"Enjoyable chick-lit"

A legal associate in the DC area, Ellie Winters does all the right things especially if it enables her to avoid a confrontation. Now turning thirty, Ellie adheres by the rules, a classic example of integrity, even if no one but she is aware of her actions. However, she detests her job finding it boring even when the rare experience is positive. Her boyfriend Eric Leahy is dependable, but even more tedious than her job. Since she cannot afford to quit her job, she decides to quit her boyfriend. When she starts to inform Eric it is over, he asks her to move in with him. That is typical of life for Ellie, but she still tells him that it is over between them.

After turning her hair pink by accident, Ellie goes out to repair the damage and meets TV anchor Ted Langston and his trusty dog Oscar. She finds him exciting and nice, but he is twice her age. When they meet again at a party, Ted tries to persuade Ellie to defy the rules of seeing an older man and take a chance on him. Though it is out of character for her Ellie feels the attraction is worth the risk.

PUSHING 30 is an enjoyable chick-lit tale starring a delightful lead female character. The story line focuses on squeaky clean Ellie's struggle with her own sense of morality when her heart tells her steppin' out with the man she loves is the right thing regardless of his age. Fans will appreciate this amusing look at the "suffering" of an about to be thirty person.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted September 15, 2003

Summary

"The one thing you should know about me is this: I'm the consummate Good Girl. . ." Ellie Winters is dependable and loyal and has a near-phobic aversion to conflict. But as her thirtieth birthday looms ever closer, she starts to feel like she's lost the instruction manual to her life. She has just broken up with her boring boyfriend, despises her job, and is the last of her high school friends to remain single. Worse, her dysfunctional family is driving her nuts, and she's somehow become enslaved to her demanding pet pug Sally, who she suspects is the reincarnation of Pol Pot. One night, after a botched attempt to color her hair at home, Ellie rushes to the drugstore for emergency bleach, Sally in tow. Sally is accosted by a smitten canine admirer . . . but it's the dog's owner who captures Ellie's attention. Television news anchor Ted Langston is witty, intriguing, and sexy. The only catch? He's twice her age-- and the only man on the planet who isn't interested in dating a younger woman. And no one, from Ellie's best friends to Ted's ex-wife, wants to see them get together.