There's a desperately needed dose of practical feminism in Palmer's (The Economy of You) excellent book, which targets middle-class women in their childbearing years, an often neglected audience for financial advice. Without insulting her readers' intelligence, Palmer pitches her advice at a basic level for women who may not have had previous guidance in developing financial-management skills. Her approach is creative and lifelong, advising readers who take time off to care for young children or aging parents to lobby for the flexible work hours and tasks they need, become entrepreneurs, or maintain their skills and contacts through freelance gigs, volunteering, or blogging. Beyond offering the same advice to women that men have been getting for decades, Palmer takes a family-oriented approach that includes ideas such as planning to have babies during more flexible periods of employment and choosing gender-neutral baby clothing for easier reuse. She urges modeling good money habits for daughters as well as sons and includes a dozen detailed "talking points" for building financial literacy with one's kids. This invaluable resource does much more than fill a niche; it bridges a huge gap. Agent: Melissa Sarver White, Folio Literary Management. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

*Starred Review* In this guide aimed at mothers, personal finance expert Palmer (The Economy of You, 2014) provides a series of common-sense tips for women who want to take control of their financial futures. Palmer covers the usual bases, such as means for cutting costs and the importance of both college savings and retirement savings, but she also delves into some less-rosy topics, such as having conversations with aging parents about their financial future and making contingency plans for unexpected situations like long-term illness or divorce. Palmer cites research and statistics to back up her recommendations, but she also includes plenty of anecdotes, from both everyday women and pop-culture figures (one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills makes an appearance in the first chapter). The back matter includes a handbook to help readers implement the strategies that Palmer advises as well as a focused, nine-month plan for women who want to get the family's financial house in order. Readers who are financially savvy may find the suggestions to be basic, so the best audience for this book is women who are financial novices or who have a general understanding of the importance of emergency funds or retirement savings but need suggestions for how to build them.--Donohue, Nanette Copyright 2016 Booklist