No matter how old we are or how far we travel whenever we return to our first family we often revert to the old familial roles. Like an oldie but goodie tune sung slightly off key grown men and women transform into “the baby” or “the favorite” as soon as they re-enter their childhood homes. And few familial relationships are as complex as the sister bond.

In The Smart One and the Pretty One author Claire La Zebnik spins a delicious tale of adult sisters who come to appreciate that they are more than their childhood labels. The twentysomething Nickerson sisters reunite due to personal crises: their mother has cancer and sister Lauren is in dire financial straits. The sisters quickly resume their respective roles as the “smart one” (Ava) and the “pretty one” (Lauren). Ava, an attorney, has a successful career and money in the bank, but hasn’t had a serious romantic relationship in years. Lauren, an unemployed clothes buyer, dresses stylishly and is never long without a new guy on her arm, but is homeless and has creditors chasing her for unpaid debts. While both sisters love and support each other, they believe that they can “fix “the other sister. To that end Ava corrals Lauren into cleaning up her financial mess, while Lauren plays matchmaker for the reluctant Ava.

While both sisters have romantic entanglements, the men are supporting players to the sister relationship. The author even includes her own personal sister Hall of Fame at the back of the book: Little Women’s the March sisters; The Simspson’s Bouvier sisters; the real-life Brontes; Pride and Prejudice’s the Bennet sisters; and Greek mythology’s the Gorgon sisters.

The Smart One and the Pretty One is witty chick-lit fare with a meaningful twist!

Publisher: 5 Spot (September 10, 2008), 304 pages
Review Copy Provided Courtesy of Hachette Book Group. ( )

The title says it all. The Smart One and the Pretty One captures the rivalry and tension two young single sisters can share. Though the plot is a familiar one, I enjoyed the book very much. The pretty one, Lauren, is flighty and irresponsible and I wanted to shake her a number of times while Ava, the responsible lawyer sister, had my sympathy. The other characters are equally engaging and the Nickerson family draws you in to their lives. I found The Smart One and the Pretty One a fun satisfying read.

Publisher: 5 Spot (September 10, 2008), 305 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher. ( )

To strangers, Ava and Lauren Nickerson could not be more similar and some would even go as far as to call them twins. But to Ava, they are worlds apart. Lauren, the younger sister, is beautiful and carefree, attracting men wherever she goes. Thanks to her ravenous shopping habits, Lauren is also in debt and about to evicted from her apartment. Ava, on the other hand, is a successful lawyer and is as conservative and responsible as they come. She lives for her job, does not see the purpose in being fashionable or wearing make-up, and has not had a date since law school.

When Ava tricks Lauren into sitting down with a debt counselor, Lauren swears to get back at her sister. She finds just such an opportunity when she comes across a document her parents jokingly drew up years ago, betrothing Ava to their friends' son, Russell Markowitz. Lauren tracks down Russell, a charming but doubly-divorced bachelor who finds the entire engagement contract amusing and is only too happy to play along. Ava is convinced that Russel is only sticking around for Lauren and cannot believe that someone like him would be be even remotely interested in someone plain like her. But, before long, Lauren's hijinks are throwing the "engaged" pair together in unexpected ways and even Ava is forced to admit that there is more to the whole contract than meets the eye...

A charming addition to chick lit, "The Smart One and the Pretty One" is entertaining, engrossing and a definitely fun read for the beach or a long flight. LaZebnik's writing style is light and chick lit fluffy; the book is not serious literature nor does it pretend to be. At times, I wished that LaZebnik was not so narrowly focused on the relationship between Ava and Russel. Certain story lines could have been better developed or brought to a more satisfying end, such as Lauren's own romantic relationship, but "The Smart One and the Pretty One" kept me interested and intrigued regardless. ( )

"The Smart One and the Pretty One" lived up to my expectations as a fun, spunky piece of chick-lit and then surpassed it. I quickly devoured this book in three days, so involved did I become in both the story and the characters.

Both sisters, Ava and Lauren, are relatable - - they are witty, they are competitive, they are flawed. Both could be more annoying than amiable - - Ava, the conservative, buttoned up attorney who has some preconceived notions of relationships and men; Lauren, the flirty, flighty spendthrift who acts before she thinks and doesn't think too often of the future. I think most of us have aspects of both sisters in our personalities and that is what made them more endearing to me than aggravating. They have a strong bond, which they realize and identify during the novel, and act like typical sisters.

Typical, too, in a sense, are their romantic relationships during the book. I could tell exactly where the story was headed for both sisters, but it didn't lessen my enjoyment with the book. I liked both their male counterparts and I liked the fact that they were as equally flawed as the sisters themselves.

While "The Smart One and the Pretty One" made Lauren's financial woes and her poor handling of money a source of humor and one of the bases for the eventual contract disputes between her and Ava, it handles the sisters' mother's cancer diagnosis with much more seriousness but still keeps the overall tone of the book as bubbly as a glass of champagne. As a bit of an aside, a peripheral character who is also being treated for cancer at the same hospital as Nancy (the sisters' mother) is shown to be quite ill and there is certainly nothing lighthearted about it. In fact, some of the best dialogue (wittiness aside) in the book is between Lauren and the character of Daniel, speaking about dealing with a family member suffering from cancer and trying to make jokes during a depressing, demoralizing time.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Nickerson sisters and lamented the ending of the book. I can only hope that Ms. LaZebnik found the sisters worthy enough for a sequel.

http://psychoticstate.blogspot.com/20... ( )

The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire LaZebnik. 4 stars
A cute book about the relationship between two sisters. Ava is the "smart" one, an attorney, conservative bordering on stodgy. Lauren is the pretty one, irresponsible and always in debt she returns to California to help with her mother who is undergoing cancer treatments. In going through a closet, Lauren happens upon a contract signed by her parents betrothing Ava to their friends' son back when they were children. When Ava makes Lauren sign a contract not to buy any new clothes, Lauren decides to seek out Ava's "betrothed" and sets in motion a series of events. A fun brain candy sort of read. ( )