Call Waiting

by Dianne Blacklock

Book Overview

Ally Tasker is trapped in a dead-end teaching job and a relationship that's going nowhere. Her dreams of a fulfilling life after art college didn't include cleaning up after bored school children and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312303483
• ISBN13: 9780312303488
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Australian Chick Lit

Friends, Ally and Meg, reach turning points in their lives. Ally leaves her teaching job and her manipulative yuppie boyfriend, retreating to the Southern Highlands when her grandfather dies. Issues from her childhood overshadow the development of a new relationship as she develops a new career path that uses her creativity. At the same time, her friend, Meg, rebels against her too perfect marriage and too successful career in the city. Tempted to try a fling, she puts it all at risk. This part of the book bogged me down for awhile, but I'm glad I picked it up again. The characters show a lot of growth and I really enjoyed the Australian scenery, lifestyles and way of talking. All works out satisfactorily in the end.

delightful chic lit

In Sydney, Australia, Ally Tasker is not excited being an art teacher, but likes the steady income her job provides. The same can be said about her dependable but significant other, dull as most of her students boyfriend, yet likes the idea of steady dating him. When her grandfather dies, Ally goes to the Highlands to settle the estate. There she meets Matt and his teenage daughter. She likes both, but at thirty-five is not sure she wants a man helping her.Ally's best friend since they met attending art school together, ad exec Meg Lynch seems to have it all (at least to Ally) with a solid marriage, a strong career and a precocious child. However, Meg envies Ally's lack of ties that enable her to leave town without a looking back even if it is to only attend a funeral. Meg begins an affair that requires lies and alibis until her husband leaves her. Two hours apart, Ally and Meg use CALL WAITING to help one another work through their personal landmines in a quest to obtain nirvana.Though the story line follows the typical path of chic lit, CALL WAITING is a delightful tale due to the charming but confused lead characters enhanced by a wonderful look at Sydney and the rugged Australian Highlands. The antics and angst of Ally and Meg are amusing though somewhat overkilled, as they seem to land in one problem after another in their quest for happiness. Dianne Blacklock provides an entertaining Aussie chick lit tale.Harriet Klausner

Good reading here

Ally Tasker had a quiet life with steady income and a comfortable boyfriend. Yet more and more she found herself hating her life style. When Ally's father died, she must return to the rustic house in which she was raised. She kept an eye on the place while Lillian was elsewhere. It was there that she met Matt. His free spirit attitude had Ally rethinking her entire life style. Meg Lynch (Ally's best friend) had an eighteen month old son, a loving husband, and the perfect job. But the entire routine was becoming boring. Meg craved some excitement. She wanted to be spontaneous. A younger male model with a zest for life entered her life and Meg began a web of lies to be with him. Even though Ally and Meg were far aprat, distance wise, the two kept the phone lines hot as they tried to help each other cope through their personal life crises. **** I found this story to be fun and witty as the plot unfolded. It seemed to me as though Meg and Ally craved what the other already had. This tale clearly showed me that just because the grass LOOKS greener on the other side, does not mean that it is.