I was always a huge fan of Anna Q as a NY Times columnist; she had a wonderful mixture of intellectual savvy and down-to-earth calm. Her insights were penetrating, and her delivery went down easily. The same may be said of her fourth novel, which follows the unlikely meltdown on an American morning-TV superstar, as seen through the eyes of her sister and sole sibling.

The two women were oprhaned in childhood. Meghan Fitzmaurice has grown up to be the biggest star on morning TV; think Diane Sawyer or Katie Couric. Her sister Bridget works in a shelter in the Bronx. But when Meghan blows her career sky-high, she and Bridget must examine not only how they have constructed their loves, but how they relate to each other. Despite the glamorous trappings, Meghan's life is far from perfect. Her husband and she have become social automatons, staying together through ritual and lethargy. And this is just the beginning of the novel's events.

Quindlen is a savvy master of plot twists; she keeps her story moving along at a gallop that grabs you and keeps you engaged. I devoured the book in to days, eager to see what came next, with frequent unexpected turns.

Maybe not the greatest novel ever penned, but a perfect vacation read.