What’s Up with Her???
Her starts with a flash of mystery, a dark sense something���s askew despite it���s calm and cool setting. Oddly enough, the first things I read about the book online told me this would be a tale of friendship and motherhood, which really, seems an odd way for whoever wrote that to frame the book. It soon becomes clear ��� one woman is seeking friendship, the other is out for revenge.
First, we meet Nina, an artist, mother of 17-year-old Sophie, a collected, put-together woman. Nina���s reached success selling her art to the rich folks sent to her gallery, generally has everything in her life perfectly together, including the perfect boyfriend, Charles and the effortlessly clean household.
And there���s Emma, the frazzled but beautiful mother of a little boy, pregnant with another on the way. Emma���s recently left a job in television to take care of her son, still trying to adjust to the fact that mother is her only job now. Her home is a mess, like any other mother without a nanny���s usually is, her husband is distant, unable to pick up on her signals that she���d like some help, and more than anything, she���s lonely, wanting some time spent in conversation with someone over the age of 5.
The two meet on, what it seems to Emma, a fortunate coincidence. Nina returns Emma���s lost wallet, delivering it directly to her home. Both women note how different they seem from one another ��� one dark in the places the other is light ��� yet both seem drawn to one another. Emma, obviously, in admiration of this woman with enough free time and enough heart to do kindnesses unto strangers. Nina is drawn for another reason, one we cannot quite figure out, but one we immediately sense, is not so noble.
Months later, their paths cross again. Now with a daughter in tow, Emma loses track of her son at the park. Swings the daughter for one minute, the boy���s out of sight. Within 50 minutes, she���s reconnected with him at the police station, brought there by none other than Nina, who found the boy out on her front step playing with the cat. Emma���s even more eternally grateful, insisting on meeting Nina again to express her gratitude.
Nina relishes in becoming a part of this woman���s life. The rest of their families ��� Emma���s husband, Nina���s boyfriend and daughter, don���t quite understand what draws Nina to Emma so, why this woman is suddenly babysitting the children, cleaning her house and inviting Emma���s family to her plush summer home.
Her works simply by the control in Lane���s words. Never spilling a secret too soon ��� I think we figure out just WHY Nina is so obsessed with Emma in the last 20 or 30 pages of the book ��� the story moves along quickly, thrillingly. Alternating chapters, we hear the side of Emma, falling into what seems the perfect friendship despite the burdens of young children. Then, we hear the side of Nina, her darker ulterior ways of ���helping��� Emma out.
Her is ���Mean Girls��� on a larger, darker scale, ���Heathers��� without the campy murders. It���s tense. You won���t be able to put it down for a minute until you figure out what Nina is plotting.
