Getting Warmer

I picked this book up at a Virgin Megastore when I was on my honeymoon and couldn't put it down. The characters are well developed and the dialogue is witty and hilarious at times. As a teacher, I could empathize with Natalie's day-to-day life. She spends most of her free time grading papers and trying to figure out whether she even wants to be a teacher. Her interactions and margarita nights with her colleagues illustrate how every new teacher gets through it. Natalie tries to balance her job, a new love interest who has a skewed view of who she is, and tries to keep a student from falling through the cracks. This is a great, quick read! I just bought Carol Snow's first book and can't wait to get started!

I expected this to be a light romantic comedy and it was - but it also was an entertaining glimpse into the life of a young woman starting a career in teaching - trying to establish herself as authority figure and make a difference in the lives of her students. Natalie Quackenbush is in her second year of teaching high school English - broke, and living with her parents in Scottsdale, AZ. At a happy hour at a local bar, she and her friends play a game were they amuse themselves by using false names and careers when they meet men. Natalie is playing the game when she meets a Jonathon, a restaurant entrepreneur, who as it turns out she's actually interested in romantically. Unfortunately, she's already told him she's a teacher at a prison and only lives with her parents because her mother has Alzheimer's. She tries to wriggle out of the lie, but it proves more difficult than she first thought since Jonathon admires the woman he thinks she is. Meanwhile, Natalie is struggling with the ups and downs of a career in which she's overworked and underpaid. One of my favorite aspects of the book involves Natalie and her involvement with a troubled student. She wants to help him overcome his problems and set him on a new path, but what will she have to confront about herself in order to do so? What they teach each other throughout the book is both touching and unforgettable. GETTING WARMER often made me laugh out loud - and a few times I teared up. I can't recommend it highly enough!

I really enjoyed the book. The Publishers Weekly review above is far off the mark. This was a light, frothy confection with some serious messages about becoming more content with yourself and your lot in life. Natalie Quackenbush is a besieged high school teacher who's still crying every week at school. "The first two years are the hardest," her boss tells her. When she's not dealing with recalcitrant students, she's cruising the bars with her friend, the school guidance counselor. Over margaritas, they make up outrageous stories about themselves to fend off would-be suitors. The plot thickens when Natalie meets a guy she actually likes. The problem is, he appears to be married (after a quick Google search). So she and Jill make up some crazy lies. But there was a misunderstanding; it turns out he wasn't married. So Natalie starts a relationship with him, but all the while she's aware of her lies. This story will resonate with anyone who's painted herself in a corner through impulsive actions (and haven't we all?) Natalie is a sharp, intelligent character with problems everyone can relate to. I thought the dialogue was crisp and the situations were funny. I'm going to read her previous novel, too.

I LOVED this book! I fell right into the story of Natalie Quackenbush and her friends right away. My girlfriends and I used to do the exact same thing(lying about our names and jobs)when we met guys we weren't really into. Although I never actually ended up liking one of them as Natalie does. Snow nailed the descriptions of the Arizona landscapes, especially Sedona. Her sophmore effort is just as much fun as her first book, "Been There, Done That". Just get it, you won't be able to stop smiling!

I really enjoyed this second novel by Carol Snow. For better or for worse there is a little bit of Natalie Quakenbush in most of us. I found myself laughing out loud and sympathizing with several of her characters. Such descriptive writing had me "there" with her in the Arizona landscape and suburbia. I am looking forward to her next book. T Scott