The Fixer-Upper

Judith Arnold's The Fixer-Upper is a great "real" contemporary romance. The set-up is this. Libby - a divorcee with a teenager - is a private school admissions director in NYC. She gets an application from a youngster himself - Eric. In a world where parents send her massive boxes of chocolates and the kids have taken every lesson known to man, this kid stands out. She wants to meet this applicant. Eric finally mentions to his dad, Ned, a widower, that he has applied. Ned goes in to meet the admissions director and likes what he sees. Ned is an architect - but has just moved to NYC to work in rehabing and restoration. He ends up seeing Libby's pre world war II apartment and offers to strip the battered but potentially beautiful fireplace.

You will fall in love with the characters because they feel like people you might know. Libby's ex's family hangs around - she claims she got them in the divorce - and her ex is around too. Ned and Eric have problems adjusting to the new city and being without their former family support. Libby's daughter is thirteen, smart and her current fascination is with a street musician she discovered with her girlfriends. And Libby is dealing with the fact that her apartment is going condo! And she starts to question herself, is Ned is just seeing her so that Eric can get into school?

Arnold writes very well developed characters and they have everyday problems - from the problems of dating as a single parents, trying to put the kids first even when it may threaten the relationship, and to learning to move on with one's dreams. Again, Arnold has written a winner. Very enjoyable characters that you will root for!