Big Girl by Danielle Steel

Danielle Steel, prolific and widely-read, is without doubt the queen of light fiction. Her latest, "Big Girl", delves into the universal problem of eating disorders.

Victoria Dawson was born to parents who considered appearance all-important. Pudgy and unattractive, her father compared her to old Queen Victoria, even labeling her with the name. Throughout childhood, Victoria's hearty appetite kept her chubby, and her father took every opportunity to comment and joke about her weight.

Then, when Victoria was seven, another sister was born. Little Gracie grew to be beautiful and lithe, the apple of her parents eye. Remarkably, instead of exhibiting jealousy, Victoria adores her sister. However, her father's cruel comments increase, even calling Victoria their "tester cake", meaning they had to make two tries to get it right.

Finally Victoria escapes to college, although her education and career choices never meet her father's approval. During her college years, Victoria is caught in a cycle of yo-yo dieting and binge eating. She is a successful student but feels unattractive and insecure.

She chooses a career in teaching, and lands a job in an elite New York private school. She loves her job, finds compatible room-mates, and finds a therapist who gives her insight into the reasons for her eating habits. However, when her sister becomes engaged, the frenzy of the wedding plans nearly become Victoria's undoing.

While "Big Girl" deals with a timely and sensitive subject, the book itself is unremarkable. The story-line becomes repetitious and eventually boring. Readers will probably stick it out just to see how things end, but truthfully, only the first few and last chapters are of much interest. The reminder that parents often unwittingly damage their children's self-esteem makes this novel somewhat worthwhile. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate it a 3.

Split Image by Robert Parker

Recently a movie aired on television taken from a crime novel by a well-known author. If one had actually read the book, they would have hardly recognized the plot or the main characters. While impossible to exactly follow a book, one hopes to view a movie that somewhat resembles what was originally intended.

One exception are the made-for-tv movies featuring police chief Jesse Stone. Even the author, Robert B. Parker has been pleasantly surprised by the accurate filming of his works. Jesse Stone is played by the classic hunk, Tom Selleck, and Parker stated that Selleck portrayed Stone perfectly. While probable that more people have watched the movies than actually read the books, the Stone novels are an enjoyable experience also.

Jesse Stone is the police chief the Boston suburb of Paradise. He is plagued with a history of alchol problems which led to the end of a career as a detective in Los Angeles.

In "Split Image" Stone is still troubled by a failed marriage. A private investigator friend, Sunny, visits him seeking help involving a cult-like religious group. Parents of a girl involved with the group hired Sunny to get their daughter out. While the girls appears to be in no danger, the investigation leads to some interesting facts.

Then an employee of a suspected organized crime honcho is found dead. Two former mob leaders have built identical homes on the beach, and interestingly, have married beautiful identical twins. When one of the crime lords is also murdered, Stone must look into the past of all those involved.

The Jesse Stone books are always good for a fun time. Light-hearted and funny, with no heavy evil or gross crime scenes, they are good to pick up when you just want to read a fast-paced entertaining novel. The snappy dialogue is always good for a chuckle or two. You may not be intellectually challenged, but you will enjoy "Split Image" When the movie is made, we will all know what's happening next! On a scale of 1 to 10, a 5 might be about right.