Slacks for Ella Funt

I enjoyed Packer’s first book, The Dive from Clausen’s Pier, much more than I expected to, given that it seemed a little Lifetime-movie-of-the-week. It had a theme that almost always appeals to me: a woman from a small town, striking out on her own to the big city.
Packer’s characters are as fleshed out and detailed as I could ever want. However, I didn’t find either of the two main characters, Sarabeth and Liz, to be as sympathetic as the narrator of The Dive from Clausen’s Pier. They both seemed a little tiresome, and the book revolves around their relationship and Liz’s relationship with her depressed teenage daughter. It all kind of added up to a lot of people sitting around thinking about their feelings and not a lot of plot.