Breakfast at Stephanie's

April 19, 2004
As an almost destitute single mother who hasn't had sex in years, Stephanie Glassman knows how to sing the blues—really sing the blues, despite her being British, and Jewish to boot. In fact, her meddlesome but loving parents aren't the only ones who think Stephanie has a magnificent voice, so why hasn't she landed the lucky break she deserves? When two-year-old Jake's father, a stunt man named Albert, appears back on the scene with earnest intentions to settle down, and London's hottest agent, the "fun size" midget Ossie Da Costa, gives her a call, her luck appears to be changing. But Ossie offers her a questionable assignment to provide the behind-the-scenes voice for one of the theater's biggest prima donnas, and then Stephanie runs into an old crush, the rising star Frank Waterman. Now Stephanie must make some tough decisions about shaping not only her own life but her son's as well. With Stephanie, Margolis (Apocalipstick
; Spin Cycle
; etc.) has produced yet another jazzy cousin to Bridget Jones. Writing with a British sensibility sure to tickle the American fancy, Margolis packs Stephanie's world full of lovable eccentrics like 79-year-old grandmother Lilly, who worries that her pacemaker might keep her from having multiple moments of ecstasy with her matzo ball tycoon boyfriend, and, of course, the inevitable posse of gossipy mates who share Sunday "fry up" with Stephanie. All these colorful extras leave little room for Frank's development, however. He remains benevolently in the shadows, as if his presence were a necessary evil in a novel that knows it is a romantic comedy but has its heart elsewhere. Agent, Deborah Schneider at Gelfman Schneider.

June 1, 2004
Single and playing piano in a department store at Christmas time, Stephanie Glassman isn't where she thought she'd be. She longs to be a jazz singer, but she can't seem to jump-start a career. Her grandmother's love life is more exciting than hers. Though she adores her two-year-old son, Jake, she is frustrated by his father, Albert, a stunt man and two-week fling from Verona, who only drops into his son's life occasionally. But when Albert arrives on Christmas day loaded down with gifts, Stephanie is quite pleased. She is not sure how she feels, however, when he ditches his latest bimbo and decides that a life with her and Jake is what he wants. Especially since she has already fallen for seductive Frank. Stephanie is torn between her desire to give Jake a traditional family and her growing feelings for her a new beau in this comic, breezy winner from popular and sexy Margolis.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)