Associate in a blue-chip Manhattan law firm copes with blowback from self-defeatism in Buxbaum's much-hyped but disappointing debut. Emily Haxby dumps her boyfriend Andrew on Labor Day. Why? Perhaps it's her punishing schedule at Altman, Prior and Tisch, where the 29-year-old Yale Law grad has been assigned to defend corporate octopus Synergon in a carcinogen-dumping class-action lawsuit. Perhaps it's because Andrew, a nice emergency-room doc, was trolling for her ring size and diamond preferences. Hoping to parse the enigma, she sees a shrink, Dr. Lerner, who doggedly plumbs Emily's depths only to founder, like readers, in the shallows. When things threaten to get interesting--Emily is advised to consult A Civil Action for pointers on steamrolling pollution victims; a senior partner exceeds all bounds of decency on a business trip, making Denny Crane look subtle--Buxbaum opts for the easy resolution. Emily engineers the offending partner's downfall, but quits her job anyway. After her beloved Grandpa Jack goes AWOL from his retirement home, he's diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but consequences go mostly unexplored. So does the cordial but distant relationship with Dad that Emily has endured since her mother's death when Emily was 14. When she finds Andrew newly attractive, he rebuffs all her conciliatory overtures with a harshness that belies his earlier, albeit sketchy, characterization. Grandpa Jack's death reunites all the principals by teaching them--what else?--the importance of family. This proposed merger of literary fiction with chick lit contravenes the conventions of both genres. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Harvard law grad Buxbaum makes an appealing debut with this tale of Yale law graduate Emily Haxby, eager to break through the emotional and professional ties that bind her. "It's like you get pleasure out of breaking your own heart," best friend Jess tells Emily after her bustup with her doctor boyfriend. But Emily isn't through self-destructing; she also implodes over her fast-failing Grandpa Jack, from whom Emily learned "everything... about life"; chilly relations with her lieutenant governor father, Kirk; and a precarious career as a litigator defending big, evil corporations for a Manhattan law firm. This single-gal-in-the-city finds her white-knuckle hold on life and love slowly slipping as it dawns on her that the opposite of love isn't hate, it's emptiness. Grandpa Jack and his retirement home pal, Ruth, help steer Emily to a soft landing, but the big disappointment is that the resolution is far less interesting than the unraveling that precedes it. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In the space of a few weeks, Emily Haxby breaks up with her longtime boyfriend, leaves her job at a corporate law firm, and learns that her beloved grandfather suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Suddenly, this accomplished yet emotionally stunted woman is left picking up the pieces. The resounding success of the chick-lit genre resides in the fact that young women seek fiction that reflects decisions they face about romance, careers, and family. Buxbaum's tale does so with notable intelligence and grace as she explores that uncertain time between physically becoming an adult and actually coming to terms with it. A Harvard Law alum, Buxbaum is likely drawing on her own experiences. Her debut novel is sure to generate buzz because of her much-touted generous two-book deal. But beyond the hype, this is a realistic and well-written portrait of a young woman on the cusp of having it all.--Walker, Aleksandra Kostovski Copyright 2007 Booklist

It's shaping up to be an annus horribilis for 29-year-old Emily Haxby, a Harvard Law School graduate and budding Manhattan attorney. Sensing that Andrew, her doctor boyfriend, is about to propose, she dumps him, only to be tormented and mystified by her own actions. Not only is Andrew smart, funny, handsome, and devoted, but she still loves him. Emily's career at a high-powered law firm is plagued by an excruciating workload, corporate cases that trample the little guy, and sexual harassment via a senior partner during a business trip. Her beloved grandfather plunges into dementia and is diagnosed with terminal cancer; her relationship with her father, her sole other relative, is chilly and empty. These junctures spur Emily's self-examination and inspire her to rewrite her life before irreparably sabotaging her ideals and her love life. Actress/singer Emily Janice Card reads Buxbaum's debut with the crisp, unsentimental confidence of a self-contained career woman, enjoining the listener as an ally to root for Emily's turnaround. Recommended for romance and light fiction collections. [Also available as downloadable audio.--Ed.]--Judith Robinson, Univ. at Buffalo (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.