Suburban Diva: From the Real Side of the Picket Fence

Suburban Diva: From the Real Side of the Picket Fence
Tracey Henry
Ephemera Bound Publishing
ISBN: 0-9771003-7-8
Ficiton, Humor
Reviewed by Elizabeth Young

The "Suburban Diva" began life as a column on Backwash.com in which Tracey Henry recounted her daily traumas as a wife and mother in the Suburbs. Posted weekly, Tracey writes about married life, getting older, and suburbia from the point of view of woman who is in a constant state of flux and has no problem sharing with others.
The book, which is a compilation of 50 columns from the website, reads, unfortunately, less like a collection of humorous vignettes and more like a personal blog.
Her premise, a dysfunctional June Cleaver mixed with a Glam Super Vixen alter ego, could really be a hilarious, if not phenomenal, hit if only she would be willing to push the envelope a bit more. While her stories show a great deal of potential, you get the feeling that she seems stuck on the surface of them, glossing over the problems and mishaps she experiences, instead of diving in deeper and really milking the absurdity of the situation. She seems to rush through the stories without really examining the humor, merely polishing it up without making it meaningful, just to get in the requisite amount of words.
The Suburban Diva is not a bad book, in fact there are stories that are truly funny and have a good deal of substance in them, unfortunately they just don't feel fleshed out enough to make it a memorable read.
This particular genre of true life chic lit is relatively new and will only continue to grow. Tracey Henry has a lot to offer within this particular field if she can get away from the "bloggy" feel of the writing. Her stories are relatable and if she can push through the soft humor barrier and take the risks necessary to write humor well, she has a real shot at becoming the Erma Bombach of her generation.