50 in 2012: Book Three

Balancing Acts by Zoe Fishman

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I had really high hopes for this book, a book I would have never picked up a year ago. Having recently discovered the true magic of yoga, I immediately fell in love with the synopsis on the back cover.

Charlie worked herself to the bone to succeed at her lucrative, high-paying Wall Street job. She studied instead of partied during her college years. Always. Which is why everyone is shocked to hear she left it all behind for yoga as they huddle at their ten year college reunion. She meets up with three friends she hasn’t talked to much since their dorm days: Sabine, a copy editor for cheesy romance novels who longs to write her own book in the very near future and who spends most of her day trying to fend off her texting, nagging mother. Naomi, a former model struggling to raise her son as a single mother. Bess, consumed by the decisions she must make regarding her long distance relationship at the risk of losing all she has worked for.

Four women, each at a crossroads in her life. Sabine, Bess, and Naomi envy Charlie’s courage to leave her job to pursue her true passion; however, her fearlessness ends when it comes to love. She took on her three old friends as yoga clients in hopes of teaching them to see something greater in themselves and maybe fall in love with yoga along the way. In doing so, Charlie learns from them as well and finds the strength she needs to move on. Finally.

The potential for poignancy and emotion in this novel is extraordinary; however, the author falls short. Much of the drama is merely touched upon. The greatest story lines fade into mere mention which is extremely disappointing.

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