Debbie Galant | Books

Set in the fictional subdivision of Galapagos Estates, Rattled is about what happens when soccer moms, animal rights activists, dishonest real estate developers and endangered species fight for ascendancy in the rapidly developing New Jersey suburbs. All Heather wants there is a nice house. Well, a nice house, upgraded amenities and the best possible teacher for her 8-year-old son Connor, the Marquis de Sade of the third grade. Enter a timber rattlesnake, and Heather’s world turns topsy-turvy. Rattled is the fictional debut of former New York Times Jersey columnist Debra Galant, now editor of Baristanet.com. Debra is working on her second novel.

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Click on any of the following reviews and interviews.

"The story gives voice to a colorful and engaging cast - all of whom possess qualities that are both loathsome and endearing."	Associated Press	Mar. 27, 2006
Click here to hear Debra's interview on WBGO Journal. (Real Player required)	WBGO Jazz Newark, NJ	Mar. 24, 2006
"Galant is a gifted storyteller, and she succeeds in making Rattled a lighthearted jab at the modern well-to-do."	Rocky Mountain News	Mar. 17, 2006
"Many have made suburban New Jersey the butt of jokes, but few have done so with insight to equal Galant's."	People Magazine	Mar. 13, 2006
"Galant skewers everything that's awful about exurbia."	Washington Post	Mar. 12, 2006
Click here to hear Debra's interview on the Brian Lehrer Show (Real Player required)	The Brian Lehrer Show	Mar. 10, 2006
Click here to hear Debra's interview on Writer's Roundtable (World Talk Radio)	Writer's Roundtable	Mar. 8, 2006
"Put together with nothing less than the magnificent engineering of an entertainment by Carl Hiaasen."	Daily Blague	Mar. 7, 2006
"Galant's modern-day fable is equal parts object lesson and comedy of manners. Each page is injected with just the right cocktail of venom and humor."	Star-Ledger	Mar. 5, 2006
"'Rattled' could be characterized as ... a tale of manners, but the real fun is that no one seems to have any."	Daily News	Mar. 5, 2006
"Will strike a chord with anyone who has ever done PTA time."	More Magazine	Mar, 2006
Galant keeps the balls in the air with humor and efficiency, creating an intricate Tom Wolfe-lite portrait of suburbia that seems right in many ways.	New York Times	Feb. 26, 2006
Click here to hear Debra's interview on Newsweek on Air.	Newsweek on Air	Feb. 26, 2006
"Heather Peters, the protagonist, is written so vividly that one has an immediate picture ... readers may well recognize themselves."	Blogcritics.org	Feb. 25, 2006
"If we've learned anything from the ... back-stabbing Desperate Housewives, it's that there's no shortage of drama in the suburbs."	Entertainment Weekly	Feb. 24, 2006
"So well constructed that P.G. Wodehouse, the master of madcap humor, might approve."	USA TODAY	Feb. 23, 2006
"With tongue firmly in cheek, Galant nails the quirky tensions of suburban sprawl and maternal warfare."	Montclair Times	Feb. 23, 2006
"Ms. Galant's collision of runaway reptiles, corrupt builder, Class Mom named Heather and animal rights activists certainly makes for a Hiaasenesque scrimmage."	The New York Times Janet Maslin	Feb 20, 2006
"Rattled is wickedly funny. It is a small masterpiece of social satire that will have you laughing out loud."	The Kingston Observer	Feb 16, 2006
"Galant has written a sharp, wickedly amusing, up-to-the-minute satire."	The Boston Globe	Feb 12, 2006
“Galant is hilarious and right on in this venomous comedy about nature, nurture, and the ecology of greed.”	Booklistonline	Dec, 2005
“Galant, whose witty and topical social commentary has graced the pages of the New York Times, nails it with her first novel.”	Library Journal.com	Nov, 2005
“Galant skewers the shallow, striving, McMansion-dwelling suburbanites in this engaging satire.”	Publishers Weekly	Nov, 2005
“Snakes, super-moms and nervous social climbers star in this broad satire of the nouveau riche suburbs of New Jersey…Entertaining comedic debut with a mild sting.”	Kirkus Reviews	Nov, 2005