BOOK REVIEW: Holly Banks Full of Angst by Julie Valerie @julie_valerie @KCC_PR @LUAuthors #bookreview #hollybanksfullofangst

Do you ever think that a book was just simply meant for you to read when you did? I had been having a really stressful few weeks at work when my copy of Holly Banks Full of Angst arrived and when I started reading it, I immediately knew it was just what I needed. Holly is beautifully imperfect and filled with the sort of laugh-out-loud hi-jinks that just made me forget my worries and relax for awhile!

About the Book

Holly Banks could not have made a worse first impression on the seemingly perfect moms in her new affluent community, the Village of Primm. Turns out wearing pink piggy pajama bottoms while dropping off her kindergartener late to the first day of school wasn’t her best look.

Not to mention Holly’s worried her husband may be having an affair, she can’t get her daughter to stop sucking her thumb, her hard-won film degree is collecting dust, and to top it all off, the power-hungry PTA president clearly has it in for her…

To make matters even worse, Holly’s natural eye for drama lands her smack-dab in the middle of a neighborhood mystery—right as her own crazy mother shows up in Primm “to help.” Through it all, Holly begins to realize her neighbors may be just as flawed as—and even wackier than—she is, leaving her to wonder: Is there such a thing as a perfect mom?

Reflection

This book truly had me laughing out loud at every turn. I did a mix of audio and physical book this time, and the audio narrator was so perfect, that even when I switched to the physical book I could picture the tone she would use for each character in my head. Holly Banks is a mother who tries so hard to fit into the life that she can’t quite achieve, and with spectacularly funny failures at every attempt, she warmed her way into my heart.

The house in the Village of Primm was not cheap, and Holly soon realizes that buying at the top of their finances will have a price. Namely, that it is not enough to live in the Village of Primm in order to belong, there are a lot of expectations. From the way she decorates her house and porch (she can’t live up to the expert decorator and mom extraordinaire who lived their prior to her, and the other residents make sure she knows it!) to the way she dresses (pajamas are maybe not the best thing to wear out of the house, even if you think you won’t be seen!), Holly is wonderfully imperfect!

And then Holly finds out that she has to not only be on the PTA at her daughter’s school, she needs to serve as the PTA secretary to the intimidating and perfect Mary-Margaret St. James. Mary-Margaret is probably the best character in the book to me (well, besides Holly). She is a real piece of work! Polite, bubbly, and a bit mean-spirited if you are Holly, Mary-Margaret makes sure to point out that Holly volunteering to bring the napkins is the worst sort of volunteering (everyone knows those napkin moms!).

Holly can’t worry, though, about her pig pajamas that everyone saw, or the 14 cherry pies she offered to bake, or the school bus she hit in front of all the kids and parents, because she has bigger problems. Her husband may be having an affair. She saw him in Wendy’s with his attractive boss, after all, laughing and laughing. And she also wonders quite poignantly why it is that the female parent has to be the one giving up their career and interests, serving on the PTA, volunteering to bake for the school, and not getting to have a life outside of their child and husband. This theme was powerful, through all of the hijinks and funny scenes, the comment on the role women are forced to play in the home resonated.

And finally, there is a bit of a mystery going on. I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say the Village of Primm is about to realize how fragile their perfect, privileged lives are…

Thank you to Kat Carter and Lake Union Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

About the Author

Holly Banks Full of Angst, Book One in the Village of Primm series, is Julie Valerie’s debut novel, available now for pre-order, publishing December 1, 2019, with Lake Union.

Julie is the founder of the 85K Writing Challenge and serves on the board of directors of James River Writers. She earned an editing certificate from the University of Chicago Graham School and has a master’s degree in education, a bachelor of fine arts in fashion, and certification in wilderness first aid. She enjoys books, the study of wine, hikes on the Appalachian Trail, and travel. Julie married her college sweetheart, and they live in Virginia with their four children and two English labradors.

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