"A Story of Two Women Searching for Meaning"

Ally and Meg are best friends and couldn't be in more different places in their lives. Ally is leaving her stodgy boyfriend and moving to the county while Meg is seemingly happily married, employed and the mother of a young son. Ally believes that Meg has the perfect life while Meg envies Ally's freedom and the way has been able to start her life over.

As Ally discovers that life in the country isn't as bad as the childhood she remembers, Meg finds excitment with a younger, rootless man who seems to give her the spontaneity she's been missing in her life and her marriage. It's not long before they both realize that life is not what it seems and that they both have issues from childhood they must resolve before they can truly be happy.

CALL WAITING is a book about not only discovering yourself, but also discovering what kind of person you're meant to be. Blacklock does an admirable job of playing the two characters against each other, comparing and contrasting their lives in a way that reveals the inner workings of both of them. She also does a wonderful job of exploring the paths that women take on their road to maturity and the many wrong turns that often throw them off the path.

CALL WAITING is an amusing story of two women who've wandered down some wrong paths, but it's also a touching book about people searching for meaning and the place where they belong. CALL WAITING will appeal to those who enjoy the proverbial 'chick lit' and to those who enjoy a good story about friendship that may elicit a few chuckles and tears before the last page is turned.

Reviewed by Angela McQuay
Posted April 26, 2003

Summary

Ally Tasker is trapped in a dead-end teaching job and a relationship that's going nowhere. She wishes her life could be more like her friend Meg's: a great job, a doting husband, and a gorgeous baby son. Meanwhile, Meg is not as happy as Ally thinks. Dissatisfied with her perfect-on-paper life, a restless Meg longs for more passion and spon-taneity. In the tradition of Marian Keyes and Katie Fforde, this is a smart, heartwarming story of two best friends who are struggling to redefine their identities and their lives.