This is a Mother-Talk book review.

Flirting In Cars is a new novel by Alisa Kwitney. (I’m not sure why but I have a very hard time saying her name, even in my head.) At first glance, it’s a cheesy love story of the kind that I’d never read. But truthfully? I read it in two days while parenting a toddler, which means it was really damn good for a love story! Definitely still chick-lit, but with the main character being in her 40’s and strikingly “normal” it’s very readable chick-lit.

It’s the story of a Jewish mother & daughter, Zoe & Maya, who move to the country so Maya can attend a school that caters to learning disabilities. They think they’re going for just a year to catch Maya up to grade level and then moving back to Manhattan as quickly as they left. Zoe, being a stereotypical Manhattanite, doesn’t drive or cook and feels very isolated in what sounds to me like a country paradise and struggles with the open spaces, isolation and feeling generally out of her element. The book takes you on an emotional roller coaster as Maya loves her school & Zoe falls in love with a “local yokel.” The eclectic mix of town and city-folk is rather entertaining, and the way that Kwitney describes the interactions between them made me feel as if I was there (and I actually wanted to be there, living in her amazing rented house).

Flirting In Cars would make a great summer read for anyone who is beyond the classic romance novel but secretly still yearns for a good love story. And really, don’t we all?

I’m giving away a copy of this book. Leave a comment on this post or email me at muchmorethanamom at gmail dot com (just put the book title in the subject line) by midnight MST on Aug 24/07 to enter! You must leave a valid email address to be entered but you do not have to have a blog. One winner will be randomly selected from all comments and email entries using random.org. (Incidentally, that’s the site we use for all of the T.O.P. contest draws, in case you were wondering.)

Congratulations to (blogless) Liane Murdoch of Tillamook, Oregon!