What do readers think of Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon? Write your own review.

Reading this book was a little like reading someone else's online diary, with Google searches (sometimes random) tossed in for reasons that often escaped me. While I can see this for a bookclub discussion, as a novel I'll remember...not particularly.

Wife 22 is in the same genre as Briget Jones Diary and I Don't Know How She Does It. The protagonist is a 40 something wife and mother who is re-evaluating her career, marriage and life. The format of the book mixes straight narrative with Facebook posts, e-mails and text messages. I enjoyed the book but found it to be too predictable. But I think it would be a good book for book club because it can generate interesting discussions.

I felt connected to Alice right away. I also am in my mid-forties and reflecting on my life thus far. I loved the non-traditional format of the book. I loved the characters in the book and Alice's honesty and frankness as she examined her life. I had a suspicion of the ending early on in the book, but it did not keep me from enjoying it!

I really enjoyed reading this book - I devoured it in a day and immediately handed it off to my best reading buddy.
Gideon's writing is relevant, fun, and where she could have very easily taken the low road in a number of places, she takes the high road every time - I was impressed by that.
Alice is a very well-crafted character - someone that you like, are frustrated with, roll your eyes at, laugh at, and root for.
However, there were some slight annoyances - like I figured out the 'mystery' in the first few chapters thanks to two little words. (Was that intentional?) Also, I ultimately really liked the ending, but feel like the reaction of William didn't really ring true.
However, it will make you think about your relationships, communication style, and the use of electronics in your life.

Wife 22 was not my cup of tea. Perhaps my age and intolerance for living life electronically is the reason. It reinforces my belief that we live in a superficial world of quick posts and instant information and miss the warmth of face to face involvement.
William and Alice are husband and wife that share a house and two children but their marriage has become routine. The children, Zoe and Peter are typical children with normal growing up problems that Alice completely misdiagnoses. She is sure her sensitive , loving son is gay and her daughter has an eating disorder.
The minor characters are interesting and much more attractive than Alice and William. I would like to know more about Nedra, Bunny and Charlotte. They all have more wisdom and kinder dispositions.
The writing style is jarring, switching from Facebook posts to Google searches to straight narrative. I think the format will be very appealing to the computer generation, not me.

Alice Buckle is a woman in her mid-forties who is feeling a lot disconnected from her husband, William. She fears her daughter has an eating disorder and her son might be gay. Rather than talking with the various family members about these issues she involves herself in an anonymous online study called "Marriage in the 21st Century". Much of the book's story is carried forward through the use of twitter, facebook, and her answers to the 100 questions in the study.

Alice's story felt a lot like IRL. She confesses to her friends things she would never tell her husband and in return gets great advice that she usually refuses to act upon. It is so much easier for her to meddle in the lives of her kids than it is to fix her own.

I didn't love the book but it did have a few good twists and for anyone who is addicted to chic lit I think this is some pretty good writing and a fun story.