The Starter Wife
Gigi Levangie Grazer’s book, The Starter Wife, was the basis of a 2007 television series of the same name. I hadn’t heard the term “starter wife” before and decided to add this book to my “must read” list. I almost wish I hadn’t.
Even chick-lit heroines should be likeable but I couldn’t find much to like about a shallow character whose shop-til-you-drop and you-can’t-be-too-rich-or-too-thin life falters when her egotistical but dumb as a rock husband says he wants a divorce because he’s having an affair with Britney Spears. Yes, that’s the story line. And that’s how the book’s “heroine” goes from “Wife Of” to “Starter Wife.”
This book was written by “Wife Of” Grazer who may have spun this improbable tale to give hope to women in her peer group who find themselves out of the loop when their marriages fail.
The premise seems to be that even if your husband decides you’re not cutting it anymore and dumps you for someone younger and less wrinkled, you’ll get the last laugh even if botox and plastic surgery aren’t keeping up with your middle age sags and bags.
Because Grazer weaves real celebrities into the storyline, I felt like I was reading a novelized version of E! or US Weekly.
I really didn’t care what happened to “Gracie,” the lightweight heroine of this book. How many women can really relate or have empathy for a heroine who has to leave her Hollywood mansion and make due in an oceanfront Malibu mansion where she meets her next husband who is breathtakingly handsome, incredible in bed, and much, much richer than her ex. Ooops! I gave away the ending.
Just because I felt The Starter Wife was a waste of good reading time doesn’t mean it won’t be a best seller or a successful TV series.