Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead by Saralee Rosenberg
First line: ’”Listen to her message.” Mindy Sherman replayed the call for her husband.’
Mindy Sherman’s neighbor Beth is the bitch from hell. She’s selfish, snarky and self-possessed. She says what she thinks without thought for the other person’s feelings, which means Mindy has been mentally beaten down for years by carpooling with this evil woman. When Beth is caught in an almost-affair that causes she and her husband to separate, guess who she runs to for moral support? To make matters worse both of them are competing in a greeting card competition. Rosenberg shines best in her humorous look at daily life, and fortunately, that’s nearly every page of the book. “If you love loads of dialogue, you’ll love this book,” said Athena’s Bookshelf. It’s dialogue-heavy and narrative-light, which makes for a very fast-paced read. The plot is something we have probably all experienced one way or another – nasty neighbor – though in DROP DEAD it’s the affluent suburban variety. You’d probably need to combine a hundred bad neighbor experiences to equal how bad Beth acts, but it makes for great witty banter, and you’ll love the growth of her character in the final third.
For: Appreciating the quiet neighbor who leaves you alone. – Malena Lott