claire cook

 
 
March Monroe and her daughter Olivia are going to college. Not together at the same school, of course, just at the same time. March knows that Olivia is going, naturally, since she and her husband have just made their first exorbitant tuition payment. But Olivia doesn’t exactly know the arrangement . . . yet. It’s not as if March plans never to tell her; she just figures she’ll wait a bit––until they’ve had a little time to miss each other. So imagine Olivia’s surprise when one day she shows up for training at a local radio station and finds out that one of the other interns is . . . her mother. Sharing an internship with her royally ticked-off daughter is not March’s only new challenge. Among the multiple decisions on her mind are what to do about a slightly tired marriage, a fourteen-yearold son who probably won’t be speaking to her for much longer, and a midlife crush, not to mention Quantum Physics and You––the class that just might put her over the edge. Laugh-out-loud funny, Multiple Choice is an effervescent novel of family life that will strike a chord with women everywhere––whether they have kids in college or are just now choosing their own majors. Book Club Conversation Starters March Monroe is returning to college to complete her degree many years after leaving school to marry Jeff and raise a family. What are her feelings toward the decisions she made as a young woman? What are her feelings about returning to school as an adult? There are few events in life that we get a chance to do over again. If you could relive any aspect of your youth-knowing what you know now-would you do it? What would you do differently and why? March says that “relationships, the ones that last anyway, are really an extended game of “Let's Make A Deal.” How do the various relationships in Multiple Choice prove that quote either true or false? Do you find it true in your own experience? Can you think of any other game title that March might have used?  “Chutes and Ladders?”  “Beat the Clock?” Do tell. Are there any Ahndrayuhs in your neighborhood? How about David Callahans in your workplace? And, tell the truth, are there thongs in your underwear drawer? Is your husband a boxer or a brief man? After March's first radio show, she stops to buy dinner on the way home, and hopes the woman ringing up her purchases will recognize her voice. Have you ever had a moment of almost fame like that, when you thought the world might stand up and take notice, but it didn't quite turn out that way? Do we all still dream of our fifteen minutes of fame? Would we settle for five? The phrase “karma is a boomerang” appears several times in the course of the book.  Do you believe this is true? Does March? Give some examples of March's karma-related behavior. When book groups met to discuss MUST LOVE DOGS, they often served Sarah's Winey Macaroni and Cheese, made without butter and with white wine instead of milk, and served in wine glasses for best effect. What might your book group, real or imagined, serve when discussing MULTIPLE CHOICE? “I'd spent so many years doing things I didn't really want to do for people I didn't really like.” Do you think this speaks to March's need to people please or is it about time management? Or is it both?  Is this quote true for most women? Do you think we all reach a point in our lives when we realize we don't want to be all things to all people? Mothers and daughters share a complicated and profound union, built on years of mutual observation. How do March and Olivia demonstrate their intimate knowledge of one another's behaviors and needs during the course of the book? In what ways are they strangers?

Multiple Choice

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"Her quirky voice and sense of humor are as strong as ever." -The Orlando Sentinel
"...very funny...with plenty of giggles." - The Hartford Courant "This book is funny, funny, funny!  When a mother and daughter are attending college at the same time and run into each other, it is bound to result in embarrassment, frustration, and challenging moments for both. I don't even have children, and I could totally relate to both characters. The multiple choice chapter headings are fabulous!" Donna Cressman  Maxwell Books, DeSoto, TX "This is an absolutely fabulous book about how parents connect - or don't --- with their teenage children. I guarantee you won't be disappointed." Angie Fruncillo,  Lake Country Booksellers, White Bear Lake, MN "Claire Cook has created another fun read. This time we fall in love with March Monroe, an everyday woman who is struggling with the questions many middle-aged women ask: `Is this where I thought I would be at this point in my life?' and `How did I get here?' She struggles to balance her life as a mother and a new student and we get to see the humorous side effects.” Lisa Fabiano Hearts and Stars Bookshop, Canton, MA