In her 67th novel (following May's The House) bestselling author Steel (more than 530 million copies sold) fashions a plot around a single event: an invitation to a debutante ball in New York City. Attorney Olympia Crawford Rubinstein manages to juggle a challenging full-time job; a loving relationship with her second husband, Harry (an appeals court judge who is her former law professor ); the care of their five-year-old son, Max, and her three older children from a previous marriage. Olympia's first husband, Chauncey, is a stereotypical, upper-class snob, with no job but a passion for playing polo. Harry, son of Holocaust survivors, champions liberal causes. When Olympia's teenage twin daughters, Veronica and Virginia, are invited to an exclusive "coming out" ball, everyone's lives are thrown into turmoil. Most of the book revolves around the arguments and disagreements spurred by the invitation, and Steel appears overly didactic as she tries to pump life into the simplistic setup: Olympia's Jewish mother-in-law, Afro-American law partner and gay older son are trotted out like polo ponies at auction. Steel's metier is glamour and romance; her attempt to deal with social injustice falls flat. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Manhattan matron struggles to keep the family peace when her wildly divergent twin daughters are invited to a debutante ball. With blueblood origins--if not inclinations--Olympia Crawford Rubenstein is sweetly nostalgic when she receives an invitation for her 18-year-old twins Veronica and Virginia to attend New York's toniest coming-out ball. A former debutante herself, but now a busy lawyer with a five-year-old son by her adoring second husband, Harry, Olympia knows that the days of rich girls finding suitable husbands at such society events are long over. Still, she thinks it would be a nice opportunity for the girls. Boy-and-shopping-crazed Virginia agrees, and she is overjoyed at the idea of wearing a white dress to the fancy party. Her more serious left-leaning sister, however, thinks the whole ritual is ridiculous and refuses to go. Olympia's ex-husband, Chauncey, a polo-playing blowhard, not only insists that his daughters make their debut, but he even threatens to cut off their college tuition unless they both participate, unfairly pitting the sisters against each other. Harry, an otherwise mensch of a judge, wants nothing to do with the waspy tradition, believing it to be elitist and anti-Semitic. That is why he is disappointed when his Holocaust-survivor mom Frieda, thinking it will be great fun, agrees to go as a family guest. Olympia is left stuck in the middle, and needless to say, additional stresses, such as a punk-rock escort, an ill-advised tattoo and an unexpected bout of chicken pox nearly derail her careful attempts to make the evening work. And then there is Olympia's dutiful eldest son Charlie, a college senior, who, it is repeatedly noted, seems preoccupied and sad. What ever could be wrong with the boy? Hint: Coming out is not just for debs anymore! Fortunately, compromises are made and family bonds prevail in Steel's short and syrupy latest (The House, 2006, etc.). A slight confection that spares no heartwarming family clich, but one that acknowledges the unique challenges of today's mixed families. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Steel's latest novel revolves around an invitation to a debutante ball in New York City, focusing on what she knows best--the lifestyles of the wealthy and glamorous. Attorney Olympia Crawford Rubinstein has a busy and fulfilling career. She has a wonderful relationship with her second husband, Harry, an appeals court judge. They live with Olympia's twin daughters from her first marriage, and Max, who's in kindergarten. She has a busy household and always manages her family with love, humor, and boundless energy. Then the family receives an invitation that causes an uproar. Olympia's ex-husband, Chauncey, a spoiled, formulaic, polo-playing aristocratic brute, demands that the girls attend the ball or he won't pay their college tuition. Harry, a liberal-thinking man, the son of Holocaust survivors, is firmly opposed to the party; he finds it elitist and discriminatory. Veronica, a zealous freethinking teenager, refuses to attend, while Virginia is enthusiastic. The whole narrative is focused on the conflict and resolution of this family quandary. In this predictable and tedious story read by David Garrison, everything works out in the end. For Steel followers only.--Carol Stern, Glen Cove P.L., NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

In her sixty-seventh novel, Steel sticks to what she knows best, the lifestyles of the rich and glamorous. Here "coming out" refers to an exclusive debutante ball in New York, to which the twin daughters of attorney Olympia Crawford Rubinstein have been invited. Olympia, a blue-blooded spawn of New York's upper class, has three children from a previous marriage and a five-year-old son with her current husband, Harry. To Olympia's surprise, the invitation has caused turmoil and chaos in her household. Ex-husband Chauncey, a stereotypical polo-playing upper-class lout, is demanding that the girls attend the ball and has threatened to withhold college tuition if both girls do not attend. Olympia's current husband Harry, the son of Holocaust survivors, and a hard-working man with liberal tendencies, is violently opposed to the event, which he finds racist and elitist. In addition, the twins have their own ideas, with Veronica, a passionate liberal, refusing to attend, and Virginia already shopping for a dress. Olympia, who fondly recalls her own debut, is upset by her husband's feelings but thinks he'll come around and gently encourages her daughters to attend. The entire plot of this fairly short novel is focused on the resolution of this family dilemma, and as usual, everything works out for the best in the end. --Kathleen Hughes Copyright 2006 Booklist