One Day at a Time

Life's problems - family, love, jobs - take place in many "wrappings". Hollywood and LA, movie stars, producers and fame, are not what most of us have to deal with. But our needs and dreams are amazingly alike. 22 year old Coco is a disappointment to her bestselling author mother and producer sister. Her sister lives in a lesbian relationship with her partner Liz, but any flaw this might have caused has long been redeemed by her professional success. Coco works as a dog walker and lives in a small cabin on the beach. She dropped out of law school and loves her free, simple and unpretentious life with her dog Sallie. At least for now. While house sitting for her sister, Coco meets famous movie star Leslie. They fall in love - et voilà! But not quite. Is it only bliss to be rich and famous? Do mutual feelings mean an automatically happy ending? Danielle Steel touches many of life's important questions in her latest novel. In particular, the importance of materialistic things - fame, wealth, appearances - vis-à-vis the beauty of nature, children and animals. Time for each other and accepting and respecting each other as we are. A page-turner, yes. But with lots of inspiring moments inviting pondering stops all along. An important book, written with wisdom and love.

One Day at the Time is one of Danielle Steel best books, the subject is very much of today. Berthe Meijer Goldschneider

This book is VERY GOOD.Very well written with a good plot.But all of Danielle Steels books are very good in my opinion.She is an excellant author.

Millions of readers have kept the prolific and multi-tasking Danielle Steel's books on best-sellers' lists for a record number of weeks. To be asked to review her most recent novel, "One Day at a Time," is somewhat daunting, as it is anytime one reviews a work by any acclaimed author, because any negative observation from a reviewer, any reviewer, will be seen as the unqualified taking potshots at the successful. Still, it is our job to be as objective as possible, be the author a neophyte or a superstar. That disclaimer done, let's move to the book. Enter the world of Colette "Coco" Barrington, a warm, self-confident, loving woman and, perhaps, one of the most educated dog walkers to be found. Unfortunately, her self-confidence doesn't extend to allow her to be forthright with her super-successful producer sister, Jane, or her equally successful author mother, Florence. Also, she's fighting ghosts from her past, including the fairly recent and violent death of her lover. She wants absolutely nothing to do with the L.A. movie scene in which she was raised. Fate, however, dumps her into a sweet mess, literally. From this point on, her life is a series of rethinking her choices, because, as the title notes, we don't get second takes or do overs...life is a one day at a time affair, so one must live it that way. Will she learn to pay the prices that come with love? All relationships, not just hers, come with their prices, as Coco will learn. What will Coco choose? ***** I will make the same observation other critics have made regarding Ms. Steel's works: there is a level of redundancy and detail that grows tedious and detracts from the story (it was especially noticeable early in this novel)...it made me feel more like a detached observer, rather than being an active participant in the tale. Having read other of her writings, including her nonfiction (as a physician, I recommend folks dealing with recurrent familial mental illness read her book "His Bright Light"), I recognize this is not a onetime thing. However, the style obviously works for her and her fans, so I'll call it a stylistic quirk and not a flaw, as some critics do. Life isn't like a chick flick (that's a plot teaser for you), but I'm an old romantic, and maybe life would be better if we tried a little harder to make life like a chick flick. Pick up a copy of Danielle Steel's "One Day at a Time" and use it to imagine how to make your own chick flick out of life. For her fans, you'll be delighted to get this latest addition to her collection. For a new reader of her work, you'll be pleased, too...if you have loved or still love. With "One Day at a Time" Danielle Steel scores another winner, but that's hardly news, is it. Avec mes compliments, Ms. Steel! ***** Reviewed by Dr. Phil Rhyne for Huntress Reviews.