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In Molly Shapiro’s fun and sexy debut novel, four women try to sort through the wild and complicated world of text messaging, status updates, and other high-speed connections.
Best friends and fellow midwesterners Katie, Annie, Maxine, and Claudia are no strangers to dealing with love and relationships, but with online dating and social networking now in the mix, they all have the feeling they’re not in Kansas anymore. Katie, a divorced mother of two, secretly seeks companionship through the Internet only to discover that the rules of the dating game have drastically changed. Annie, a high-powered East Coast transplant, longs for a baby, yet her online search for a sperm donor is not as easy—or anonymous—as she anticipates. Maxine, a successful artist with a seemingly perfect husband, turns to celebrity gossip sites to distract herself from her less-than-ideal marriage. And Claudia, tired of her husband’s obsession with Facebook, finds herself irresistibly drawn to a handsome co-worker. As these women navigate the new highs and lows of the digital age, they each find that their wrong turns lead surprisingly to the right click and, ultimately, the connection they were seeking.
Excerpted from Point, Click, Love by Molly Shapiro Copyright © 2011 by Molly Shapiro. Excerpted by permission of Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
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I don't know that I have a whole lot to say about this one...it didn't leave that much of an impression on me.
This book follows the ups and downs of four women as they use the internet as a way to escape or transform their lives. One is a single woman looking for a sperm donor, another a divorced mother looking to get back into the dating scene, the third seeks excitement through celebrity gossip to escape her less than ideal marriage and the last lets her suspicions of her husbands online infidelity spur her toward her own.
The writing style flowed well and presented no problems but I don't think that any of the women's characters were as fleshed out as they could have been. Honestly I had a hard time relating to any of these women and the choices that they made. The story line barely tied the four together and I feel that a lot of the scenes that were meant to be humorous just came across as sad and sort of desperate.
The story kept me somewhat entertained throughout yet at the end it really didn't leave me feeling happy or satisfied. I think it just wasn't for me.
KrittersRamblings
Posted April 1, 2012
Four separate characters and their stories that come together to make a great book. Formatted where each chapter is centered around one of the four ladies, but each of the other characters make appearances in creative ways.
Each of the four characters is in a different place in life from newly divorced to eternally single and they are each trying to figure out what kind of future they each want out of life. With four characters and their families, I did have to make a post it note to keep the girls and their spouses and children all straight. The reader falls in love with each character as these women grow throughout the book. I became invested and wanted to make sure each character ended up in a happy place, whatever that was for each of them.
As a newly engaged woman, this book was hard to read at times due to the marriages that were taking hard hits and falling apart. It made me definitely think and confirm that this marriage thing is a serious lifetime commitment which shouldn't be taken lightly. A book that will make you think and even make you realize how good things may be in your own life.
Katie is a divorced mother of two. She no longer believes in true love. It’s more like “true lust”. She has been fine with not having a man in her life for the last two years. Until now. She desperately craves a casual, sexual relationship and decides to sign up with an online dating service.
Claudia is married to Steve. Steve has been out of work for quite some time. Instead of scouring the newspaper job section, he sits on the couch channel surfing and updating his Facebook status. Claudia has tried to be patient with him, but money is tight and she’s tired of being the only employed spouse. She doesn’t understand Steve’s fascination with Facebook and what he could possibly be posting all day.
Maxine is married to Jake. From the outside looking in, they appear to have the perfect marriage. Only Maxine knows the truth: their marriage is in trouble. And has been for quite some time. When she discovers her husband has been texting a gorgeous younger doctor, she fears her marriage may be over.
Annie was born and raised in New York City. She relocated to Kansas City for her career. If truth be told, she also wanted a fresh start after the breakup with long-term boyfriend. Thinking their relationship would end in marriage, Annie was devastated when he announced he did not want to marry her. Now it’s years later and Annie’s biological clock is about to explode. Perhaps marriage isn’t in her future, but being a mom is. Who needs a husband when she can visit the local sperm bank?
Point, Click, Love is a tale about four friends facing the issues of dating and marriage today. From online dating, Facebook hookups, to inappropriate texts, Shapiro explores how each can destruct a relationship. From the beginning, I was entertained with this novel. I definitely could relate to Claudia’s confusion about what her husband was posting on Facebook. His need to create a world where everything is light and carefree was understandable to a point. I mean who really wants to post how miserable your life really is? As I continued to read, his behavior began to irritate me.
I’ve been looking forward to reading Point, Click, Love for quite some time. I’m disappointed I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped. Halfway through the novel, I began to disconnect from the characters. There are some scenes that may come across as humorous, but for me the characters appeared desperate. I cringed at some of the choices they made. What I thought would be a light, fun read turned into a serious look into the do’s and don’ts of relationships. Now that I write that, I don’t think it is a bad thing. 3.5 Stars
Overall, Point, Click, Love is a good Chick Lit book. I loved it because of it's setting, but it is also one of those books where the author does a good job of presenting several different several different ways ones life (and love) could be impacted by the Internet. But the bottom line is,as these four ladies find out, finding love and happiness is just not as easy as pointing and clicking.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 20, 2011
Seriously, this is the most fun, funny, smart book I've read in a long time. I seriously could not put it down, and now I feel forced to buy copies for many of my smart, clever friends who I know will love it for the holidays, even when I had no intention of adding to my list!
It's kind of like the next generation of Sex in the City, but for us peeps who aren't 21 anymore andliving in NYC. It's also kind of an edgy, feminist story that asks questions about sex, marriage and love that are very thought-provoking. Stuff you only talk about with your very best friends (or therapist). I read that the author is a graduate of Brown and Columbia's MFA program, and it shows. It's like a great beach book, super readable and fun and funny, but really, really smart too. I'll be getting this on our book club list immediately!!
Loved it!!
Overview
In Molly Shapiro’s fun and sexy debut novel, four women try to sort through the wild and complicated world of text messaging, status updates, and other high-speed connections.
Best friends and fellow midwesterners Katie, Annie, Maxine, and Claudia are no strangers to dealing with love and relationships, but with online dating and social networking now in the mix, they all have the feeling they’re not in Kansas anymore. Katie,...