The Boy Next Door - Meggin Cabot - read January/February 2003 - A/9

Mel Fuller is a gossip columnist for the secondary newspaper in New York City, the New York Journal. She wants to move on to hard news, but is having a hard time convincing her boss that she should be allowed to do this. She has just broken up with her boyfriend, star reporter Aaron Spender, because she found out that he cheated on her with another reporter while they were on location in Kabul. She also has a propensity for being late for work and the novel begins with her latest tardy. It turns out that she is late for work because her neighbor has been assaulted in her apartment and Mel, being a sweet "girl next door" type from the Midwest, feels it is her obligation to look out for her neighbor as well as her neighbor's pets. Eventually, she tracks down her neighbor's only living relative, one Max Friedlander, famous fashion photographer and he assures her that he will be there as soon as possible to take over the pets' care. What follows is hilarious and romantic - definitely a different sort of romance.

What a preciously cute novel! Written entirely in e-mail format, this romance cum mystery was a great read. Though it falls more into the classification of "beach book" rather than "great literature", there is no reason that it can't be read and enjoyed! Due to the e-mail format of the book, there are several first-person narrators. It is neat to get a feel for what is happening from several individual perspectives. Instead of reading what is going on "as it happens", the reader hears about things before and after they happen.

Though the book could have benefited from a bit more proof-reading, the mistakes aren't enough to take away from the readers' enjoyment. Mel's refreshingly non-whiny personality is a stark contrast to some of the usual heroines of chick-lit. Way to go Meggin - you have written a real winner here!

Jinx - Margaret Wild - read February 2003 - A/9

Jen is a teenager living in Sydney, Australia and is responsible and reliable according to her school and dull, boring and safe according to her. She wants to have smoked (cigarettes and joints), got drunk and had sex by the time she is 18. She manages to accomplish two of the three during the course of this novel. Unfortunately, boys she loves have a tendency to wind up dead. She hears kids at school referring to her as "Jinx" and she takes this name for herself and her whole personality changes. The rest of the novel is an account of her returning to being Jen again.

I am not sure if this is the first novel I've read written in verse format or not, but it certainly will not be the last. I generally object to flowery language and excessive description in novels and the verse format forces authors to be economical with their language. This is a book that can be read in two hours, yet Ms. Wild manages to get more across in this limited amount of time than do most authors in a book that takes a few days to read.

Fortress - Gabrielle Lord - read February 2003 - B/6

Sally Jones is a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Sunny Flat, a small town in New South Wales, Australia. She teaches a class of 12 students, ranging in age from kindergarten to around the 10th grade level. One day in May, her classroom is invaded by four men wearing character masks who kidnap her and her students and intend to hold them for ransom. Their plans are thrown into confusion when Sally and her students take their fate into their own hands.

First published in 1980 and also Gabrielle Lord's first novel, this book reads like a true crime novel. I found myself reading ahead to make sure of what was going to happen next and prevent too much suspense from building up (I can't take it!). I enjoyed this novel a bit, but I don't know if I will be reading more by Ms. Lord as I am not a huge fan of crime novels.

The Escape Artist - Diane Chamberlain - read February 2003 - B/6

Susanna Miller has just lost custody of her son, Tyler, to her ex-husband and his new wife (the other woman). Unwilling to give up taking care of her son, she runs off with him in the middle of the night, leaving behind a brokenhearted lover, Linc, her son's distressed stepmother, Peggy, and an indifferent ex-husband, Jim. She begins to make herself a new life in Annapolis, MD, light-years away from her former home in Boulder, CO. Yet she feels as though her whole existence is temporary and is constantly looking over her shoulder. Enter artist Adam Soria and his sister Jessie. Adam's wife and two children were killed seven months prior in a drunk driving accident. He and Jessie have been overcome by grief ever since, but with the introduction of Susanna (now known as Kim) and Tyler (now known as Cody) into their lives, things seem to be looking up.

Yet strange things are happening. Two bombings have occurred in Annapolis and Kim's new computer had a file on it with a list of the locations where the bombings occurred as well as more locations for apparent bombings-to-be. She returns from a trip only to find that her apartment has been broken into and her computer left on. Her brakes are tampered with. Obviously, someone knows Kim has the file.

Though this book contains many elements of romance, there is lots of suspense to flesh out the plot. It took me a while to get started, but then once I was into the book, the pages seemed to turn themselves. I am not sure if I will read more by Ms. Chamberlain or not because I was over halfway through the book before I was sure I would finish it. However, it was a good read.

Cocktails for Three - Madeleine Wickham - read February 2003 - B+/7

Madeleine Wickham proves once again that she is more than just a "chick lit" author. Though her novels are short, they do pack a punch and try to teach a little life lesson besides.

Candice, Maggie and Roxanne are best friends who work at the Londoner, a monthly magazine in - where else? - London, and meet on the first of the month for cocktails at the Manhattan Bar. This particular month finds Maggie ready to give birth, Roxanne still with her married with children boyfriend and Candice having just broken up with her co-worker boyfriend, Justin. Candice recognizes their waitress as a girl she was at school with and says her name, just as she realizes that her recognition was probably best kept to herself as the waitress, Heather Trelawney, had to leave school when her family lost all their money due to Candice's swindling father. It strikes good-hearted Candice that she can try and make amends to Heather by helping her get a job at the magazine. Unfortunately, her good deeds don't stop there and as the saying goes, "No good deed goes unpunished."

Follow these friends through the ups and downs of motherhood, affairs, death and evil machinations and enjoy every page of it.

A Promising Man (and about time, too!) - Elizabeth Young - read February 2003 - A/9

I read Elizabeth Young's first novel Asking for Trouble and loved it, so I thought I would try this one! Harriett Grey is just your average London girl, though she has inherited half a house in Putney which she is living in with her best friends Sally & Jacko, Sally's infant son Tom, & Frieda, a Swedish girl who doesn't play a large part in the novel. The story begins with Harriett's friend Rosie telling her that Nina, an acquaintance they were at school with and hated because she was Little Miss Perfect and liked to lord it over them, has just been dumped by her boyfriend and she's put a private detective onto him because she just knows there's another woman. Harriett tells Rosie that she is the other woman and then the story goes into flashback mode to tell the story of how Harriett came to steal Nina's boyfriend! Or did she?

This is not your average chick lit novel! Oh sure, the basic story line is there, but Ms. Young does such an excellent job of fleshing out the story and creating unique and intriguing characters that you can forgive the fact that there's not a huge twist on the usual plot. Ms. Young does an excellent job on her secondary characters - giving side plots that are almost as interesting as the main plot! Way to go and can't wait for the next one!

The Great Pretender - Millenia Black - read February 2003 - B/6

Reginald Brooks is a big-shot with a marketing company who spends two weeks in Orlando and then two weeks in Miami - ostensibly for his job. The real reason is that he has two families. Neither one knows about the other. The first family with the wife he's married to, Tracy, lives in Miami. The second family, with his mistress Renee, lives in Orlando. As the story begins, Reggie has decided to come back to Miami full-time and give up his second family in Orlando. The book goes on to unfold multiple secrets that all come unraveled when Reggie decides to come clean.

When I first started reading this book, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not. There is lots of gratuitous sex and quite a bit of cursing - not what I usually gravitate towards. But I perservered and I am glad that I finished the book. The ending (part 3) was worth waiting for. I didn't know what was going to happen and the ending totally blew my mind. Now I'm waiting on a sequel!

Caught in the Middle - Gayle Roper - read February 2003 - B/6

This was a good introduction to an inspirational mystery series of which I will be reading more. Merrileigh "Merry" Kramer is new to Amhearst, PA and has been working for The News, the local newspaper for just about three months when she finds a body in her car trunk. Of course, she must write a story on this and so she does. She ALSO has to write a puff piece on a local artist, Curtis Carlyle, whose show is opening the next evening. She and Curt hit it off rather well and she runs into him again the next night when they wind up being shot at. Various mishaps continue to occur until, of course, Merry stumbles onto the murderer.

One of the major things I enjoyed about this story was the humor. It was a unique style of humor that occasionally made me laugh out loud. I didn't feel as though I was being pandered to, which was nice. The humor was truly humorous. Also, this is definitely a Christian mystery, but I didn't feel as though I was beaten over the head with religion. Merry is just your average twenty-something with relationship issues, flaws, etc. She does rely on God, but she also makes mistakes - and not the HUGE mistakes that you sometimes find in Christian novels - just your average, everyday kinds of stupid things people do. I really appreciated that!

I welcome this series debut and will be reading the others in the series.

Chloe - Freya North - attempted February 2003 - DNFY

This is the second of Ms. North's novels, but the first I have read. I have had this and several of her others in my TBR stack for ages, but am just getting around to this one since someone wants to trade for it on BookCrossing!

I think I will attempt this novel again at a later date. I was wanting more of a mindless read and this one appears to require more concentration than I was prepared to give it.

Girls' Poker Night - Jill A. Davis - read February 2003 - A+/10

Yaay! Okay, it's just February, but this book is the best book I've read this year. Terrific, wonderful, witty, brainy, smart... I could go on and on with the adjectives. I picked it up wanting a mindless read, but I got a smart woman with a great voice, of whose work I want to read more.

Ruby Capote is a columnist for a Boston newspaper who has a "safe" 3-year relationship with Doug. However, she wants more. She decides, knowing that "happiness is not for cowards", to take a risk and send her resume to The New York News. This paper doesn't currently have a columnist like her, so she reasons that no one will even have to get fired for her to get hired. After some weeks with no response from the News, she decides to get creative. This pays off and she's soon on her way to New York.

Girls' Poker Night is about taking risks and being open to love. The title refers to a ritual that Ruby had in college and resumes when she moves to New York - playing poker with her girlfriends, whose stories are subplots of the novel. I collected multiple quotes from the book - something I don't normally do. I anxiously await Ms. Davis' next novel!

Depth Takes a Holiday: Essays from Lesser Los Angeles - Sandra Tsing Loh - read February 2003 - B/6

This book is a collection of essays from Ms. Loh, a sometime NPR commentator and freelance writer. While some of them just weren't my cup of tea - for instance we don't even HAVE Ikea in Atlanta - some of them were dead funny. I thoroughly enjoyed her essay on how she accidentally had cybersex - I laughed out loud - as well as her acerbic commentary on political correctness and multiculturalism. I also enjoyed the pathetically tragic essay on the California Riviera.

I've already purchased a copy of her novel If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home By Now and plan to read it soon.

A Little Help From Above - Saralee Rosenberg - read February 2003 - B/6

Shelby Lazarus has it all - a great career as a columnist for the Chicago Trib, a wonderful condo on Lake Shore Drive and independence. She's never been married and has no children. Sure, she doesn't speak to her family, hasn't for two years, and the Great Love of her Life hasn't been heard from since they were both 10. Obviously, Shelby's a bit on the touchy side.

So when her estranged sister Lauren calls early one morning to let Shelby know her father and step-mother/aunt (don't ask) have been run over by an errant landscaper and she must come home to Long Island immediately, needless to say she is less than thrilled.

Things get worse before they get better in this bizarre tale of family, long-lost love and karma (yeah - Shelby's long-dead mother plays a major role from her perspective looking down on it all), but of course it all works out in the end.

The first part of this novel seemed like it might have been edited by a different person than the rest of the novel. It's not very coherent and things seem to happen behind the reader's back leaving you re-reading sections a couple of times to make sure you got what happened. But once you get through the first part, it's smooth sailing. I was a bit put off by all the talk of karma and astrology and what-have-you, but if you can brush that aside, this is a cute read.

Coraline - Neil Gaiman - read February 2003 - B+/7

Coraline Jones has recently moved into a new flat with her parents. Above her lives a "crazy old man" who is training a mice circus and below her live two former theatre stars, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible who have several small dogs and read tea leaves. Coraline is dealing with summer boredom by exploring her new home as her parents are busy with their own lives during the day. One day, she finds a door in the parlor (saved for "best" as her mother says) that goes nowhere - a brick wall is all that faces her when her mother unlocks the door. Her mother explains that there is an empty flat on the other side that has yet to be let. Meantime, Coraline visits with the neighbors, all of whom warn her of impending danger. One day she discovers that the door in the parlor is unlocked and instead of the brick wall that had been there before, there is a corridor - so she goes exploring and discovers the danger of which the neighbors spoke.

Gaiman seems to be attempting to teach a moral lesson here and it is well received. "Be careful what you wish for" is certainly part of it, but it runs even deeper than that. Despite some overtly obvious clues in the story, it is still suspeseful. I found it to be well-written and a nice addition to the canon of children's fantasy.

The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner) - Jill Conner Browne - read February 2003 - B/6

Well, much as I hate to say it, this book just did not appeal to me as the first two SPQ books did. I LOVED all the anecdotes and stories about her mom, The Cutest Boy in the World and the rest of her family and friends, but unfortunately the "Cookbook" in the title is apt. I'd say 2/3 of the book is devoted to recipes. And unfortunately, most of the recipes are for foods that would cause you to gain 5 lbs just by looking at them, let alone eating them. Nevertheless, I am inclined to try some of them, just because they are so darned strange, yet strangely wonderful - a chocolate cake where one of the main ingredients is Coca-Cola? Must try, just for the novelty of it!

The Red Tent - Anita Diamant - read February 2003 - A/9

The Red Tent is a fictionalized account of Dinah, the only daughter of Leah and Jacob in the Bible. Genesis 34 tells her story, but Dinah says that story does not portray the exact picture of what happen. The indication in Genesis 34 is that Dinah was raped by a prince of Shechem and then the king offered a bride-price for her to her father. However, her brothers were insulted and felt that their sister had been treated as a whore, so they demanded that the prince, the king and all the men in Shechem should be circumsised in order for the prince to be able to take Dinah for his bride. The king agreed to this, but two days after the city's circumcision, Dinah's brothers came in and killed all the men in the city. Dinah's story ends there in the Bible. The Red Tent begins with Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah as young girls/women, at the time Jacob comes to their camp to find a wife. It continues through the marriages, the births of the children and then Dinah begins to tell her own story. I won't go into detail about what happens in the palace with the prince, because that would spoil the story. However, once the prince has died, Dinah flees her family and travels to Egypt, where she lives out the rest of her life.

In this retelling, readers will recognize scenes from Genesis, such as Leah becoming Jacob's bride ahead of Rachel, Jacob's struggle at the river Jabbok and Joseph's becoming a ruler in Egypt. However, The Red Tent tells these stories in a slightly different way. They are all told from Dinah's perspective or from her mothers' perspective. Having never really given much thought to the story of Dinah, I found this book quite entertaining and VERY thought-provoking. Re-reading Genesis 34, I found that Dinah's account of her time in the palace in Shechem does not contradict the Bible. So, read the story with a thoughtful mind and heart.

Ms. Diamant has a remarkable way of making the past come to life and I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and her characters.

A Cat - Leonard Michaels - read February 2003 - B+/7

This was a precious book that I bought to go with our small What Dogs Do coffee table book. I decided to read it because it was so short and I wound up really enjoying it and even reading one of the observations out loud to my husband because it reminded me so much of our cat! This is not a novel or a wonderful work of literature, but the thoughts and observations about all things feline are wonderfully on the mark! Anyone who shares life with a cat will be sure to appreciate this cute little book.

Good in Bed - Jennifer Weiner - listened to February 2003 - A-/8

Cannie Shapiro's boyfriend has done the unthinkable. He's written about her in a national women's magazine, Moxie and what's worse, he referred to her as "a larger woman" and called her "Lewinsky-esque". Cannie knows she's not petite, but she really didn't care to see it in print. And what's worse, when he wrote the article, she thought they were "taking a break", not "broken up". (I thought about Ross and Rachel when I heard this part!) Needless to say, they do break up after the fact, but unfortunately, Cannie comes to realize that Bruce (her ex) really understood her after all and she begins to wish they had not broken up.

I can't reveal more or I will be giving away information that will spoil the plot, but suffice it to say that this is not a typical chick-lit novel. Some much deeper themes are dealt with here and the romance is not the core of the novel. You will sympathize with Cannie and cheer for her and you will also wish she'd quit being such an idiot! One thing about this novel that I didn't like is that there is a sub-plot that seems very important, but it's just sort of left by the wayside as the novel comes to its end. However, I do recommend this novel and will be reading more by Ms. Weiner!