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Title: Pushing 30
ISBN: 0553382241
Author:
Whitney Gaskell
Publicate Date: 2003-09-30
Publish: 2003-09-30
List Price: $12.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $5.35
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.45
Amazon Merchant Price: $9.60
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Been there, read that...
Ellie Winters is a litigation attorney. You have to be tough to have a job like that, right? So why does she have a hard time breaking up with men? Alas, she has to break up with her current boyfriend, who seems to be moving much faster than she is comfortable with. But why doesn't she want the commitment? She is twenty-nine, about to turn thirty, and desperation has begun to creep in. Yet she is reluctant to make the next step. That is until she meets fifty-something Ted Lagston. He is tall, broad-shouldered, handsome and a gentleman. His age is not a problem for her. It is, however, a problem with him. He is an important TV personality and doesn't want to be ridiculed as the typical fool with a midlife crisis, dating younger women. At first, he accepts to go out with her because he is under the impression that Ellie is thirty-eight, not twenty-nine. After her initial shock of having been told that she looks so much older, she decides she wants Ted in her life.
I'd had this book on my TBR pile for years (yes, years. I bought this when it first came out) and found it by chance when I was cleaning up my library. I was in the mood for a chick-lit after reading a couple of very intense gothic novels. Pushing 30 is fun in some ways. I like the whole older man, younger woman angle, but the problem I had with this novel is that it offers nothing fresh or innovative in this tried and true genre. You get the single career woman with the eccentric family and the meetings with friends. She also has quirks of her own, like dying her own hair with disastrous results. This is very been there, done that, and I couldn't help but think why publishers release something that will only end up in the middling list saleswise. I haven't read any of Whitney Gaskell's other novels, but I hope they are better than her debut. Pushing 30 is an okay enough beach read, but you'd be better off picking up a Jennifer Weiner book instead.
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2: fun
the purpose of chick lit is to read for fun and entertainment. Most plots are predictable and characters are seterotypical. this book is no different. you'l know the story from start. read it only if u want a light read. if your looking for something denser with more sustance and intellectual stimulation, this is not it. well, chick is not it then.
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3: Sweet and romantic, but predictable, and a bit superficial!
I purchased the book because I am an unmarried litigator "pushing 30," so the theme of the story is so appealing. But, although this a definitely a feel good story, it is not as good as I thought that it would be. The story is clear, fun, and sweet, and the romantic scenes are written in a very tender and touching manner. But the real motivations of the characters aren't there. There really has to be so much more to say about two people with a 23 year age difference falling in love, and with Elli's conflict-aversion. My preference, as a reader, would be for a story that digs deeper into those issues. I almost stopped reading at the beginning because the writing seemed to superficial, but the story got a lot better, and I wanted to spend all day reading it to see how it turned out. I agree with some other reviewers that the story is not completely wrapped up at the end, but I still liked it, and rooted for the unlikely lovers.
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4: Very disappointing
This book could have been written by a high school student-- the plot was *totally* predictable, the characters underdeveloped and stereotyped, the dialogue lame. It also had a pretentious quality that was hard to stomach. Very unsatisfying, even for a light beach read.
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5: A Fun Read
From the first page the book drew me in and I read it in one sitting. The characters were well written and came to life on the pages. I loved Ellie & Ted's first date, it was laugh out loud funny and so well written. Add the dysfunctional family, friends & enemies, and a pug named Sally and you have a fabulous book that has me searching out Whitney Gaskell's other books.
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