Author: Elisabeth Egan               
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: August 25, 2015
TODAY!!

Goodreads:  In A Window Opens, beloved books editor at Glamour magazine, Elisabeth Egan, brings us Alice Pearse, a compulsively honest, longing-to-have-it-all, sandwich generation heroine for our social-media-obsessed, lean in (or opt out) age.

Like her fictional forebears Kate Reddy and Bridget Jones, Alice plays many roles (which she never refers to as “wearing many hats” and wishes you wouldn’t, either). She is a mostly-happily married mother of three, an attentive daughter, an ambivalent dog-owner, a part-time editor, a loyal neighbor and a Zen commuter. She is not: a cook, a craftswoman, a decorator, an active PTA member, a natural caretaker or the breadwinner. But when her husband makes a radical career change, Alice is ready to lean in—and she knows exactly how lucky she is to land a job at Scroll, a hip young start-up which promises to be the future of reading, with its chain of chic literary lounges and dedication to beloved classics. The Holy Grail of working mothers―an intellectually satisfying job and a happy personal life―seems suddenly within reach.

Despite the disapproval of her best friend, who owns the local bookstore, Alice is proud of her new “balancing act” (which is more like a three-ring circus) until her dad gets sick, her marriage flounders, her babysitter gets fed up, her kids start to grow up and her work takes an unexpected turn. Readers will cheer as Alice realizes the question is not whether it’s possible to have it all, but what does she―Alice Pearse―really want?

Ope’s Opinion:  Alice is a character most people can relate to.  Trying to be part of a family, supporting everyone and still trying to fulfill your own dreams.  She has a lot to balance.  My thinking is you can have it all, just not all at once.  I feel like Alice showed us what really happens to families – everyone changes and adapts with different circumstances.

Having a book about books, is always a good thing for me.  I enjoy the whole book industry – it fascinates me.  It was interesting to see her dream job not always be a dream.

Elisabeth Egan’s writing meandered for me.  The meanderings gave you back ground and explained things.  But at times, in those meanderings, I lost where the story was going.

Rating: 4 – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.