The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin: When Joanna and her family move to Stepford, she quickly discovers that the women of the neighborhood are all quite boring: obsessed with housework and uninterested in pretty much anything else. I came into this already knowing the Big Secret, and could predict basically every single step in the plot, but it was still kind of fun. It was written in the 1970s, so the influence of the feminist movement of the time adds an extra dimension to the story. I found Joanna – as a woman, wife, and mother – to be written pretty believably, which is a refreshing change of pace for most male-penned science fiction. It’s not the most original premise, and could have easily been a short story, but as a novella it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It kept me entertained during a long plane ride, and that’s really all I expected of it.

Also posted on BookCrossing.