@Home for the Holidays

It is not often that you will find a sequel that is better than the original. But, Ms. Efken has done it. I loved SAHM I AM, but @ Home was even better. Once I started the book, I could not put it down. It is a fast read and leaves you eager for more. I am hoping that there is a 'SAHP We Are' in the works, or some sort of third book. I love the idea of adding the Dads. Please keep up the great work!

If you've ever been in an email discussion loop, you'll fit right in with cyber-girlfriends, Dulcie, Zelia, Jocelyn, Veronica, and Rosalyn. Fans of Efken's first mom-lit novel, SAHM I Am, will find plenty to laugh about in this snappy yuletide tale. The quick-paced email exchanges between these stay-home moms make for hilarious reading as they try to balance housework, family crisis, and the impending holiday madness. Though the book is uproariously funny, Efken delves into important issues, such as struggles with infertility, postpartum depression, going back to work, discipline problems, and isolation. If you're a woman who plugs in a laptop to stay connected and sane, this jolly faith-filled novel will keep you turning the pages. -- Christian Women Online Book Buzz

She has put out another book that I proceeded to finish in just a few hours. I was actually in the process of reading two other books, but I dropped them both to read this one. It was definitely worth it. I declare it tied for best book of the year! In @Home, the sequel to SAHM I AM, we again are meeting up with members of the SAHM (stay at home moms) email group. Rosalyn is now on better terms with her sister Veronica but the two are still at it with their sibling rivalry. They propose to hold a contest as to who can have more readership with their posts, while each facing their own personal situations. Dulice finds herself in the position as a working mom while her husband has become a SAHD. Zelia is in the process of adopting two children from Zimbabwe while Brenna is trying her luck with egg donation adoption. Then there's also Jocelyn who's slowly busying herself to death, Paige who has to take over for her pastor husband who's fallen ill, and Marianne, the newest member who finds herself with the baby blues and a very unruly 2 year old. The women still find time to get together and talk about everything through the email loop. I looooooooved this book. It's so addictive to read because there are no chapters to stop at. I found everyone's story funny, sad, touching, and very very real. The only thing I didn't like was the attitudes of some of the women when Dulcie was talking about her work experience. While it's understandable that things have changed with her life, it still wasn't fair for the group to gang up on her and accuse her for not being true to herself. I don't think it's right for people to tell others what to do simply because that is what work for their own selves. Dulcie enjoyed going to work, the other women should not have put guilt trips on her for doing so. There were some times I wanted to strangle Rosalyn with her snobbishness but at least this time we had Veronica there to tell her off about it. The sisters' relationship was very funny and realistic. I really enjoyed reading this book. It's such a fun and easy and enjoyable read and it helped to get me in the holiday spirit. (i also must confess that I never got the hang of the Christmas song game and only figured it out after I visited Meredith's website and saw the answer *sheepish look*.)

This is my all-time favorite Christmas novel EVER. I usually think holiday stories are sappy and never watch them on television, let alone read them. I'm not sure why. I used to like The Grinch That Stole Christmas. Hmmm... Anyway, I'm thoroughly impressed with how Meredith has taken an e-mail loop and made the characters so vivid and real that I want to join the loop myself. Though the story ends with Christmas, it covers over half the year so you can read it at any time and still enjoy it. Honestly! I SO love the classic Christian snobbery exhibited by Rosalyn, the loop moderator and topic of the week coordinator. We all know someone like Ros, don't we? And the struggles with parenting and job-related issues were so realistic and well-portrayed that I was sucked right in. I've had many infertile friends and the pain is so real. These gals on the SAHM I Am loop are the real deal. Even their e-mail names made me snicker. That Veronica, she just tells it like it is. Sometimes we need that. And her metaphor about the cake...I almost wet my pants over that one. You have to read it to know what I mean! I just can't say enough about how hilarious, yet deeply spiritual this book was. Some of the scenes with the kiddos just made me want to cackle like a nut case. And how many of us take on so many projects and causes that we neglect our first love? Enough said. I think even my son would love this story. The lessons within its pages shoot straight to the heart. Fabulous book. Now go out and get one before they are all gone!

This is the second book with the SAHM women and it's just as funny and sarcastic as the first time around. If you read the first book you'll find all of your on-line friends here. Rosalyn, who tries very hard to be as perfect as she thinks she is, has a new passion. She and a group of women, which she founded, call themselves Godly Women for the Enforcement of National Christian Holidays, or GWENCH. Their program consists of ways to protest against the commercialism of Christmas. Everyone else in the on-line group thinks this is ridiculous and get a little perturbed with her, except Dulcie who doesn't shop until the last minute anyway and isn't about to get upset over something that is months away. Zelia and her husband are adopting children from Ethiopia and Brenna and Darren are trying to snowflake adopt through the Frozen Embryo Program. Marianne has drifted into depression, although she's also into denial about it. and Veronica, who loves to needle her sister, Rosalyn, is pregnant and miserable and doing her best to keep things stirred up. @HOME For the Holidays is just as funny, witty and touching as SAHM I Am, Meredith Efken's first book. The characters are a group of women who share everything through e-mail, and after a while you feel they are your friends too. You almost expect to turn on your computer and find an e-mail message from one of them. Don't miss this one.