Claire Knows Best

Tracey Bateman's mom-lit is a hoot, and I can't say enough fabulous things about her Claire series: Leave it to Claire, Claire Knows Best, and I Love Claire. Single mom Claire Everett's plan for her life is tossed out the window when a tornado rips through her home, crashing her computer, and forcing her family to move. She's dating Greg, the cute widower down the street, but there are mega-problems--her teen daughter's rebellion, her ex-husband's pregnant wife, and her writing career on the skids. Should she seek the help of a life coach, or does God really know what He's doing with her life? By the end of the book, you'll feel like Claire is your new best friend, ready to join you for pizza and a good chick flick. -- Christian Women Online Book Buzz

Claire has now begun to settle down after having it all out with her ex husband and his new wife. She has a great boyfriend, her kids are starting to finally get along well with her and she's finally starting to relax from her panic attacks. Then a tornado hits her house and everything changes for Claire. When Greg invites Claire to move in with his mother for a while, he then drops the bomb on her that he wants to go to seminary to become a full time pastor. Claire can't deal with having to become a pastor's wife so she dumps Greg, and then begins to regret it. In between her relationship issues, she also has to deal with a contractor that dies on her, another that wants to date her, her teenage daughter rebelling big time, her son wanting to become an actor, the retired atheist actor who wants to give him acting lessons, his estranged daughter who Claire wants to reunite with her dad, and her publicist saying that her new book idea will be a flop. But leave it to Claire, who takes all this issues and handles things her own special way. This was another fun read in the life of Claire. In this book, she's grown up some and isn't as wishy-washy as she was in the first one. She begins to put her foot down involving her children. I'm glad that she finally laid down the law with Ari because she was really starting to rebel and no one was punishing her. I felt though that Claire was being a bit unfair to Greg's decision. I realize that she may have had fears about the idea of what a pastor's wife should be and it would be intimidating. However she just blows him off without telling him the real reason why she's breaking up with him. I also felt that she was a bit paranoid about letting her atheist actor neighbor coach her son. I know she was afraid that he might let his views waver her son's faith, but I honestly felt all the guy wanted to do was just help her son with his acting, and she was making a mountain out of a molehill. I'm glad though that Claire resolved her issues with Darcy who might be a little annoying but is still very friendly. I found it very hilarious when she called the psych student to discuss her problems and the girl was trying to pretend to be twins and Claire caught on and called her out on it. I also liked the bit about Claire's former publicist naming her daughter Anakin Skywalker. As a huge Star Wars fan, this got a big grin from me. I really did enjoy this book. It was a fun and fast read. I'll be looking very forward to reading I Love Claire.

Claire Knows Best by Tracey Bateman is the sequel to Leave it to Claire. I love Claire; she's so much like me! After a tornado destroys much her home, Claire has to deal with her boyfriend's decision to become a pastor, her daughter's acting out, her ex-husband's pregnant wife, and she's lost her writing contract. How can you juggle all of that pressure? Claire doesn't, God bless her! She makes mistakes and tries to control everyone and everything around her. Bateman writes Claire with a great deal of honesty, and that makes Claire lovable in spite of regular missteps. While she slips a little, many of the lessons of the previous book remain. Like Claire, I tend to stay within my home and small comfort zone, but Jesus calls us to be His disciples out in the world. Claire learns that as she comforts, she is comforted and that she is capable of far more than she realized.

Full of cultural references that made me feel like Claire was my next-door neighbor childhood best-friend, this story is a mom-lit with snappy wit and a lot of heart. Claire is a beautiful example of a woman who blesses the people around her by being herself--goofy, insecure, warm, determined, open about her faith, but also authentic about her doubts. Claire's Christian faith doesn't magically make her ex-husband easy to like, or her daughter Ari embrace wise choices. Claire wrestles with decisions about her career, her boyfriend, her parenting. But as she muddles through her imperfect life, Claire makes a remarkable difference to those around her. BRAVO! Highly recommended!

Reviewed by Joanne Benham for Reader Views (6/06) Claire Everett, divorced mother of four and a writer of popular romance novels, finds her life reeling out of control. She disgraces herself in church by laughing at the illness of another congregant, a tornado sends a tree crashing through her house, her 16-year-old daughter is sneaking out of the house at night, her steady boyfriend rethinks his career choice and moves to another state for training and her ex-husband's new wife is pregnant and depending on Claire to help her get through it. If that isn't enough to deal with, Claire's publishing company decides to switch to another genre and won't sign a new contract with her. As the tensions in Claire's life mount, she starts getting panic attacks that are bad enough to make her seek help from a counselor and the advice she receives is about what you would expect from someone you hire sight unseen, with no reference check. Claire struggles to bring order back to her life at the same time as she is preparing a book proposal for her agent to shop to other publishing companies and answering the siren call of a new book that is fomenting within her. Along the way she makes some new friends and rethinks her relationships with others in her life, bringing her two more wonderful friends. Tracey Bateman has written a wonderful story, showing how Christians cope with the modern world without preaching to the reader. This was a delightful book. I sat down and read it straight through and enjoyed it so much that I went online and bought the first book in the series, "Leave It To Claire."