"She Makes It Look Easy" is a book all women will be able to relate to. Ariel Baxter is new to the neighborhood. She is moving into her dream home. The home she has been pestering her husband about for a while now. Ariel, is a wife and a mother of three boys. She feels like we all feel at one time or another. There has to be more. She looks across the back yard and sees the home of her new friend, Justine Miller, who smiles everywhere she goes. You know these women. They look as if they have it all together. They seem to know how to do everything. Her home is not only spotless, but she can cook too! Justine seems to have a clutter-free life, but as Ariel befriends her, she soon finds out there might be a few weeds in that perfectly manicured lawn.
MaryBeth Whalen brings us her second novel. This one is much different than, "The Mailbox". Both are beautifully written, but "She Makes It Look Easy", is written on a deeper level. Whalen, dives into the subjects of betrayal and adultery, which come in many different forms. I loved this book. Ariel, is a great character. There is a little, Ariel, in all of us. She is knee deep in chores and is desperately looking to move forward. She is deeply looking for friendship and belonging. She finds friendship with, Justine, but is it really what she is looking for? These two characters seem so different on the outside, but on the inside, they both are searching for the same things. Love and acceptance.
Justine, who appears to have it all together, befriends everyone new to the area. Justine is trying to show others how to be organized, how to be the perfect wife and mother, but she is helpless in finding peace in her own life. She is striving for perfection, but everything seems to be falling apart. Instead of being honest, she puts on the face. I am guilty of this too! Which brings us to ask ourselves, "Can we be content?"
Throughout these pages we see how women can be caddy. We see how we can be blinded by envy.We too see what happens as we fall into gossip and judge the newbies in our area without first knowing them. We see friendship at it's finest and it's worst. This is a book about real life. Real struggles. What we face day to day and just how easy it is to fall into the traps that Satan sets for us. This is one of those great reads that will make you take a look into your own life and help you to realize what is really important.
This book was a gift from David C. Cook Publishing for it's review.
