Head back to school with Kate Bennett, who is making a fresh start at law school in the Big Easy. After living together for several years, her boyfriend Graham recently left their relationship for a better-paying job in another state. Kate is determined to do well in law school. She forms a study group with some other older first-year law students, but school is one long stretch of exhaustion.

Kate's goal is to study hard enough and get high enough grades to be able to join the prestigious Tulane Law Review staff. Being successful in law school will give her the security she has been looking for ever since her parents died. Kate's plans are put to the test when a particularly sadistic professor seems to target her in class, even flagrantly marking her anonymous exam booklet. She can't handle any more distractions, but when Graham decides he wants her back, she tries to oblige and visit him over her break. As spring semester progresses, a new romance surfaces, and Kate's stress combines with the craziness of Mardi Gras to create chaos for everyone.

Whitney Gaskell delivers a vibrant story and memorable characters that will appeal to chick-lit and women's fiction readers. The author's love and knowledge of New Orleans are evident in her writing and particularly timely given the recent media focus there. Despite the popularity of the romantic comedy film Legally Blonde, this storyline about the first year of law school remains fresh yet familiar in the capable hands of Gaskell. She clearly remembers her own time in law school and writes in the rhythm of semesters, creating an imperfect realistic study group and perfectly capturing the overwhelming stress and relief of final exams. TESTING KATE is a testament to the remarkable skill of its author to turn a stressful situation like law school into a delightful novel.