The Botox Diaries by Janice Kaplan


The Botox Diaries
Title : The Botox Diaries
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 073931274X
ISBN-10 : 9780739312742
Language : English
Format Type : Audio CD
Number of Pages : -
Publication : First published June 1, 2004

In a world where plastic surgery is as popular as a pair of sexy Manolo Blahniks, suburban single mom Jessica Taylor is trying to make it past forty with nothing more than moisturizer and a swipe of mascara. Her glamorous best friend, TV producer Lucy Baldor, has a different idea of aging gracefully. “My body is a temple,” Lucy explains. “I just don’t want it to crumble like St. John the Divine.”
Jess and Lucy’s friendship has weathered the trials of marriage, the births of children, and the transition from itty-bitty bikinis to “Kindest Cut” one-piece suits. Now the women are discovering that midlife crises aren’t just for men—they’re equal-opportunity dilemmas.
To Jess’s dismay, Lucy announces that she’s taken a lover. A very famous lover. Her husband, Dan, is bound to find out (especially after a picture of the amorous duo appears on Page Six of the New York Post), but Lucy’s too wrapped up in the joys of expensive lingerie and romantic retreats to care. Jess finds herself in the midst of her own romantic predicament when, after ten years of silence, her sexy French ex-husband, Jacques, ends up back in her life—and in her bed.

Whether navigating bake sales, bicoastal affairs, or bagels-and-Botox parties, these wise and witty women know that their friendship will remain the one true thing they can count on. Well, that and a good push-up bra, of course. And their bond withstands everything—from an orgy in Willie Nelson’s trailer to a reality TV-show bachelor named Boulder.
Funny, brazen, and often poignant, this irresistible novel offers an unexpected and entertaining look at two women’s midlife adventures. From Thai massage to tantric sex, who would have thought forty could be so much fun?


From the Hardcover edition.


The Botox Diaries Reviews


  • Kari Gibbs

    I got this book at a 10 for $30 sale a few months ago. And the more I read through those books, the more I realize how similar they are.

    The Botox Diariesis about Jess and Lucy, both 40 something best friends. Jess is simple. She doesn’t like to spend a lot on clothes, is single and fighting the urge to get back with her ex and won’t touch the botox. Lucy, on the other hand, is a network tv producer who gets caught up in an affair with one of televisions most popular tv show hosts. Jess tries to help Lucy get back on the right track and away from her lustrous affair while trying to find a good man for herself.

    The reason I say this is so much like a lot of the books I’ve read lately is because much like One Fifth Avenue, we’re dealing with wealthy people who live in NY and have affairs. And they’re in their 40s. I don’t know why I’m attracted to these books, well, yes I do: They have pretty colors and titles. I absolutely hate infidelity but I’m draw to the drama of them in books.

    I wrote down a lot of things while reading this book, including what I used Tuesday as my teaser.

    Pg 1: “Champagne corks are popping and it’s only five a.m.”

    That line just struck a cord with me. Who wouldn’t love to live this life? I mean, I don’t like 5 a.m. at all and recently that what time I’ve been getting up even though my alarm is set for 9:30. Maybe my mind keeps thinking about this and hoping I’ll wake up to champagne – good luck with that.

    As I get older, I realize that no matter how old you are, there will always be cliques. And this book proved it with the “Alpha Moms” and the line that reads:

    Pg 26: “Cliquey girls don’t go away — they just get older.”

    This is so true. I don’t notice it is as much as I did in school, but they’re still there. I see it on Facebook and when we go out.

    I have never really thought much of Botox. 1. I am 23. 2. I can’t imagine spending money on something like yet. Yes, I already am noticing wrinkles, but I’m stingy with money. Maybe if I look like an English Bulldog in a few years, I’ll change my mind. But until then I’ll laugh at quotes like this:

    Pg 184: “‘A little Botox on the forehead. Some Cymetra under the cheekbone. A couple of shots of Restylane around the lips. And CosmoDerm to fill in the laugh lines around your eyes. You’re lucky, not too much damage yet. Two, three dozen injections tops and we’re done.’”

    Cracks me up. That is A LOT of injections. I guess for a Botox doctor though, the more you pump into a face, the more you get to add to your fund for a new “weekend” house.

    I love, love, loved that there was a parent sex-ed class in this book. There is nothing like that at the school where I went. We barely had sex ed, let alone did our parents attend a class and learn how to properly condom a banana.

    This book was pretty cute and had a lot of great characters from Boulder, the want to be famous surfer, to Jaques, the French ex who is always will be a tool.

    I have read a couple of Janice Kaplan books before, and I really like her style. She’s fun, hip and I love that she uses real things. She uses real stores, real cars, and real people. It’s fiction that I can relate to.

    I didn’t however crave this book. Yes, I know I just told you some amazing things that would make you think I absolutely loved it, but I didn’t. It may be once again that I am in wedding-mode and am not really focusing. But this book was just ok. I give it 3 bookmarks

  • Editanainggolan

    Buku yang ditulis oleh 2 perempuan. 🙋💁

    The Botox Diaries - Janice Kaplan $ Lynn Schnurnberger / 2004
    Diterbitkan oleh @bukugpu / Januari 2012
    ISBN : 978-979-22-7955-9 / 488 halaman
    Genre: Chicklit
    💅💅💅

    Jessica Taylor, single mother yang masih berharap menemukan orang yang tepat dalam hidupnya dan sahabatnya, Lucy Baldor, ibu 3 orang anak, istri dari seorang pria tampan yang mapan, dan karir gemilang sebagai produser TV, berjuang melewati usia empat puluhan.

    Sesikit banyak, buku ini mirip tv series The Desperate Housewife.
    Hayooo ngacung, teman aku yang suka nonton tv series ini dulu?😆

    Ibu-ibu dengan krisis paruh baya, kerut merut yang sudah mulai nampak jelas di wajah dan lemak disana sini membuat no swimsuit without sarung pantai!! 👻

    Buku ini jawaban dari, kenapa ibu-ibu suka pake daster! 😂👍

    Rate dariku : 3.8⭐

  • Maria

    This would have been a fun read 10 years ago. It’s references are dated, although the story is nice

  • Stephy

    This was funny but kind of left something out...Just seemed like the book needed more.

    In a world where plastic surgery is as popular as a pair of sexy Manolo Blahniks, suburban single mom Jessica Taylor is trying to make it past forty with nothing more than moisturizer and a swipe of mascara. Her glamorous best friend, TV producer Lucy Baldor, has a different idea of aging gracefully. “My body is a temple,” Lucy explains. “I just don’t want it to crumble like St. John the Divine.”
    Jess and Lucy’s friendship has weathered the trials of marriage, the births of children, and the transition from itty-bitty bikinis to “Kindest Cut” one-piece suits. Now the women are discovering that midlife crises aren’t just for men—they’re equal-opportunity dilemmas.
    To Jess’s dismay, Lucy announces that she’s taken a lover. A very famous lover. Her husband, Dan, is bound to find out (especially after a picture of the amorous duo appears on Page Six of the New York Post), but Lucy’s too wrapped up in the joys of expensive lingerie and romantic retreats to care. Jess finds herself in the midst of her own romantic predicament when, after ten years of silence, her sexy French ex-husband, Jacques, ends up back in her life—and in her bed.

    Whether navigating bake sales, bicoastal affairs, or bagels-and-Botox parties, these wise and witty women know that their friendship will remain the one true thing they can count on. Well, that and a good push-up bra, of course. And their bond withstands everything—from an orgy in Willie Nelson’s trailer to a reality TV-show bachelor named Boulder.
    Funny, brazen, and often poignant, this irresistible novel offers an unexpected and entertaining look at two women’s midlife adventures. From Thai massage to tantric sex, who would have thought forty could be so much fun?

  • Devon

    I got this book as a freebie in a goodie bag and although I'd never really had any interest in reading it, I figured no book is better than a free book (I have since re-thought this philosophy). So I decided to give it a whirl and plucked it out of my "to read" pile and boy am I glad that I did! The writing team of Lynn Schnurnberger and Janice Kaplan have delighted us with a uproarious novel about the difference between growing older and getting better as two friends struggle to keep up while holding on to what they treasure most, their family and their friendship.

    `THE BOTOX DIARIES' was funnier than I imagined and kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning trying not to laugh so hard that I would wake my husband! I now see why this was last summers "it" book and can't wait to read `MINE ARE SPECTACULAR' by this amazing writing team!

  • Georgiann Hennelly

    In a world where plastic surgery and Botox is as popular as a pair of manolo blahnikss single suburban mom Jessica Taylor is trying to make it past fourty with nothing more than mascara and moisturizer. Her best friend Lucy has a different idea of aging gracefully. From Botox to an affair can Jess help Lucy realize her marraige is worth saving and also find a man for herself.

  • Kari

    Good for a beach read. I read this on the beach and loved it because it was simple and was a guilty pleasure. I also always enjoy reading about the bizarre lives of wealthy Manhattans - I just can't understand their lifestyle

  • Melinda

    It was an average book. I finished it and it kept my interested near the end when I was trying to find out who would be with who. Just glad to be done with it. I love the character Jess. She balanced out her friendship with Lucy.

  • Kathy

    I got about 30 pages in. The dialog is totally unbelievable. The guy the narrator goes on a date with is over-the-top cheesy as to be beyond belief. And the best friend's husband doesn't know that her daughter is adopted? Um, no.

  • Theresa

    Cute book. An easy read that was fun.

  • Cathy

    Jake actually picked it out for me at the library (he liked the cover) and it was a fun summer read!

  • Christine

    Entertaining fluff. These are what I like to call my "pink" books. Similar to a chick flick.

  • Lois Duncan

    This book is a romp -- relaxing and fun to read. But you won't find it interesting unless you are over 35.

  • Karen

    Easy, fun read with a bit more depth than I expected.

  • Brooke Lindsay

    Fun, light read. It took me a chapter or two to get into it but then I didn't want it to end.

  • Virginia

    Los diarios del botox, transpira frivolidad por los cuatro costados. Algo muy útil si se quiere escribir una novela del, cada vez menos famoso, género chick-lit. Pero en su defensa diré, que realmente da lo que está vendiendo: una historia llena de estereotipos, que pretende ahondar en la vida de las mujeres cosmopolitas cuando han pasado de los 40. Pero por desgracia, la novela no puede resultar más banal y superficial.

    Las autoras de este "portentoso" libro, Janice Kaplan & Lynn Schnurnberger resultan escritoras mediocres. Su estilo es simplista y aburrido, lleno de páginas con una prosa sencilla y sin ornamentos, unas descripciones penosas que se limitan en muchos casos a tirar de nombres de marcas famosas, y unas protagonistas que son el epítome de la mujer pija, que lucha contra los estragos del tiempo, y la mujer natural, que piensa en envejecer con algo más de dignidad.

    Los diarios del botox nos narra las vicisitudes de dos amigas en la cuarentena de sus vidas. Lucy, exitosa productora de televisión, casada con un sueño de hombre y con tres hijos perfectos, piensa que hay que sobreponerse a la edad, intentando mantener a toda costa la juventud perdida. Mientras que Jess, divorciada y con una hija, con un trabajo de medio tiempo, cree que lo natural es mucho mejor. A partir de ahí, la historia se diluye, transformándose en una trama estúpida en la que abundan los tópicos, las situaciones previsibles y algunos giros humorísticos que, por lo menos consiguen hacer que sonrías. Pero, con todo, el desenlace es de los "happy ending". Todos somos felices, nos sentimos guapos y, encima, somos ricos ¿qué más queremos?

    En definitiva, Los diarios del botox es mero entretenimiento prescindible, que solo sirve para aligerar la carga mental, aunque sea a costa de matar una o dos neuronas en el proceso.

  • Carous

    It was a okay book. I like Jess very much and although I enjoy her match, I thought i was very quick how things turn out.

    Lucy is a excellent friend, but not a good wife, woman and mother. Couldnt like her at all.

    I really like to read about forty women and how they are doing, but after watching Grace and Frankie I realized that thats no biggie turn 40. Life starts to get hard at 70.

  • AJ

    Boring.
    2/10


    SPOILERS
    SPOILERS
    SPOILERS BELOW
    SPOILERS

    Two friends, one is married, has an affair. Her husband leaves her. The other is single and her ex comes back into the picture and dumps her promptly after. The married one gets back with husband after finding herself. Unmarried starts dating wealthy benefactor at the charity she’s chairing.

  • TessKio

    A book that makes me believe that book reviews, found on the back of books, are written by either suck ups or hostages wanting to be on the authors good side.

    I read this on a transatlantic flight and it made the flight feel longer.

  • Laura

    It wasn't the best I read and it wasn't the worst. I was fortunate that it was a good beach read as it was light and fluffy and no thought required.
    The authors were going for funny which was successful in moments and not others.

  • Brittany

    Humorous

  • Rita Soto

    3.5

  • BarbaraW

    Ok so it’s chick lit but well done: funny, silly, serious but it all works. Nice light read.

  • Jaclyn Goodfellow-Olmsted

    Vacation read. Not my favorite. I was somewhat satisfied in the end.