Books

I’m Not Julia Roberts

Does every second wife look like Julia Roberts? Lu Klein certainly doesn't, and her life is anything but glamorous. When she married a man with children, Lu had no idea that she was also marrying his shrewish ex-wife, Beatrix. And Beatrix had no idea that making a new home with her second husband would mean welcoming her wicked teenage stepdaughter, Liv. And Liv's mother Roxie had no idea that so many new and exciting boyfriends could make her long for the stable life she and her ex had too eagerly left behind.

In this tightly interconnected collection of ten short stories, author Laura Ruby chronicles the progress of Lu, Beatrix, Roxie and their various steps and exes as they take the perilous plunge into the maelstrom of the so-called "blended family."

Both ruefully funny and wickedly insightful, I'M NOT JULIA ROBERTS offers finely-observed, honest and affecting takes on kids, stepkids, divorce, remarriage...and the movie Stepmom.

"...mordant, well-observed. Ruby makes hilariously, heart-wrenchingly clear that breaking up is hard to do." — People

"When it comes to emotional baggage, the extended clan in I'm Not Julia Roberts by Laura Ruby needs a full set to carry all their issues. This hilarious story of blended-family tumult will make you see your own brood in an entirely new light." — Redbook

"A series of tightly linked stories, the book pulses with the exasperation, thwarted affection, confusion and exhaustion that mark the lives of its characters...Ruby, an accomplished writer who is herself a stepmom, keeps the pace frenetic, the characters human and the circumstances wryly realistic in this knowing look at the costs and rewards of remaking a family." — The Hartford-Courant

"...manages to be both hilarious and genuinely sad, a cracked but revealing mirror of torment..." — The Miami Herald

"As a new stepmom-in over her head-tries to care for her brood, we're treated to a romp through the complexities of relationships and second chances. Tuck this collection of interconnected stories into your beach bag for its insight and humor." — Working Mother

"Reading "I'm Not Julia Roberts" is like observing a square dance. The grown-ups do-si-do and change partners in the outer ring, while in the inner ring, moving at cross-purposes, stepchildren plot and scheme, devising torments. Chick lit it may be, but it's not for sissies." — The Boston Globe

"...breezy, cleverly titled collection of linked stories about the "joys" of modern marriage when divorce sets the agenda...you have to love any stepmother who is thrown off secondwivesspeakeasy.com for mocking the movie Stepmom and the fantasy of blended family perfection." — USA Today

I’m Not Julia Roberts
Warner Books, 2007
272 pages.

Everything I Wanted to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume

Contemporary women writers talk about Judy Blume's influence on life, love and being a girl. Includes chapters by Meg Cabot, Laura Ruby, Jennifer O'Connell, and Cara Lockwood. This collection of 24 essays edited by O'Connell ( Plan B ) pays tribute to the influence of Judy Blume and her work about coming-of-age as a girl in America. In each piece, the writer reveals what O'Connell calls her "Judy Blume moment," telling a heartfelt and revealing story that reflects the same social awkwardness and true-to-life experiences Blume conveys in her novels, from menstruation to childhood bullying to masturbation.

In "Cry, Linda, Cry," Meg Cabot recalls how Blume's book Blubber taught her how to laugh at herself, while also giving her the courage to stand up to schoolgirl bullies. Likewise, Stephanie Lessing, in "The One That Got Away," reflects on Blume's It's Not the End of the World, explaining the solace she found in its understanding of what it's like when parents divorce.

Readers who similarly found solace and support in Blume's work should relate easily to these writers through the Blumian characters and themes they evoke. Writing in the spirit of Blume, these women present their experiences as a series of personal truths.

"Substantive and thoughtful." — Library Journal

"Fun tributes to a beloved role model." — People

"Funny, poignant and reverential." — Booklist

Everything I Ever Wanted to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume
Pocket, 2006
288 pages