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102nd out of 355 books
—
277 voters
Age before Beauty (Sister to Sister #2)
by
Virginia Smith (Goodreads Author)
Desperate to stay home with her baby, Allie Harrod launches a new career. Sure, she dropped out of Girl Scouts because she was lousy at cookie sales, but makeup is different, right? She'll do anything to make enough money to cover her share of the household bills, but how can she focus on her business when her list of problems is growing? None of her pre-baby clothes fit,...more
Paperback, 313 pages
Published
February 1st 2009
by Fleming H. Revell Company
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This book was a quick read, certainly an enjoyable way to spend a quiet winter evening. The characters, from harried Allie to quiet Betty to slightly scary Sally Jo, live and I found myself genuinely interested in their lives as the story unfolded. Smith is a good writer who ably crafts an enjoyable and yet realistic picture of a new mom struggling to reconcile her pre-baby and post-baby plans.
Although the flap copy makes this book sound like your average chick-lit book, readers should be aware...more
Although the flap copy makes this book sound like your average chick-lit book, readers should be aware...more
I found this book an excellent read. Allie is now a mother and suddenly she is thrown back to the time in her life when her father leaves her and her family to fend for themselves. Will her husband, the love or her life, do the same now that he is a father? Allie wants so much to stay at home with her daughter but she needs be able to support herself just in case, so she starts a home business and her mother-in-law runs away from home and moves in with them. Talk about stress! The characters are...more
I love Virginia's stories... they remind me of a more pure time in my life that I've been missing so often recently. I appreciate the subtle reminder of the beautiful role faith can play in our lives - however scattered they may be. Call me crazy, but I swear she's an answer to prayers I've tossed around lately... I've just started another book of hers (Just As I Am) and can't wait to feel that lovely sigh of relief at the end.
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Age Before Beauty deals with issues that all new parents face. I could relate to everything that came up from Allie wanting to look good in pre-pregnancy clothes to not wanting to return to work and leave the baby with a sitter. The way Allie's husband responded to her insecurities was heartwarming at times, and at other times frustratingly true. He often withdrew rather than confronting the issue. And his mother moving in to their home was classic! I loved how Allie brought the woman around fro...more
This was the second installment of the sister-to-sister series. I think I actually enjoyed Allie's story a bit more than Joan's in the first book. As a mom and wife I could relate to the struggles Allie has with trying to stay home with kids while also contributing to the finances. I enjoyed hearing more about each character and look forward to reading Tori's story in the 3rd installment!
Allie Harrod has it all, a loving husband who is absolutely crazy about her and an absolutely lovely baby girl. Allie also has all the expectations she has thrown on herself of being not just a mom but a mom with a career. She is also less than content with the baby weight she has put on. She is also presented with the nightmare of her mother-in-law arriving for an extended stay.
When Allie realizes that she wants to be home with her daughter, she is presented with the opportunity to do direct sa...more
When Allie realizes that she wants to be home with her daughter, she is presented with the opportunity to do direct sa...more
Virginia Smith writes books one can relate to themselves. This book is about a Mom - Allie - who just had her first baby. She is not wanting to go back to work at her job. She wants to be able to stay at home and have more time with her baby. She thinks being a party hostess will earn her enough money and time with her daughter. Instead she finds start up costs, time spent hosting parties, and everything needed to keep the business running soon take over her life. She is spending less and less t...more
I started Age Before Beauty last night and was really enjoying it. It is a funny book about an independent, career-oriented young woman who has just had her first baby. As the end of her maternity leave draws near she starts to dread missing this special time with her baby. Her first post-baby outing is with her sister to one of those sales parties. While there she gets the brilliant idea of selling that stuff rather than going back to her office job. When she gets home from the party, her mothe...more
Allie Harrod is not a particularly happy camper.
She has a great husband and a beautiful newborn daughter. But she also has a closet full of clothes that no longer fit, a mirror that reflects an overweight woman she doesn’t even know, and an employer who eagerly awaits her return to work after maternity leave. Therein lies the problem. Allie doesn’t want to leave little Joanie and return to work. Despite all the best-laid plans she and hubby Eric have made for their lives, she finds herself long...more
She has a great husband and a beautiful newborn daughter. But she also has a closet full of clothes that no longer fit, a mirror that reflects an overweight woman she doesn’t even know, and an employer who eagerly awaits her return to work after maternity leave. Therein lies the problem. Allie doesn’t want to leave little Joanie and return to work. Despite all the best-laid plans she and hubby Eric have made for their lives, she finds herself long...more
What fun I'm having in my search for new authors and new books to read! I discovered Ginny Smith when I noticed her name listed on the faculty of the Quad-Cities Writers Conference, which is directed by my friend and boss Twila Belk. (You can check us out online at www.qccwc.com. The 2010 conference will be April 9-10 in Eldridge, Iowa. We'd love to see you there).
I saw Virginia’s book listed on her face book page and not realizing it was the second in the Sister-to-Sister series I began reading...more
I saw Virginia’s book listed on her face book page and not realizing it was the second in the Sister-to-Sister series I began reading...more
Perfect For: Personal reading, book club choice
In a Nutshell: I really enjoyed this book. One thing that made it so great was the fact that I could view the characters and their problems or joys as REAL! The detail, the facts, the progression of events all seemed right, not over-done. As a first-time mother myself, I could relate to Allie and the things she was experiencing, as well as the emotions surrounding watching a new baby grow and making the hard choice to return to work or stay at home....more
In a Nutshell: I really enjoyed this book. One thing that made it so great was the fact that I could view the characters and their problems or joys as REAL! The detail, the facts, the progression of events all seemed right, not over-done. As a first-time mother myself, I could relate to Allie and the things she was experiencing, as well as the emotions surrounding watching a new baby grow and making the hard choice to return to work or stay at home....more
4.5 stars. I really liked this book. Smith's writing is so real and enjoyable. The thing that struck me most about this book is how self-centered we can become and how unfulfilling life is when we focus so much on ourselves. Fortunately, God is patient with us and is always waiting in the background waiting for us to remember Him. Great book Ginny. Thanks so much! I'm definitely looking foward to the final installment.
This is #2 of the Sister-to-Sister series and I enjoyed this was more than the first one. Thought the topic was more interesting and realistic than the first one, but it still bugs me how she doesn't capitalize He, Him, when she's referencing God. That'd be like typing God with a small "g" and you just don't! But great story line, I like this Author's style of writing and I'm looking forward to reading the 3rd one!
This one was about the oldest sister, Allie - she's 28, married, has a 5-week old...more
This one was about the oldest sister, Allie - she's 28, married, has a 5-week old...more
Feb 24, 2009
Linda
added it
This is a wonderful story about all of the issues we as women face when we have a family. Should we work or stay at home with the children? I loved this book - I felt like I new each of the characters personally.
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Synopsis: Allie never thought she'd be trying to figure out how make money from home. Before marriage and children, she'd had expectations! She wanted to always pull her own weight financially, pay half of the bills, move up in her career. But now that she has a newborn, things are changing - her thought process is changing. New thoughts are flooding her mind. She doesn't want someone else taking care of her baby!
My Review: Age Before Beauty is Allie's story. And what a story it is! I immediatel...more
My Review: Age Before Beauty is Allie's story. And what a story it is! I immediatel...more
this is the first book I have read by Virginia Smith and it was an easy pleasant read. The main characther is Allie, a brand new mom who wants to stay home with her baby girl but feels she needs to work. She becomes a cosmetic saleslady(think Mary Kay). Soon that has taken over a better part of her time which creates stress between her and her husband. also because her Father was unfaithful she supects her husband may be on the same path. Her sisters have her back though. this is a christen nove...more
Allie just gave birth to her beautiful daughter a few weeks ago and is already dreading going back to work. She decides to try a home based company doing sales so that she can stay home with her baby. When she arrives home she finds her mother-in-law has come for a visit, the mother-in-law she can't stand.
What a delightful book. I think any mother wrestles with the decision to stay at home or to work outside the home. It is a tough decision and this story handles it in such a good way. Allie fa...more
What a delightful book. I think any mother wrestles with the decision to stay at home or to work outside the home. It is a tough decision and this story handles it in such a good way. Allie fa...more
This is an easy-to-read story about some of the issues women face when deciding whether or not to return to work after giving birth. It mixes Allie's insecurities with her post-baby body, the relationship she has with her spouse, as well as Allie trying to find where she fits into the world in her new role as mom. While I am not a mother, as of yet, I am the middle of three girls (sister's as close, yet astonishingly different in needs, wants and personalities as the sister's in the book). I was...more
I really enjoyed this easy read. I found that I related pretty well to the characters again. It was the sequel to stuck in the middle by Virginia Smith. This time the narrator was a different sister who just had a baby. Given how close I am to that major even in life, I felt like I could understand her pretty well. If you want a quick read that is enjoyable, I recommend the series.
The second book of the a three book series. This is the story of the oldest of the three sisters. She has just had a baby and does not want to leave the baby and return to work and yet still maintain some independence. Sounds familiar to me. She also deals with the fears of why her daddy left and realizes that she is still a precious child of God. Loved it.
Virginia Smith brings her sisters back in the second book of her Sister to Sister series and with it she brings some smiles as the oldest sister tries to juggle the need for a career and her love for her husband and new baby. It's a dilemna a lot of new mamas face and in this book Allie learns what's most important to her.
This was a fun easy read - I could relate to Allie because I'm a work at home mom. Knowing ahead of time that this was a Christian novel was good since it does deal with trusting in God but it wasn't over the top. The only thing that kept me from giving it more stars was that it all seemed just a little too cliche - it all ends too happily ever after. In real life - even when you do trust in God, it doesn't always clean up so well.
Allie has just had baby Joanie. She doesn't want to go back to work so she signs up as a Verie Cose makeup consultant. Things don't go well. She and her husband start to pull apart. Her mother-in-law moves in.
Finally she learns that God loves her and learns to rely on His care. Things turn around from that point on.
Finally she learns that God loves her and learns to rely on His care. Things turn around from that point on.
I loved this book. It was so interesting that I read it in three days. After reading the first book I was disappointed that this one would be about Allie instead of Joan, but trust me, it is much better. The issues she faced in her life were much more realistic and urgent than Joan's. Also, you get to find out how Joan and Ken turned out since the first book practically leaves you hanging with that. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who liked the first book.
Overall, I really liked the book. It was a little slow to get started, but as it progressed you really began to see the depth of the characters. The relationships between the sisters was well written. I didn't know going into the book that it had a Christian theme and that was a pleasant surprise for me. I will definitely read more books in this series.
Nov 20, 2012
Melissa
added it
I honestly think the first book was way better.This book its fine, but not as good as the first one. The level of writing its as good as the first book of this series, but the history of this one is way too poor compared to the first book in my opinion.
This was a good second book in the Sister to Sister series. If you have ever been a mom struggling with the decision to go back to work or stay at home or become an at home sales woman you will relate to this really well. It is a nice read to get your mind off of daily things and look into the life of a character that you can relate to as she works to be a good wife and mother while finding her faith and learning how to get along with her mother in law who has some very different views.
Meh. I didn't like it nearly as much as the first book. And since the 3rd book is about my least favorite of the 3 sisters, I'm thinking I'll probably skip it, even though I've already picked it up from the library.
This is a Christian-based novel. It's a little slow in some places, but I'm reading the series and it's pretty good. If you're looking for an easy read, this would be one...especially if you grew up with two sisters.
Sweet story but took me WAY to long to get through. Nothing holding my attention and making me wonder "What comes next?!". Will read the third one to complete the story, but ready to be done with the series.
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Virginia Smith is the author of twelve Christian novels as well as dozens of articles and short stories. In 2008, she was named Writer of the Year at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. Stuck in the Middle, book one in her Sister-to-Sister Series, was a finalist for ACFW’s 2009 Book of the Year award, and A Taste of Murder was a finalist for the 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence in...more
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