Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead

By Saralee Rosenberg

In Mindy's yoga-obsessed, thirty-is-the-new-wife neighborhood, every day is a battle between Dunkin' Donuts, her jaws-of-life jeans, and Beth Diamond, the self-absorbed sancti-mommy next door who looks sixteen from the back. So much for sharing the chores, the stores, and the occasional mischief to rival Wisteria Lane.

It's another day, another dilemma until Beth's marriage becomes fodder on Facebook. Suddenly the Ivy League blonde needs to be “friended,” and Mindy is the last mom standing. Together they take on hormones and hunger, family feuds and fidelity, and a harrowing journey that spills the truth about an unplanned pregnancy and a seventy-year-old miracle that altered their fates forever.

Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead is a hilarious, stirring romp over fences and defenses that begs the question, what did you do to deserve living next door to a crazy woman? Sometimes it's worth finding out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061842986

Saralee Rosenberg

Saralee Rosenberg is the author of A Little Help from Above, Claire Voyant, and Fate and Ms. Fortune. She lives on Long Island (where else?) with her husband and three children.

Reviews for Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead

[mwalburn2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great story and great ending. I almost stopped reading in the beginning though because the story seemed to go all over the place.

[syossetreaders · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hilarious. Laughed out loud the whole time. We all know a neighbor we can put right in this book!

[cdianek · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is charming enough, it just felt a little...off. The story is great, it's a nice study in neighbor relations, how easy a rumor can spin out of control - note to self - make sure any computer conversation is with the intended person, not accidentally her children! But the dialogue felt off, a little twee. Not every marital conversation is that cutesy and humorous, regardless how good the marriage is. Mindy's family chaos felt real, as did the pristine sterility of Beth's. The humor is there, and the author has a very good touch with it. I didn't even mind the shared history, although how convenient was that? I did like how significant that history became to all of them. I did enjoy it, and will likely search out other books by the author.A small complaint, though. Editors! Watch your stuff! The word that means "crying" is "bawling" not "balling." This is one typo that utterly throws me completely out of the story. I'll accept that I'm two steps away from the gutter, but to read that a 13 year old is "in her room, balling her eyes out" is not...pleasant. It's used correctly later in the book, so I know the editor knows its usage, but it's still disturbing.

[24girl_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm sure there are a few people out there that have had experiences with a neighbor who makes you want to put a note in their mailbox that says, "Dear neighbor, drop dead." This is exactly what Mindy Sherman did to her horribly mean neighbor Beth Diamond. Mindy is an average overweight wife and mom of three who juggles work, carpooling the kids and the stress of just barely managing not to drown in debt while ducking and dodging mean comments from Beth. Beth and her husband seemingly have it all; new cars, a huge immaculate house and two perfect kids. But all is not as it seems... Beth's marriage is about to fall apart at the seams and she has no real friends to turn to. Suddenly she's apologizing for treating Mindy bad in the past and looking for a shoulder to cry on. Meanwhile Mindy's own family drama is escalating and they've just learned that Mindy's stepson is coming for a visit which eventually turns into a permanent stay. With everything flipping upside down around her, Mindy channels Oprah and Dr. Phil to help make everything right again. Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead is a funny madcap look into the life of a soccer-mom. Just when you think things might be looking up for Mindy, Beth and their families another bad thing happens and you can't help but laugh. I enjoyed reading this book but the ending was just too "storybook" for me to rate it higher. It’s a quick two/three day read that I do recommend reading if you have the chance.

[permaswooned · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The redeeming thing about this book for me is that the author has a wonderful sense of humor. It did remind me of some of the time I spent living in NY, although I wasn't a Mom then. The disasters pile on top of each other in dizzying fashion. I'm not sure I could have forgiven Beth for being a major bitch to me and my children for several years. I'm not fond of the "waving a magic wang" form of resolution....most people don't find unclaimed insurance policies and zillions of shares of Starbuck's stock to suddenly solve all their problems.

[nitestar_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I first saw the title of this book, I wasn't sure what to think? Was this a chick lit murder mystery? a regular chick lit, some kind of paranormal? (I was praying very hard that it was NOT a paranormal as I am not a big fan).What I actually got with Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead, written by Saralee Rosenberg was an absolutely hilarious semi-chick lit book.I am not a fan of Desperate Housewives, but I am sure the producers of that show could have taken a few tips from the yoga-loving, catty and delicious Beth. I mean, this one is a seriously scary woman! and newly arrived wife and mom Mindy gets to be her next door neighbor.While Mindy has illusions of close relationships and shared chummy fat-filled lunches with Beth, it becomes apparent very quickly that Mindy is completely out of her element and that she and Beth have nothing in common. However, as fate often does, it has a plan all its own. Somehow Mindy will become Beth's ONLY friend - so you can imagine the interaction between these two.The biggest strength in this book is the humor. I loved, loved the fact that Rosenberg did not turn her main characters into boring, preachy, garden variety moms. There is wonderful interaction between Mindy and her daughters (the scene where Mindy's eldest daughter gets her period for the first time was both touching and laugh out loud). Mindy is the perfect opposite for Beth - as both learn life lessons as they go along.This is a touching book. The storyline felt real and the characters were perfectly written.This is a great book.

[readingrebecca · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was so much more than I anticipated. I picked it up thinking it was going to be brain candy chick lit. Was I wrong!! This is a fantastic story about friendship, family, relationships, marriage, parenting, financial difficulties, attitude with a whole bunch of humor thrown in. The main character, Mindy, is an over-worked, under-appreciated mom who just keeps plugging along no matter what the situation is. To add to Mindy's already too full plate is the neighbor from hell, Beth, a self-absorbed, drop-dead gorgeous woman who appears to have everything. With all the humor are some tears. The sections about the Kindertransport during WW2 were fascinating. And when Mindy takes her stepson back to the neighborhood where he was born, I wished it would go on forever. The sign of a great book: I hated to see this book end! I'm still thinking about the characters and wondering what they're doing. ”

[judiratner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I may be one of the few people who did NOT pick up DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD because of the title! I picked it because of the A+ at the bottom right corner of the book, thinking it was like the Oprah stamp of approval... As I started reading, I felt like a ring-side spectator at a boxing match and couldn’t relate. I get along with my neighbors and it was hard to imagine why Mindy would take so much abuse from Beth. But soon fiction and real life intersected for me in the scene where Mindy is lost on a highway and thinks about her late father. When we are lost in life, there is no GPS. We have to dig down and find our own inner direction and notice things we have ignored. Mindy realized she had to get lost in order for her to find a better road and direction for her life. Saralee Rosenberg is a beautiful weaver of words, threading so many strands with humor and pain; love and hate, life and death; indulgence and sacrifice, creating a beautiful tapestry of what real life, blemishes and all, needs to truly reflect. Tears of sadness and joy are shed in the reading of this book, and in the end one realizes in life you need both. Ok.. so this book wasn't on Oprah’s list (yet), but it gets my 5-star rating. Buckle up and enjoy the ride… it is LIFE!

[linz33 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD is Saralee Rosenberg’s best book yet. The title of this book is what immediately drew me in, and the characters are what kept me reading. Even though I’m not a mother, and I don’t have any insane neighbors, I felt like I could really relate to Mindy, Beth, and their troubled families. The rivalry between the two neighbors is hilarious, and filled with vicious insults that I can’t wait to try out in real life (just kidding!). On a deeper level, a lot of the sentiments expressed by Saralee are really heartfelt, including a subplot about the Holocaust that really put the petty problems we complain about everyday into perspective. When I wasn’t laughing, I was crying, and when I wasn’t crying, I was frantically turning pages to find out what was going to happen next. This is book has everything, and it was pure entertainment from beginning to end. Anyone who is looking for an amazing book to read should run to their nearest bookstore and buy this book immediately!