In her light third novel, Center (Everyone Is Beautiful
) tackles sisterhood, but falls just short of poignancy. Sarah Harper is on the New York fast track at a top advertising agency until she grows a conscience overnight and sends out a companywide e-mail debunking her popular bra campaign. Fired, she flies home to Houston, where she crashes with her older sister, Mackie, and Mackie’s husband, Clive. Turns out Mackie has problems of her own: after years of trying to have a baby, she announces she’s done. In an effort to do something good for a change, Sarah offers herself up as a surrogate. In the nine pregnant months that follow, Sarah juggles unexpected feelings for her brother-in-law and expected feelings for an ex-boyfriend, and instead of the pregnancy bringing her and Mackie closer, it drives them apart. Witty dialogue and likable characters keep the pages turning, but Center glosses over the depth of emotion inherent in carrying your sister’s baby to the point that you forget at times that Sarah is pregnant. It’s a fun, breezy book, but it doesn’t try to get to the heart of the matter. (Apr.)
