Twelve Rooms with a View (2009)

Possession is nine-tenths of the law - or is it? This story revolves around Tina, the youngest of three sisters, who is a cleaning lady and whose current address is a trailer park. Tina's mum, Olivia, has just passed away from a heart attack, and while standing around her mother's new home in the ground, Tina learns about her inheritance. She's been left a 12-room apartment overlooking Central Park. But other family members dispute her claim. So now Tina is stuck squatting in the apartment, battling against stepbrothers, sisters, lawyers and apartment residents including Frank the doorman and Len the anthropological botanist. Tina, feeling like the black sheep, does what she thinks will help her keep the apartment - befriending the members of the co-op committee. There she develops feelings for the chairman's son Vince, though her heart is also tugging in the direction of Peter, the stepbrother she has just discovered. Can Tina make up her mind about what she really wants and stop being walked over? And who will win Tina's heart - Vince the spoilt trust-fund baby or Peter the NYPD cop? This is a solid read that has you seeing stories from different occupants and shows when it comes to the crunch - money and status can play a huge role, especially in a luxury apartment building worth millions. (PP)

Three Girls and Their Brother (2008)

Teenage sisters Daria, Polly and Amelia Heller are the beautiful grand-daughters of an American literary critic. When famous photographer Herb Lang photographs them for New Yorker magazine, the girls are catapulted into It girl status. Amelia, only 14, is no longer able to attend high school, while oldest sister Daria is desperate to take advantage of this opportunity for fame and fortune. Under the guidance of pushy agent Collette, the girls are soon doing modelling shoots, attending star-studded events and being targeted by the paparazzi. But it is Amelia who soon becomes the focus of everyone's attention when she bites a middle-aged movie star who tries to manhandle her and lands the leading part in an off-Broadway play. With their protective brother Philip sent packing to live with their dad and their mother too busy drinking in their fame - and her alcohol, the girls have to learn to look out for each other. Each sibling takes a turn at the narration but am not convinced each voice was distinct enough.

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