Mother-In-Law from Hell & an Amish Murder

So after reading the two Jennifer Weiner books I decided to read yet another chic-lit book, which may have not been a good idea. But I had picked up The Other Woman at Target for pretty cheap. This is by Jane Green (author of Jemima J, Bookends and Mr. Maybe). Now I thought Jemima J was ok, but predictable. Bookends was far better, and I haven't read Mr. Maybe but Amy tells me it was bad.
The reason this book wasn't the best to read right after Little Earthquakes is because it is about a woman who struggles with her relationship with her mother-in-law -- or rather her husband's too close relationship with his mother. Little Earthquakes had a similar storyline for one of it's main characters.
This one was pretty predictable, but decently funny. I thought this might be pretty similar to the movie Monster-In-Law but that is more about the husband's mom thinking no one is good enough, this is about the mom thinking she has a right to butt in on every decision about them, their baby, and basically just spending too much time. And of course the ever popular story line of the husband never standing up to his mom, even when it means standing up for his wife. Overall it was typical, predictable chic-lit, but funny enough that I finished it.

So then I read another Jodi Picoult novel, Plain Truth, because I'd read 3 chic-lit's in a row I had to nurture my brain instead of rot it. This one was really interesting as a teenage Amish girl is accused of murdering her new born baby. Obviously it turns into a huge court case - as very rarely does an Amish person become accused of such horrendous acts. But this story focuses more on the struggle of the girl, Katie, deals with a court system (and world) that she is completely unfamilar with and the struggle of her attorney, Ellie, to figure out the truth.
I love Picoult novels because I always feel like I learn so much when reading them (which is why they're a good read in between chic-lit books). Most of this novel takes place in the town of Paradise Township (in Pennsylvania) where Katie lives with her family. The last third of the book is the actual court case -- and really where it becomes a book you can't put down. The ending is extremely surprising (so DO NOT read the very last page before you start -- just incase there are people out there like that). This is by far one of my favorite Picoult novels, but I do think I say that about them all :)