The Continuity Girl    by Leah McLaren Order:  USA  Can 5 Spot, 2007 (2007) Softcover Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Rheta Van Winkle Meredith Moore has an interesting job in the movie making industry. As a continuity supervisor she is responsible for making sure the viewer of a movie will not be jarred by the inconsistency of details in that movie. If an actor is drinking wine in a scene, he has to have the same level of wine in his glass in each take. He has to be using the same hand to pick up the glass. If he doesn't, the final film will look strange to the viewer. Her job is important and she works closely with the director, taking copious notes to keep everything working properly. She likes her job and is happy with her life until it suddenly hits her that she's 35 years old, when she's told by a doctor that if she wants to have children, she shouldn't waste any more time. Meredith has no steady boyfriend, so she decides to become a sperm bandit. She'll find a suitable man, entice him into spending a few nights with her, and drop him when she achieves her goal. Once she makes up her mind that she wants a baby, that goal becomes her primary interest. She finds a new job in London, far from her home in Toronto. She moves in with her mother, makes new friends, and finagles a job for her best friend on the same movie set that she's working on. Of course things don't go exactly as Meredith plans. Her attempts at seduction are funny and her life becomes truly bizarre as she goes from one job to another. She also attempts to reconcile with her mother, and tries to find out the facts about her own father as well as finding a father for her yet-to-be conceived child. She's a delightful character, likeable, serious, easily led astray, yet wanting to do the right thing. She's surrounded by people who would not be described as ordinary. Her mother, her friends, and the other people involved in the movies she works on are all a bit odd, but well-drawn, believable characters, nevertheless. I really enjoyed this romp of a novel with Meredith and her friends. Knowing nothing about making movies, I was interested in her job and the nitty-gritty of how to make a film. There were just enough twists and turns in the plot to keep me wondering how everything would turn out, and the happy ending that I was pretty sure I could expect turned out nicely. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews