Breaking the Bank

This is a feel good story, something nice happening to a nice person. Mia Saul is having a really rough time. Her rat of a husband left her for another woman, and has become a sporadic father to the their ten year old daughter, Eden. She lost the job that she loved, and is trying to support herself and her daughter working temp jobs because she can't count on her ex-husband for child support. Her daughter is having a hard time coping with the divorce, and Mia has her hands full. She is a good mom to Eden, but she is blamed for Eden's problems by Eden's teachers, her ex-husband, and even her own family. When the ATM at her bank starts spiting out free money, at least her money worries are relieved. Of course, there is a whole new set of worries to go along with the free money. Why is she getting this money, and could she go to jail for keeping it? Mia knows that she should give some of the money she is getting to people who are in need, and she begins to find ways to use some of the money to help her neighbors. It was pleasant to read about Mia, an ordinary person dealing with life as best she can, finding herself in the middle of a real life fairy tale.

I loved this book! It had me in thrall for days. There was such a nice light touch to it -- it was just a pleasure to read. I liked that it was utterly realistic except for one magic ATM machine. All the relationships, Mia/Eden, Mia/ex-husband, Mia/boyfriends, Mia/girlfriend were totally convincing, and I had to keep turning pages. Also I enjoyed the Park Slope setting. Great job!

A charming and believable fairy tale, Breaking the Bank is a must for book clubs as well as book lovers. A divorced woman who is on the brink of financial ruin discovers a kindly ATM machine who, like Cinderalla's good fairy, grants her her utmost wish. A dose of magic realism in Brooklyn, Breaking the Bank is fiction that's fun and also has a moral message about the joys and tribulations of money, family, and love. Ms. McDonough is a wildly imaginative and skillful writer who imparts great love and understanding to all her characters. I promise you will never look at an ATM machine the same way again. Highly recommended.

From the first chapter, I was hooked on this book. Using the same locale as "Prospect Park West" Yona tells a far more engrossing story. As in PPW the neighborhood institutions are recognizable, but instead of skimming along on top, peeking in at one-dimensional characters with sleazy sex lives, we are introduced to believable people facing real, though magical, problems. A single mom struggling with financial problems, with a beloved and stubborn daughter who will not eat, suddenly begins to get more money than she asked for when she goes to her ATM. Her adventures as she tries to help her daughter, resolve the moral and legal issues of taking the money, free herself from her ex, and find new love make for fascinating reading. I read "Breaking the Bank" in less than 24 hours because I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. And once I was finished I kept thinking about it. It raised so many interesting issues. Is the parent with more money the better parent? Is stealing from an institution stealing if there is no record of it? Should a family help a depressed family member with money troubles with money or with tough love? Does giving money to the needy expiate the shady nature of its acquisition? Then there were the well-drawn characters of the men to ponder, the seeming sensitive selfish ex, the boring but reliable new man, the wild man who was both a devil and an angel, and the traitorous brother. I very much enjoy reading novels set in my neighborhood. Interesting how the fairy tale rang more true than the realistic one.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. It's an "R" rated bedtime story, I loved Mia, she steps over the "edge" and is not sure how or of she wants to get back on solid ground. The tension made the book fly. None of it worked out the way I wanted it to or predicted it would, which was wonderful.