Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom. Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic. To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.
My take: 3.5 looks
I LOVED the beginning of this book! It was so very cleverly written and so hilariously witty that I couldn't stop reading, then texting my friend about the funnier statements. For example, I am going to start saying "Mea Culpa", calling people gnats, and telling my kids they are "rotters" when they vex me.
Then, it took a turn for the serious. Which was fine, and well done. The background had to be explained and the characters needed to be fleshed out.
Then, it got bogged down. When the team went to Antarctica, my mind and attention wandered. At the end, I was ready for the last page.
I recommend this book because of the first half, the hilarious characters and the changes that each went through to make them very real. It's a very quick read, and you may like the ending more than I did.
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