She, Myself & I

The Cassel sisters find solace in one another as they stumble through divorce, child-rearing and existential crises in Gaskell's third novel. Each outspoken sister narrates her own trials in this pleasant, lighthearted read. In typical eldest-child fashion, controlling divorce attorney Paige keeps a tight rein on her emotions as she comes to terms with her gay ex-husband and shies away from an over-eager boyfriend. Social, emotional Sophie gives birth to her first child and then struggles with post-partum depression, a shaky marriage and a crush on her pediatrician. Their baby sister, restless Mickey, flexes her newfound adult independence by giving up medical school in favor of a culinary career, falling hard for a married chef in the process. Connecting the tales are the three sisters' easy camaraderie and their bemused horror when their divorced parents reunite. The Cassel sisters' problems are never very menacing-they attract bland men and succeed professionally with ease-and it's difficult to sympathize with their dithering; Paige's realization that she doesn't know what she wants applies to all three. Fortunately, none linger in indecision in this slight novel, and Gaskell moves each sister along to a frothy but ultimately satisfying conclusion.