These Girls: A Novel
Pekkanen’s sunny, original third novel focuses on the intersecting lives of three young women living together in New York City. Cate and Renee work at a glossy women’s magazine, while Abby moved in with the pair after a series of events forced her to leave her idyllic job as a nanny. Abby’s older brother, Trey, has been on a few dates with Renee but seems to have turned his attention to Cate in recent weeks. Without being overly fluffy or cattily condescending, These Girls is a fun and engaging romp through the inner monologues of three very different women sharing the same space. Facing romantic problems, workplace struggles, family revelations, and food issues, the three girls serve as equally sympathetic heroines. Pekkanen’s authorial voice is sweetly snappy, and she does a commendable job of giving each character equal narrator’s time. The plot is character-driven, and the book ends satisfactorily without tying up every loose end. Fans of Sophie Kinsella and Jennifer Close will enjoy this refreshingly introspective, sharply realistic, and tenderly humorous novel by the author of Skipping a Beat (2011). --Stephanie Turza