Breaking the Bank by Yona Zeldis McDonough + Giveaway

A very special thank you to Sarah and the staff at Pocket Books for providing a copy of Breaking the Bank for me to review for you today!

Imagine you and your only child being left by your husband for some swanky, Asian chick. Now imagine that loser never paying child support or offering you a dime for anything. You work your tail off while your Lloyd is out playing around and enjoying the high life. All he wants is to see his daughter, Eden, at every possible chance. Not quite fair eh?

This is the life of Mia. Her loser ex-husband Lloyd is demanding to spend time with his daughter Eden while Mia is working her absolute hardest to make ends meet. One day she visits a local ATM for some cash for some groceries on the way home. Instead of getting the $100 she asks for, she gets a little extra...at no expense to her account. She thinks of this bank error and just hopes she won't be asked to repay it. A few days later, she visits the same ATM again and receives more than she asks for. What kind of luck is this?

Family holidays and get togethers...you just gotta love 'em!! (NOT) Mia and Eden are visiting Mia's brother Stewart, ever loving sister-in-law Gail, and mom Betty over the Thanksgiving holidays. The girls are sent away to a neighbor's house while the adults are deep in conversation. Mia's family thinks she is the lowest form of scum on earth as a mother and want Eden to spend the Christmas holidays away with Betty. They all seem to think that mother and daughter could use a break from each other. What? Take her kid away to? Mia is beside herself.

A knock on the door starts even more trouble for Mia. It's the detectives and they want to know about her "friend" Weed. What will she tell them? What will Eden tell Lloyd, who'll then tell Stewart, who'll then tell Betty, who'll then tell....

It's only when Mia spends a long night in jail and meets Patrick that life starts to make an upward turn for her. Will she ever get Eden back? Will her family ever see her for the real person she is? What about the money? Will she get to keep it? What will she do?

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable book. I loved the story line and the underlying theme. I did not appreciate the language of the book (multiple "f" bombs dropped) or the casual sex. That withstanding, the sentiment behind the story is one that I think more Americans need to hear and believe. There are still good people in this world!! Mia, in my opinion, gets a really bad rap from her family and friends. She's a single mom trying her very best to get by. Sure she might have needed to reach out for some help but she was doing what she felt best for her and Eden.

What would you do if an ATM gave you more money than you asked for?

Answer this question and be entered for a chance to win one of two copies of Breaking the Bank that I'm giving away.

Rules:
1. Please include your email address with your answer, so that I can contact you if you win. You will have 3 days to respond to the email. You must put your email address in the comments or your entry is invalid. Format like faithfulgirl4[at]gmail[dot]com
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The contest is limited to US and Canada only. No P.O. boxes. The contest ends at 11:59 pm EST on October 31, 2009.


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