Fiction Book Reviews

Book Review: The Smart One and The Pretty One

By Sandy Amazeen Oct 16, 2008, 17:40 GMT

"This sparkling novel about two sisters is both witty and stylish. Even if you don\'t have a sister of your own, you won\'t be able to resist LaZebnik\'s charming take on modern relationships. Read it!"- Holly Peterson, bestselling author of The MannyWhen Ava Nickerson was a child, her mother jokingly betrothed her to a friend\'s son, and the contract the parents made has stayed safely buried for years. Now that ...more

LaZebnik has penned another winner in this examination of the complex bonds between two grown sisters. Although both are fairly equal in looks and intelligence, they have pretty much settled into the mindsets developed during childhood that cast Ava Nickerson as the smart one and her younger sibling Lauren, as the pretty one. When the two come together in L.A. as the result of their mother’s cancer, they promptly set about transforming each other.

Lauren has problems managing her money while enjoying flashy clothes that show off her looks to their best advantage. Ava, is an attorney who realizes her brains are her best asset, thus doesn’t worry over little things like her appearance. Each attempts to transform the other, including matchmaking efforts that bring childhood friend Russell Markowitz back into Ava’s life. What ensues is a believable interplay between the sisters as they begin expanding their boundaries and come to realize they are more then the smart one and the pretty one.

Exceptionally good character development cast into believable roles make this light chick-lit a pleasure. The snappy dialog keeps things moving along even as it plumbs the complex depths of sibling relationships. There is plenty of love interest serving as an interesting sidebar to the changing family dynamics as the sisters discover more about each other and themselves.