Right Before Your Eyes
by Ellen Shanman
List Price: $12.00
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0385340516
Publisher: Delta
Outspoken playwright Liza Weiler left Yale with everything she thought she needed to make her mark on the New York stage. So why, nearly a decade later, is she still waiting for her “real” life to finally begin? But like any great drama, Liza’s life only needs one good twist. And that’s what happens when she turns her ankle on the way out of a downtown nightspot and falls into the arms of a suspiciously gallant Wall Street prince and a practically perfect ER doc. Suddenly Liza not only has a couple of men in her life, but her play has fallen into the hands of a über-hip theater director. Now Liza’s about to discover how much mess she can make of a seemingly good thing…and how terrifying, slightly tragic, and utterly hilarious a little success can be.
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1. Who or what do you think is implied by the title Right Before Your Eyes?
2. Each chapter starts with a light-hearted and witty quote. What purpose does it serve?
3. The novel introduces three very different women in the Weiler family—Liza’s mother, her aunt, and herself. How do their differences show? What do you think the author intended by making them so different?
4. If you could sum up the lesson Liza learns in one sentence, what would it be? Who else gets taught a thing or two here?
5. All of the characters have a different impact on Liza (Dr. Tim, George, Parrot, Tabitha). Who has the most positive influence on Liza? Who hinders Liza’s success the most? If you could choose to have any of these characters in your life, who would it be, and why?
6. What role do you think Aunt Fran plays for Liza? Is she wrong to have waited so long to provide career assistance? How do Aunt Fran’s actions affect the story? Do you believe that she has an ulterior motive for bringing George and Liza together?
7. Liza spends months trying to make Dr. Tim the boyfriend of her dreams. What does she learn from spending so much time with him?
8. In the beginning of the novel Liza clearly says that Tabitha is one of the more irritating people her life, but then she chooses to work for her. Does Liza give Tabitha a fair and genuine chance at friendship?
9. In the beginning of the story Liza leaves her temp position. Does she handle the situation appropriately? Would you have left your only source of income to pursue your dream as she did?
10. Do you think Liza is honest with her friends and family, in regard to her love life, her career, etc.? How does her honesty affect her relationships? How does her attitude create tension with the people in her life?
11. Does Liza overreact to the changes made to her play by the director? How else could Liza have handled the situation?
12. Tim is a smart, successful Emergency Room doctor, while George is a charismatic, talented businessman. Both are eligible bachelors, but how are their characters different? How does Liza’s relationship with each of them differ and at what point does she realize who she wants to be with?
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"[A] genuinely amusing, simply excellent example of chick lit at its best."
—Booklist
