Girls Only

Alex Witchel manages to struggle through a full, challenging and frequently hilarious life. And In Girls Only she goes on a soul-searching and shopping spree - with the ever-present help of her wise (and occasionally exasperating) mother, Barbara, and her exasperating (and occasionally wise) sister, Phoebe. These three form only the female half of the Witchel nuclear unit, yet they are a family of their own, and with a passionately cliquelike unity they attack the entire range of women's problems, from careers to men to aging to pedicures. A true-blooded New Yorker, there is nothing Alex likes better than to leave her Upper West Side apartment for a week-end voyage, armed with pen, paper and her mother. And sometimes Phoebe - if she's lucky. With a sharply ironic eye and a fresh and funny voice, Alex mines the wry subtext of their interactions. And the ultimate message, whether in bad times or good, is that there is an undeniable love and understanding among these three women that gives them strength, courage and quite a lot of fun.