Book Review...oldie, but goodie: Breakfast at Stephanie's

By Melissa Amster


Earlier this year, I wrote about how much I love Sue Margolis' novels. I mentioned how I read all of them except for "Breakfast at Stephanie's" (and the hard-to-find "Sisteria") and that I was planning to check it out soon. I finally got a chance to read it and was not disappointed. It followed Ms. Margolis' story format and was an enjoyable read.

"Breakfast at Stephanie's" is about Stephanie Glassman, a single mother and singer, who works odd jobs to make ends meet for herself and her son. Suddenly, she has two men vying for her attention and a job offer that promises good money but no fame, as well as a moral dilemma. To top it off, she receives conflicting advice from her best friends and her overbearing family. She has to eventually figure out what is best for herself in all areas of her life.

I had fun reading this story, as it was humorous, had characters that were easy to relate to and the sex scenes were written in the classic Sue Margolis style (too bad I don't smoke...). I liked that Stephanie was realistic about what she had to offer as a singer, as well as what she had to do as a mother. She wasn't a diva by any means. She was a good friend to Lizzie, who was experiencing problems in her marriage and Cass, who was constantly on the prowl for a man. She was also patient with her family, as crazy as they tended to be. Her grandmother was hilarious, always sharing too much information about her love life. Her 2 1/2 year old son reminded me of my own son of the same age, but seemed more easy to manage. I also liked that she was Jewish, even though it bothered me that she was eating pork and going after non-Jewish guys, as well as celebrating Christmas. (This is a gripe I have about a lot of Jewish female main characters in a lot of chick lit novels; something I'll get into another time.)

Overall, it was a light and fun read and I'm glad I finally took the time to check it out. It reminded me why I still like Ms. Margolis so much and why I still hope to chat with her one of these days so I can tell her how much I enjoy reading her novels.