The Actor and the Housewife

by Shannon Hale

Dedication: "For the Bryner and Bronson clans - sixty grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins - who lent their names to the characters in this book in a completely random fashion and under no circumstance resemble their fictional namesakes. Except for that one. You know who I mean. No, not you, silly, the other one. Riiight ..."

First paragraph: "Becky was seven months pregnant when she met Felix Callahan. She was on her first trip to California that didn't include Disneyland, and by a twist of luck, selling a screenplay."

Review: Becky, an LDS (Mormon) housewife finds herself falling into a friendship with the famous actor, Felix Callahan after a chance meeting in an incredibly unbelievable string of events. This story is about that friendship, her marriage, her family, her religion, and most importantly, her love.

I felt a lot of things about this story while I was reading. First I felt bored. My first reaction was, "This wasn't Hale's best work". Then I got further into the story and I was thinking, "I'm not even halfway through this story but it feels like it should be ending any minute". Then, the story really started and I was captivated. I will admit that I cried my way through several pages (maybe, 20?) and then there was the ending - didn't see that coming.

I could connect so easily with Becky. I felt what she felt and I cried when I knew she was crying, laughed when she laughed. The other characters didn't have as strong of a presence but I still knew them. I was able to really live the story towards the end.

This wasn't Shannon Hale's best work but it was still great. It was a lot different then what she's done before but it was still enjoyable on so many levels. I loved it.

Click Here for Shannon Hale's website on The Actor and the Housewife.