‘Slightly Single’ is about Tracey who finds herself increasingly worried about her estranged relationship with Will after he leaves for summer stock. Besides missing him, Tracey soon realizes she has other problems such as being overweight, hating her job and hating her boss.The relationship between Tracey and Will was very well-written indeed. It shows how someone who’s really cold and distant (Will) can deeply affect someone who’s clingy and needs a lot of attention (Tracey). Although both are bad, most of the time I felt somewhat sorry for Tracey. There’s no doubt that she needs to understand the concept of space and learn to figure out what else she can do besides pining for her boyfriend. However, Will was an absolutely horrible guy who never even tried to be a decent boyfriend. He was completely self-absorbed, selfish and dishonest. The way Tracey still kept deluding herself about Will despite her instinct that he was or had been unfaithful was written convincingly. On one hand, you’d want to smack her for being incredibly naïve and unrealistic but on the other hand, you’d hate Will for being such a jerk. The other guy that Tracey meets, Buckley (poor choice of name) is quite likeable though. He’s obviously a good friend who has more than platonic feelings towards her. I didn’t particularly like her gay friend Raphael but only because the whole gay best friend element is overused and unoriginal.Tracey’s quest to lose weight came across as too easy to me. It takes a hell of a lot of discipline to go through with it and it just seemed like she did it effortlessly. Of course, it mentioned that she goes for walks and cuts down on food but I don’t really see her suffering from all the changes such as being exhausted, having hunger pangs and longing to stuff her face full of food. Then the anxiety attacks incorporated into the story were sort of odd. I guess it’s a way of telling you how her deteriorating relationship with Will was affecting her but it was unnecessary.Overall, it was a fun yet (mostly) realistic story and I personally liked the ending.
This book should be titled, “Completely Single.” I actually really liked it. It’s written well but the main character is in the worst relationship. The worst part is that everyone realizes it except for her. I didn’t see a single redeeming quality about her boyfriend (complete stretch of the word) Will. He is not really abusive or anything…he just completely doesn’t consider her at all. And she worships him which makes it even worse. The book takes place during the summer. Will is doing summer stock and has left Tracey all alone. She decides to spend the summer improving herself because she thinks that then Will will want to live with her. It’s a hard read simply because Tracey is so insecure and you constantly feel badly for her. The scary part is even at her worst, she is so much better than her loser boyfriend Will. However, there are people who are like Tracey in the world so while she is a frustrating character, she still comes across as a truthful one. I kept waiting for her to finally assert herself but it doesn’t happen in this book.
I have read this book before probably around 8 years ago. I remember really liking it and always wondering what happened to Tracey, so I decided to reread the first book with the idea of reading the rest of the series some time next year.This book is not your general chick lit. Tracey is a chubby heroine who is very down on herself, this alone may be the reason I like the book so much. Will is a complete dick and deserves to be kicked to the curb, which Tracey has trouble doing. The story has some interesting twists that keep you interested and a really surprising one at the end. Well done Wendy Markham. Even when I was nowhere near my e-reader I found myself wondering what Tracey was up to. I thought about the book a lot even when I was not reading, and that is what we strive for as avid readers, to find a book that gets you that involved. This is well written and well thought out - I can hardly wait to read the next installment.Check out more of my reviews at http://whatabookbitch.blogspot.ca
—Francesca Rock
I have to say, after reading other's reviews of the negativity and self-depreciating of the main character in this book, I was a little hesitant about reading it. However, meeting the character and seeing her life, I think this is a real depiction of how many women (people) live. While some people are completely comfortable in their own skin, you find many that have daily struggles with 'liking' themselves. And people in this situation tend to 'settle' for less than the best, thinking they can't get better.I really appreciate the baseline for the story and thought it had a great ending (IMO). I would certainly recommend this book. I look forward to reading the next in the series.
—Minisu
Love this book. Second time reading it. It's a simple book, nothing to exciting, a quick read. Tracey is an overweight New Yorker who has a dreamy boyfriend and a crappy job. For the summer her actor boyfriend is going out of town to an actor's thing so Tracey get's the idea to reinvent herself. She get's organized, starts walking and eating less, and reads the classics. She transformers herself, on the outside, but is still the same on the inside. She deals with her loser boyfriend while a new cutie comes into her life. I liked this book because she wasn't sitting around pitying herself. It was refreshing. Most girls in chick lit books whine about their crappy life, Tracey did something about it. Makes me want to go change my life around. Maybe I'll meet some cutie guy.
—Lindsay
