THE MANNY

Jamie Whitfield is a Midwestern woman trapped in a high-society marriage who is looking for happiness for herself and her children. Her 10-year-old son needs a male role model, so she hires Peter to be a "manny" while she works at her part-time job as a producer and her husband, Phillip, gets more involved in his law practice. Karen Ziemba captures Jamie's stress, Phillip's self-centeredness, and Peter's perpetual calm. Not surprisingly, Jamie falls for Peter, as do her children. Two plots fight for attention, that of Jamie's career and its attendant stress and that of the children and their need for an engaged father. Ziemba hones in on Jamie's life and budding love affair with Peter, leaving the children and the husband wanting. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 08]