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Cover of The whole package
Book details

The whole package

by Cynthia Ellingsen

Published 2011399 pagesISBN 978-0-4252-4134-9

"When you hit rock bottom... For lifelong friends Jackie, Cheryl, and Doris, life hasn't turned out according to plan. After living the life of a glamorous widow in Paris, Jackie is all out of money, and the only place left to go is home. Cheryl is at the top of her game both in and out of the boardroom, until her misplaced plans for a corporate takeover earn her a set of walking papers. And while Doris has Xanax to cure her depression, no pill can take away the pain of broken dreams. ...the only place to go is up. But after a drunken night sampling the delights at a strip club for women, the ladies stumble upon an ingenious idea. With Jackie's connections, Cheryl's business sense, and Doris's ambition, the ladies open up The Whole Package--the world's first restaurant staffed exclusively by very attractive men. Mixing business with pleasure can be risky, but for these three best friends, getting a little bit outrageous just might be what it takes to make their mark in the world."--

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.

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Full BookenDeX details

What the reading experience may hold

A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.

Themes to notice

Fiction

Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.

Content notes

Catalog signals suggest mental-health concerns. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.

These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.

Reading experience

Balanced tone · Steady pace

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Who it may suit

A good fit if…

Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.

At a glance

This book's DNA

A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.

ToneBalanced
LuminousDark

This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.

No plot details

Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc

A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.

Spoiler-free
12345
PeakRelative emotional intensity
The whole packageCynthia Ellingsen
Heightened4.2/5

This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.

Before you choose

A quick reading snapshot

Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.

Reading lengthA standard-length read399 pages in this edition
Publication eraModernFirst published or edition dated 2011
Primary categoryFictionExplore similar books below
ISBN-13
978-0-4252-4134-9
Language
English
Edition record
OL25016597M
BookenDeX editorial lens

A more thoughtful way into this book

This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.

Good to know

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Begin with its place in Fiction, then notice where the book resists that label.

Try this reading approach

Read for connection, not completion.

Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.

Three questions to carry with you

  1. What does the central character want, and what do they misunderstand about that desire?
  2. Which detail or relationship changes how you interpret the story?
  3. What feeling or question does the book leave with you after the plot moves on?

Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.