What do readers think of Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon? Write your own review.

I felt connected to Alice right away. I also am in my mid-forties and reflecting on my life thus far. I loved the non-traditional format of the book. I loved the characters in the book and Alice's honesty and frankness as she examined her life. I had a suspicion of the ending early on in the book, but it did not keep me from enjoying it!

I really enjoyed reading this book - I devoured it in a day and immediately handed it off to my best reading buddy.
Gideon's writing is relevant, fun, and where she could have very easily taken the low road in a number of places, she takes the high road every time - I was impressed by that.
Alice is a very well-crafted character - someone that you like, are frustrated with, roll your eyes at, laugh at, and root for.
However, there were some slight annoyances - like I figured out the 'mystery' in the first few chapters thanks to two little words. (Was that intentional?) Also, I ultimately really liked the ending, but feel like the reaction of William didn't really ring true.
However, it will make you think about your relationships, communication style, and the use of electronics in your life.

I needed a novel for a bit of an escape from the stress in my life when Wife 22 arrived. It was just what I needed. Melanie Gideon brings us into Alice Buckle's household where we get to see the lives of a long married couple and their two teenage kids. Alice is a bit bored with her life and decides to engage in a marriage survey that she receives via email. That's when we learn even more about this family and what goes on in a 40-something woman's mind when let to wander. I really enjoyed the story although it might have been a little predictable in parts. Fun and thoughtful read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of a marriage, friendship, and parenthood told through the tools of modern technology. As the “wife” answers questions from an online marriage survey, readers who have been married at least 15 years will be able to relate to her revealing answers whether the answer is a short, direct answer or a lengthy, sometimes rambling answer. Her relationships with her father, children, and friends often explored via “twitter” or “e-mail” will be familiar to readers at the same stage of life. This was an engaging, easy to read book that I didn’t want to see end.

I really enjoyed this book. Yes, it is a bit of fluff, but such an enjoyable bit of fluff. I really enjoyed the way it was written in internet speak. It had facebook statuses, google searches, tweets, and facebook chats. It was romantic and had a lot of laughs. I especially enjoyed the gap between the generations. Alice the heroine was interesting and well written. It will be a very good beach read this summer.

This looked so interesting. How would taking part in a survey on marriage impact your marriage? The characters were sort of likeable. This is a family in transition where things are not always what was expected. Much like most marriages it has had it’s ups and downs. Alice has been so busy as a working mother she has lost touch with her husband. He has become a minor part of her life. Her concerns over her children kind of cast a shadow over everything in her life. Is her son gay? Is her daughter anorexic? Because she is focused on everything else she does not seem to notice her husband is kind of lost himself. When his job situation changes she begins to realize just how far they have drifted. In steps the survey. Randomly picked to take part in a survey on marriage she becomes Wife 22. Her answers give us insight into what brought her and her husband together in the first place and how years of marriage and children can change our views. When the person assigned to Wife 22 starts to step outside of the study the story began to become unbelievable. Overall I felt finishing this book was more a labor than a joy. .

I was looking forward to reading this book, but I found the characters shallow and unsympathetic and the premise unlikely. That a busy modern mother would take the time and emotional investment to engage in a prolonged online question-and-answer survey about her marriage and yet seem perfunctory in her actual everyday marriage did not endear her to me.
The ending was yet more contrived and incredible. Perhaps this a modern romance novel, but to me it lacked depth and meaning.

This book was defintely a quick read. Enjoyable and witty at times, far-fetched at others. Kept me interested but unfortunately, not dying for more. Great beach read!