, but after two and a half years in New York, Tracey has to admit her life…well, sucks. Sure, she makes a decent living as a copywriter, but Blaire Barnett Advertising is a cutthroat world that basically swallows her life. If she does manage to get home before nine, she's usually greeted by husband Jack's best bud, an almost—permanent fixture in their tiny, unaffordable apartment. Add the circus freaks stomping around upstairs, and Tracey decides it's time to move.

After quitting her job, she and Jack take the plunge into the nearby suburbs of Westchester and quickly discover they're in way over their heads. Their fixer-upper is unfixable, the stay-at-home yoga moms are a bore and Tracey yearns for her old friends—she even misses work!

So which life does she really want? Other than Jack's wife, who is she? If Tracey merely has to find her own Slightly Suburban niche, it had better be just around the corner, because there're no subways here!

From BooklistPicking up where Slightly Married (2007) left off, Tracey Spadolini is now happily married to Jack Candell, but that doesn’t mean she’s completely satisfied. This time, it’s the small, cramped Manhattan apartment she shares with Jack that’s getting under her skin. Tracey decides it’s time for her and Jack to move to the suburbs. After she gets the reluctant Jack to come around, Tracey finds her dream house in Glenhaven Park, not far from where Jack’s mother and spoiled sister live. Tracey is convinced things are finally falling into place—until she loses her job. Now Tracey has no choice but to embrace suburban life, which she soon discovers isn’t all she’d hoped it would be. Snooty neighbors, high prices, and the proximity of Jack’s family leave Tracey wondering if the big move was a big mistake. Readers who have followed Tracey’s adventures to this point will find humor aplenty in her big move, and the ending of the novel promises Tracey’s next outing will be even more life changing. --Kristine Huntley