Age Before Beauty

Title: AGE BEFORE BEAUTY
Author: Virginia Smith
Publisher: Revell
2009
ISBN: 978-0-8007-3233-2
Genre: Inspirational/women’s fiction

Allie Harrod is nearing the end of her maternity leave and is dreading leaving her baby in the care of a babysitter, possibly missing her baby’s first smile and more. Still, she isn’t ready to be a full-time mom, she wants to contribute to the family income and keep up the level of living they’ve become accustomed to.

When Allie’s sister invites Allie to party to sell some home based products, Allie goes, but she laughs it off. At least until she learns that the saleslady makes lots of money doing only a little bit of work. After that, Allie begins to think that maybe this is the career choice she’s been waiting for. Sure, she dropped out of Girl Scouts because she couldn’t see cookies, but selling makeup would be easier, right?

But the challenges facing Allie seem to raise as fast as her credit card balance. None of her pre-pregnancy clothes fit, her mother-in-law seems to have permanently moved in, and her husband only leaves the couch to help his beautiful—and single—coworker.

AGE BEFORE BEAUTY is the second book in Ms. Smith’s Sister-to-Sister series. I enjoyed getting to know Allie and could identify with her reluctance to leave her baby with anyone other than herself. Returning to a full-time job after a baby is such a tough thing to do. Still, Allie was convinced that as a stay-at-home mom she’d be bored out of her mind. What do they do all day? She is convinced she doesn’t want to find out.

Any woman who has had children, whether they returned to work afterwards, went to work part-time, or quit completely will be able to identify with this completely realistic character. And the tension is only increased with the presence of an over-bearing mother-in-law, and a woman trying to steal her husband. Don’t miss AGE BEFORE BEAUTY. $13.99. 310 pages.