The Smart One

De: Jennifer Close

Narrado por: Rebecca Lowman

From the author of the national best seller Girls in White Dresses (an "irresistible, pitch-perfect first novel" [Marie Claire]) comes a gloriously funny new novel of sibling rivalry, thwarted expectations, and that place you return to when things go staggeringly awry: home.

Weezy and Will Coffey raised their children, Martha, Claire, and Max, to be kind, smart, and independent. They gave them help with their homework, a dog, and homemade birthday cakes. It's true that Martha's a little too sensitive - she calls Claire several times a week to discuss natural disasters and local crime. And Claire has a short fuse with her sister - she becomes irate when Martha suggests that the two of them attend couples therapy. And Max, the baby and a senior in college, is a little too happy-go-lucky, though not as lucky as everyone would hope. Still, their parents did their best preparing them for the world. So why, Weezy wonders, is Martha living in her childhood bedroom after a career flameout? And why has Claire canceled her wedding and locked herself in her New York apartment? And how has Max managed to get himself into a girlfriend fiasco?

A story about the ways in which we never really grow up, The Smart One is a witty, gossipy, perfectly-drawn portrait of family life.

©2013 Jennifer Close (P)2013 Random House Audio

Fun, girly listen.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, this is a great book for anyone who likes a nice family story that's girly.

What about Rebecca Lowman’s performance did you like?

Nice voice that never bored or annoyed me.

Any additional comments?

Overall a fairly simple story but real and well written. An enjoyable read.

A great work of fiction

A great story with character development, complex relationships and the meaning of family. I loved the narrator and the different points of view the same situations were told from.

Magnificent from start to finish!

The writing, the story, the narrator…all of it a complete pleasure. I loved every character and didn’t want it to ever end. Jennifer Close’s dialogue is so naturalistic and real; Rebecca Lowman can read me the phone book any day! Just wish it was longer!

Please Do NOT Waste Your Time

I don't write reviews, but this book and narration are so bad I couldn't in good conscious not. I should have cut my losses and returned it. But, I couldn't believe characters could be so depressing and dissatisfied with EVERYTHING without there being some redeeming twist. So, I stuck with the monotone narration and the overwhelming negativity and the most annoying and self-righteous character created (Margaret) I have coming across in my almost 50 years.