In her book, The Man Plan, author Whitney Casey attempts to help single women devise a plan with which to lure and eventually capture the heart of a man. In my personal opinion, however, Casey seems to have taken the wrong direction in this endeavor. While I do agree that having a plan is a very important part of finding success in the dating world, I feel that through her book, Casey has encouraged women to focus entirely too much on trivial things of a largely superficial nature that will more than likely attract a man for all the wrong reasons, if at all.

I found myself appalled with Casey’s perspective from the moment I read the introduction to the book, wherein she indicates that women should approach the process of finding a man in much the same way that they would approach the process of applying for a new job. She basically suggests that women mold themselves in ways that will make them appear to be a “perfect fit” for the man that they are after. To me, this implies that women should forsake who they really are and instead put on a show in a desperate attempt to attract a man.

The guidance offered in the pages that follow becomes even more disturbing as Casey continues to dispense chapter after chapter of dangerously shallow advice that if taken seriously, could lead some women to abandon their true selves while they fabricate the artificial persona that Casey implies men are most attracted to. Casey claims to have arrived at these conclusions about what men really want based on her interviews with men of various backgrounds.

The majority of the book’s chapters offer a series of contrived tips about things like which clothing and accessories to wear or to avoid, what kind of lingerie and hosiery appeals most to men, what kind of shoes men prefer their women to wear, how to manage body hair, what kind of perfume to use, or which subjects women need to be (or at least pretend to be) knowledgeable about in order to impress men. Casey suggests that men tend to view women wearing black clothing as “desperate or boring” and that women should also avoid wearing any accessories that make too much noise since this can also be a turn off to men. In another section of the book, Casey claims that women should avoid getting French manicures on their nails since men supposedly associate this with “stripper nails”. In chapter fifteen, Casey provides women with a list of ten things that men don’t want and another list of things that men do want to see in their women’s house, most of which are silly tips like avoiding frilly window treatments and opting instead for a television in the bathroom.

The rest of the book contains only more of the same contrived advice. Unfortunately, I cannot say that I found anything particularly valuable, insightful, or even entertaining about this book. In my opinion, women would be better off devising a dating plan that allows them to showcase what they are really made of rather than one that makes them appear to be something they’re not. Rather than waste their valuable time, energy, and money on reading The Man Plan, I would recommend that women focus more on being themselves and trying to find a man who can appreciate that sincerity.