Clever Reading: The Manny by Holly Peterson

The Manny by Holly Peterson was my “summer read” that continued way too far into Fall! The story was an interesting peek into the lives of the “uber rich” in the heart of New York City’s Manhattan. While the thought of having my own cooks, maids and nannies is unimaginable to me, it’s always entertaining to read about this ultimate fantasy lifestyle in between doing my own piles of laundry, cooking dinner and helping kids with homework. When you add a young, good-looking, zest for life “Manny” to the mix, you would think that things would get really interesting! Unfortunately, it didn’t quite do that for me.

The character of Jamie, a working mother of three married to a rich, greedy, upwardly striving, workaholic husband, living in the heart of Manhattan intrigued me in several ways. First, I could relate to getting married in my late 20’s and being career and socially focused. Then, after you add kids to the mix and reach your late 30’s, you start to see how husband and wife evolve over the course of marriage and family life. Personal goals change, careers change, and marriage changes. Working hard in both career and family life can cause you to lose touch with what brought you together as a couple. I could see that struggle between Jamie and her husband as they started leading separate lives. Enter in the young, single fun-loving “Manny”, showering Jamie and her kids with attention and affection they’ve been missing and craving, how could she not fall for the Manny? To me the Manny represents all the love, affection, and humanity that was disappearing from Jamie’s marriage. Unfortunately this was very predictable from the start and the book lacked the depth to really draw you further into the experience.

The book continues by pursuing two story lines, one related to her high profile reporter career and the other, the growing relationship between her and the Manny and how he brings out Jamie’s true desires and goals for herself and her children.

I appreciated the fact that over the duration of the story, Jamie really fights to do the right thing…not just giving into her immediate emotions and feelings. She tries to make her marriage work and yet struggles with the realization that staying in an unhappy marriage doesn’t do anyone any favors. On the other hand, she painfully strings Peter (the Manny) along trying to figure out who and what she wants, which often got confusing, especially since her husband seemed to get worse and worse as the story unfolded.

I was disappointed in how predictable this book was and had a hard time making a true connection with the characters. It did improve towards the end as Jamie’s character opens up about her feelings toward the Manny, but overall the book ended up being simply a fun “escape” read.

More about The Manny on Amazon.

NOTE: I’ve been a lover of books all my life and I try to still get in a book every so often even when time seems to not want to permit it! We read to the kids every night and for those of you who read to your kids and yet still don’t have time to read for yourself, remember that it sets a great example for your kids to see you take a moment, pick up a book and read. Practice what we preach, right? It will do everyone good!

Chana Lynn, small business web designer and mother of two girls, Julia and Samantha. She resides in Raleigh, NC.