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BOOK REVIEW: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks be E Lockhart

I've loved all of E Lockhart's books, but I have to admit I was a bit afraid to read her latest, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, since a couple of friends whose opinions I respect really didn't like it at all. Well, I don't respect their opinions anymore*, since I loved it.

Frankie attends the exclusive boarding school that her father and sister (and father's father, etc.) attended before her. When she started there, she was in her sister's shadow, but now that her sister has left - and Frankie has experienced some physical "blooming" - things are looking up.

* only joking.

Frankie is thrilled when her long-time crush and star of the school, Matthew Livingston, suddenly notices her and they begin dating. She's not so thrilled when she realises that Matthew is lying to her in order to hang out and plan pranks with the all male secret society of which he's a member.

Frankie refuses to let Matthew and his friends underestimate her and so decides to carry out a few pranks of her own with startling results.

From the first page I loved this book. I loved the character of Frankie and her refusal to be patronised. I loved how she co-opted a boys' club and had them all under her control without them ever suspecting her. There are plenty of feminist characters in young adult fiction, but I find them to be more overtly feminist (yet not stridently so) in E Lockhart's books.

While I didn't love this as much as the Ruby Oliver books (like this one and this one - and there's another coming soon!) - the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds reminded me a bit too much of the Life and Death Brigade in Gilmore Girls and there's a running joke about language that I found a bit irritating - it's yet another addition to my brilliant YA bookshelf. If E Lockhart just wrote about nine more books a year, she could give Meg Cabot a run for her money!

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund

BOOK REVIEW: Sisterchicks Go Brit by Robin Jones Gunn

Reviewed by Jill Hart

It's official. I want to be a SisterChick when I grow up. I hope I might be so lucky. Robin Jones Gunn's SisterChick series is centered around the lives of two "midlife mamas", Elizabeth (Liz) and Kellie. The two friends have been through ups and downs together and know each other almost well enough to read the other's thoughts.

Sisterchicks Go Brit, the seventh book in the series, finds Liz and Kellie on their way to see Big Ben. How they end up traveling to the UK is a story in itself, but I'll leave that a mystery because what's best about the book is what's in the middle - the trip itself. The gals visit all of the places I'd like to go if I were cross the pond - the old haunts of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, the sights and sounds of London, shopping at Portabella Road in Knotting Hill. Ahhh, I could envision myself alongside them as they bopped from place to place. (And bop they did.)

Liz and Kellie have quite a journey. They are spectators at a village pancake race, taken on a whirlwind tour of British authors sites, and even end up in a hot air balloon. If that isn't enough, one of them manages to get herself pulled aside for questioning on The Underground.

I've read many of Gunn's other books, but I actually jumped into this series with this book. Even though I didn't have a lot of background on the characters, the book was enjoyable and held it's own. Although these mamas are middle-aged I still related to them and laughed with them along the way. I liked the book enough that I've already gone out and found myself a copy of the first book so that I can start from the beginning and experience life through the eyes of the two hilarious chicks. I almost forgot to mention, Gunn includes a bonus for her fans in the back of the book. She shares pictures and thoughts of her own trip to the UK as well as an excerpt from the Sisterchicks devotional, Take Flight.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try I Heart Bloomberg by Melody Carlson

BOOK REVIEW: Names My Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane

I remember reading a review of one of Lisa Jewell's books that described it as "emotionally intelligent" and that's what I kept thinking as I was reading Megan Crane's fourth book, Names My Sisters Call Me.

The story of three sisters - Norah, Raine and Courtney - I found it intelligent, emotional and wise, but that's not to suggest it's a serious read, it's also extremely entertaining and I found it hard to put down.

The book begins with the youngest, Courtney's, lovely boyfriend Lucas proposing. Thrilled, Courtney realises she wants her middle sister, Raine - who neither she nor the eldest, Norah, have seen since Raine disgraced herself at Norah's wedding - at her wedding.

So Courtney travels to San Francisco to reconcile with Raine. Of course, there's also the small fact that, before Raine ran away, Courtney was dating - and madly in love with - Raine's friend Matt, who went to San Francisco with her. Is it Raine Courtney wants to reconcile with - or is it Matt?

I've enjoyed each of Megan Crane's books more than the last and Names My Sisters Call Me was no exception. The relationships between the three sisters are perfectly drawn and emotional and infuriating in equal measure.

Fabulous.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

BRAND NEW BOOK NEWS: Postcards From Yo Momma

Blook news! Doree Shafrir and Jessica Grose have bagged a book deal based on their blog of mom emails, Postcards from Yo Momma.

Hyperion editor Gretchen Young bought the book at auction and is planning to market it as a Mother's Day gift book.

[Via Galleycat]

Related posts: Judging panel for Blooker Prize | From blog to book

BOOK REVIEW: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Like Amy I really enjoyed Stephenie Meyer's YA fantasy Twilight. New Moon is the follow up and it doesn't disappoint.

Bella Swan moved to rainy Forks to live with her dad. She fell in love with a vampire - Edward Cullens - who, luckily, is a 'good vampire' and has sworn off human blood. At the beginning of New Moon they are as in love as at the end of Twilight, but all that is about to change...

I really don't want to give any of the plot away - it's so brilliantly paced and inventive that I would hate to spoil it.

Still, I will say that New Moon is just as full of intrigue, adventure and heady, intense romance as Twilight. The wonderful character of Jacob Black is developed as he and Bella become best friends, and Meyer builds her world (a world in which mythical creatures live alongside us), layering it with more depth.

Yes, this is officially classed as a YA book - and it's (obviously) supernatural, but please don't let either of those facts put you off. This series (New Moon is followed by Eclipse) is just a good story, well told. Full stop.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try: The Accidental Vampire by Lynsay Sands

MOVIE NEWS: An Invisible Sign Of My Own

Aimee Bender's novel An Invisible Sign Of My Own is being adapted for the big screen and America Ferrera has signed on for the starring role.

The quirky story is about a twenty-year-old loner, Mona Gray, who as a child turned to maths for salvation after her father became ill. As an adult, Mona teaches the subject and still relies on numbers to keep her world safe and ordered. Will love change that forever?

[Via Hollywood Reporter]

Related posts: Movie news archives

BOOK REVIEW: Candy Girl by Diablo Cody

I had to read Candy Girl after watching and completely ADORING the movie Juno, the screenplay of which was written by Diablo Cody.

Candy Girl is subtitled "a year in the life of an unlikely stripper" and does exactly what it says on the tin. After moving to Minneapolis, Cody was working in an advertising agency and living with a musician she met on the internet. Bored at work and passing a strip club one day, she wonders what it would be like to strip. And so she volunteers for amateur night.

Cody finds her first experience of stripping both terrifying and exhilarating and soon she's stripping regularly. From stripping she moves on to lapdancing, poledancing and more, eventually working in the Dollhouse, a revolting-sounding peepshow.

Cody's writing is enormously honest and entertaining, but even a couple of weeks after finishing the book, I haven't been able to work out what Cody got out of stripping. She suggests that she did it to challenge and frighten herself, but I didn't find that reasoning entirely convincing.

As I read the book, I argued with myself about whether I was for or against stripping - vacillating between it being a valid way to earn a good living by taking advantage of men's perversions and being, you know, a misogynist and patriarchal disgrace. By the end of Candy Girl I was totally resolved that it's a blight on society and no right-thinking woman should do it willingly. But, of course, I might be wrong.

Oh and remember when I read Good Vibrations and said there was one section that made me sick to my stomach? Well there's a bit in Candy Girl that's (arguably) even worse.

So Candy Girl is absolutely not for the faint-hearted, but it's a thought-provoking and entertaining read.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Good Vibrations by Ayn Carrillo

BOOK NEWS: American Wife

I enjoyed Prep (although why it wasn't classed as YA chick lit was beyond me) and haven't read Curtis Sittenfeld's second novel The Man Of My Dreams, but I will certainly give American Wife a look.

It's out in September and is narrated by what sounds very much like a fictional version of Laura Bush. Alice Blackwell is married to a man who becomes president of America in 2000 -  even though his opponent receives more popular votes. 

Related posts: Curtis Sittenfeld - chick lit author? | If it's good it can't be chick lit

BOOK REVIEW: Fifteen Minutes of Shame by Lisa Daily

Lisa Daily is a relationships expert and columnist and Fifteen Minutes of Shame is her first novel. I was strangely put off by her day job since I assumed - incorrectly as it turned out - that Daily would simply transmit her nonfiction knowledge to a novel. In fact, Fifteen Minutes of Shame is fun, funny, gripping and moving.

Darby Vaughn - "America's favourite TV dating expert" - is happily married to Will, the love of her life and father to the other loves of her life - his two children from a previous marriage, Lilly and Aidan. Of  course, when I say Darby is happily married, what I mean is that she thought she was happily married but, as the book begins, we learn that Will is not so happy. In fact, Darby suspects that he's cheating and learns that she was right ... on national TV.

Humiliated, heartbroken and at risk of losing everything - not just her husband, but her kids, her house and her career - Darby retreats to stay with a friend and employs a divorce lawyer. A gorgeous divorce lawyer named, Holt. Yes, Holt.

Glossing over the name (Holt?), I loved Fifteen Minutes of Shame. I felt for Darby every second - her shock at Will's betrayal, her attempts to rebuild her life and career, and the pain of being separated from the children she loved, was raising and had come to think of as her own.

(The book raised a serious, and heartbreaking, point I'd never even thought of before - that of step-parents' rights. They don't have any, so you could feasibly spend years raising and loving children, split from their "natural" parent and not even have any right of visitation, let alone hope of any kind of custody.)

Some bits of the book didn't ring entirely true - I could have done without Darby's foray into reality show dating - but that was more than made up for by the character of Darby, who I felt like I knew. And then there's Holt - name aside, the man's a fox.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Marshmallows for Breakfast by Dorothy Koomson

Angels And Demons casting news

Remember we told you about the film adapation of Dan Brown's Angels And Demons?

Well, today the news is out that leading lady Ayelet Zurer (who?) is to be joined by the very lovely Ewan McGregor. He will play an insider at the Vatican who helps Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks).

[Via Empire]

Related posts: Bad Mother's Handbook casting news | Yet more Shopaholic casting

SPOTLIGHT: Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Susan Elizabeth Phillips has written historical romance, contemporary women's fiction and romantic comedy.

She received the Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006 and has won numerous other awards including Borders Best, the American Library Association Genre Fiction Award,and a clutch of RITAs.

However, according to Susan's blog, she started to write "completely by accident".

Susan left her high school teaching job when her first son was born to stay at home. Her best friend lived nearby and the two used to swap books and talk about what they liked and didn't like.

One day, for a laugh, they decided to write a book together. They submitted the first half to Dell and got an offer. Just like that! Susan says: "I never tell this story at writers' luncheons for  fear I'll have to duck flying french rolls."

The book was historical romance, titled The Copeland Bride and published under the pen name Justine Cole.

Afterwards, Claire decided to follow her own ambition of attending law school.  However, Susan had well and truly been bitten by the writing bug and she set about learning how to write a book on her own.

The result was published under her real name - Susan Elizabeth Phillips - and she hasn't looked back since.

Susan lives in Illinois with her husband Bill. She has two grown up sons and is a keen walker.

Bibliography:

Risen, Glory (1984)
Glitter Baby (1987)
Fancy Pants (1989)
Hot Shot (1991)
Honey Moon (1993)
It Had To Be You (1994)
Heaven, Texas (1995)
Kiss an Angel (1996)
Nobody's Baby But Mine (1997)
Dream a Little Dream (1998)
Lady Be Good (1999)
First Lady (2000)
Just Imagine (2001)
This Heart of Mine (2001)
Breathing Room (2002)
Ain't She Sweet? (2005)
Match Me if You Can (2005)
Natural Born Charmer (2007)

Related posts: Spotlight archives

BOOK Cover: Comfort Food

Kate Jacobs - author of The Friday Night Knitting Club - has a new book coming out in May (June in the UK). Okay, so we already told you this, but the UK book cover has been released and I thought it was worth commenting on.

The US version is arresting, individual, and, dare-I-say-it, literary-looking (if a little dark). Carry on over the cut for the UK version.

Well. Yet another beheaded woman. Are UK publishers so frightened of women that they only dare show bits of them?

And she's carrying a bag. Because women love bags, of course. Sometimes the world makes me sigh very deeply.

Related posts: Rate my book cover | US versus UK covers | Does a book cover matter?

BOOK REVIEW: Once Upon Stilettos by Shanna Swendson

I've wanted to read Shanna Swendson's Once Upon Stilettos for ages, but somehow hadn't got around to it. I finally managed to snuggle down with it over one of the recent rainy and miserable weekends and it brightened me up considerably!

The first book in the series, Enchanted Inc, sees innocent Texan, Katie, living in New York and learning that she is a magical immune - in other words she can see magical acts - but is unaffected by them, which sees her recruited by MSI, Magic, Spells and Illusions, Inc.

In Once Upon Stilettos, Katie's job (she's assistant to Merlin - yes, *that* Merlin) is going very well except it seems MSI may be harbouring a spy. She's got a crush on one of her colleagues, Owen, but she's actually dating another colleague, Ethan. She's put in charge of the Secret Santa as a team-building exercise. And then her parents decide to come to New York for a visit.

Katie's horrified when it seems her mother can see the magical happenings around them. Her mum can't also be an immune, can she? I say also, it seems that Katie's immunity might be on the wane, which couldn't happen at a worse time: how can Katie find the spy without revealing she's lost her immunity? And will she get it back? And, if not, will she be out of a job (and the chance to see Owen every day)?

I enjoyed this book every bit as much as the first in the series. They're so sweet-natured and such good fun. I certainly won't leave it so long before reading the next in the series, Damsel Under Stress.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Jinx by Meg Cabot

BOOK NEWS: I'm With Stupid

Written by Elaine Szewczyk, editor of Kirkus Reviews, I'm With Stupid sounds like an exuberant read.

Kas meets William while on safari in Africa and thinks he is the perfect man. Back home, she wonders if she'll ever hear from her holiday fling again... But when an email finally arrives, it isn't quite what she expects. Misunderstandings ensue, which lead (bizarrely) to William travelling to New York and moving in with Kas. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

The blurb on Amazon goes on:
Readers are along for the outrageous ride as Kas copes with her new roommate's eccentricities, including a preoccupation with the Psychic Friends Network and a passion for collecting Big Apple-themed souvenirs, and the realization that her dream man is a comic nightmare.

It sounds a little self-consciously wacky, but she's hooked me with the title...

Related posts: Meg Cabot title changes | Melissa Nathan Award for comedy romance

BOOK REVIEW: Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie

Strange Bedpersons is one of Jennifer Crusie's early books. It was published by the Harlequinn Temptation line back in 1994 and, as a category novel, it's shorter than her later stand-alone titles.

Nick Jamieson is the exact opposite of Tess Newhart. He's a straight-laced, conservative Republican lawyer and she's free-spirited, out-spoken and was brought up in a hippy commune.

After a short fling, the two are friends of a kind, and Tess agrees - as a favour and against her better instincts - to accompany Nick on a business trip.

It's a light romance, so you know exactly what you will be getting. Nick and Tess fall in love; getting to know each other properly and making compromises that let you know their happy ever after will last beyond the last page of the book.

It's funny and quick-witted with great characters. I loved Tess's best friend, Gina, and marvelled (once again) at how good Crusie is at creating charasmatic, memorable people.

Okay, so it's not got the depth of her later novels - and it's probably got the flimsiest plot that I've seen in a Crusie - but for a short, fun read, you'd be hard pushed to find better.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try: The Fortune Quilt by Lani Diane Rich

Jennifer Weiner podcast

Jennifer Weiner did an author event at the Free Library in Philadelphia early this month to promote Certain Girls.

For those of us who missed it, the library has very kindly made it available as a podcast. Woo-hoo! Jennifer's says (on her blog): "Download, and hear me talk about the Jew thing, balancing work and motherhood, and why you should never try to breast-feed in a sweater dress."

Related posts: Author interview: Jennifer Weiner | Top 10 chick lit books

PREVIEW REVIEW: Airhead by Meg Cabot

I was desperate to read Airhead, the first book in Meg Cabot's latest series (yes, another one!), after she said on her blog that when she told her husband what it was about he said, "Meg Cabot, this time you've gone too far." Apart from trying to get *my* husband to call me by my full name, I vowed not to rest until I'd read it.

And while my husband flat out refused to call me "Keris Stainton" at all times, he did shake his head in despair each time he caught me somewhere hiding from the world, reading Airhead and muttering "No way. No way!" and "Meg Cabot's so good. And also mad."

Now I'm determined not to give anything away, so I'm not going to tell you anything about the plot, other than what you can read on the back of the book: Em Watts is a tomboy and secretly in love with her best friend and gaming buddy, Christopher. Em's annoying younger sister, Frida, is a girlie girl who despairs of Em and idolises supermodel Nikki Howard. When Em is forced to accompany Frida to the opening of a new Stark Megastore where both Nikki Howard and hot British singer, Gabriel Luna, will be appearing, Em and Nikki's lives collide in the most startling way.

That's all I'm saying. Except that the idea behind Airhead is so audacious that I actually laughed out loud when I realised what it was.

Oh and I'll also say that I loved it. I loved the characters, the New York setting, and clearly I loved the plot. Cabot's writing is so apparently effortless and convincing that I would cheerfully accept anything she chose to write, no matter how far-fetched.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try Split by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja

BOOK REVIEW: Twilight

Reviewed by Amy Sheehan

Twilight is a captivating love story with a twist. Seventeen year old Bella Swan has to go and live with her dad in the small northern town of Forks, and needless to say she’s not exactly thrilled. But her view of the place quickly changes when she meets the beautiful and mysterious Edward Cullen.

Bella soon finds herself swept up in a thrilling mystery as she begins to uncover Edward’s incredible secret: he and his family are vampires! But not just any vampires - good vampires, who try to ignore their overwhelming urge to drink human blood and don’t hunt people. Only snag is, Bella is exactly Edward’s taste in, uhm, blood, and he faces a constant inner battle between wanting to protect her, and his overwhelming desire to sink his teeth into her neck. The plot thickens as Bella soon realises that she has fallen in love with him. But can it ever be safe to love a vampire?

I found myself utterly engrossed in this gorgeously romantic read; it’s a fine mix of romance and adventure, and actually reminded me a bit of the film Titanic, because what starts out as a beautifully tender story of forbidden love becomes, by the end, an exciting race for survival.

Edward is the most swoon-worthy hero I’ve encountered in a long time, and I was just as much in love with him as Bella was. Well, he is the perfect man - what with his supernatural looks, strength, speed and powers - but that all just adds to the fun. Other characters that fascinated me included most of Edward’s family - who all have their own individual histories and personalities - but especially Alice, who can see the future, and Rosalie, although we don’t see much of her.

Though technically a young adult book, this one’s not just for the teenage girls. Anyone with any romance in them will love it; it may be slightly mushy in places, but I personally loved it and finished the novel with a big soppy grin on my face. It’s romantic, surprisingly well-written, and what’s more, a page-turner: I was up late reading, dying to know what would happen.

Twilight is excellent as a stand-alone book (I was very satisfied with the ending), but readers like me who are desperate for more will be happy to know that the story continues in New Moon and Eclipse. If they’re this good, I for one can’t wait to read them.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try The Accidental Vampire by Lynsay Sands

BOOK REVIEW: Pretty Little Mistakes by Heather McElhatton

I was so keen to read this book after it was recommended by our readers on more than one occasion. Plus I loved the idea! A modern, chick lit, choose your own adventure? Who wouldn't love that? Well. I didn't. At all.

This is quite a difficult review to write because, while I thought the writing in Pretty Little Mistakes was wonderful, the situations totally believable and the achievement (150 possible endings!) phenomenal, I hated every single adventure I read.

Let me explain about the book a little bit, in case you haven't read it. It's written in the second person, which situates the reader as the main character. So it begins: "You're graduating. Rushing headlong into the unknown rest of your life.Your friends are drifting off in every direction." Etc. At first I thought this would make it difficult to get into, but it did the opposite, within pages I was totally involved.

The first choice is between going to college with your boyfriend and going travelling. Once I'd convinced myself that, since it was a book, I could do what I'd *like* to do (go travelling) rather than what I probably would have done in real life (college), I turned to the next section. Where, when I tell my boyfriend I'm not joining him, he "calls you a bitch and asks you who the hell you think you are and slaps you across the face." Okay. Not loving the boyfriend, but now I get to choose between California and Europe. I pick Europe.

Where, before long I'm basically a concubine for a gangster. Plus I've had a quick lesbian orgy and yet another asshole boyfriend.

I go back. I decide against going out with the gangster and pick another way. I'm a meth addict. And my boyfriend beats me up. Again.

Back to the beginning. I choose California. My car breaks down. I haven't got any money. I have sex with the mechanic. ("OK, OK, it's slutty, but nobody here knows you and what else are you supposed to do?")

I go back to the beginning. I'm killed by a terrorist bomb. Back. I'm raped and then murder my rapist. Back. I go travelling, become a drug addict and get murdered myself (shovel in the stomach ... ow).

By this point, I'm afraid to pick the book up. I don't even want to know what horrible "adventures" lie in store. I tell a friend about the book and she says perhaps it's intentional. Perhaps the idea behind it is that no matter what path you choose, life is shit and then you die.

I'm not a fan of this interpretation, but I do give her the book (which, weirdly, she's really keen to read).

Rating: 2/5 (one for the idea, one for the great writing)

Like this? Try something sweet and charming to soothe your nerves. Any Princess Diaries book would do.

BOOK COVER: Fearless Fourteen

While I may be moderately excited at the prospect of a new Stephanie Plum adventure (tempered by the hope that it is a return to form after the only-okay Lean Mean Thirteen), I am distinctly underwhelmed by this cover.

I sincerely hope this is a placeholder cover, not the one that will actually go to print and be released this summer. If not, I hope Janet Evanovich's publisher didn't pay very much for it...

Related posts: Did Janet Evanovich invent chick lit? | Perfectly Plum

BOOK NEWS: I Was Told There'd Be Cake

This debut collection of snarky essays by Sloane Crosley sounds very funny indeed. Titled I Was Told There'd Be Cake,  the essays have headers like The Pony Problem and Bring-Your-Machete-To-Work Day.

Crosley has been compared to David Sedaris, recommended by Meg Cabot and the cover is great. It was published at the beginning of the month and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.

Related posts: Non fiction archives

BOOK REVIEW: How I Write by Janet Evanovich and Ina Yalof

Since I love Janet Evanovich's books so much, it was only natural that I would want to read the guide she has written to how she actually *writes* them.

How I Write is basically a glorified collection of the writing FAQs gathered from Evanovich's website, with occasional interjections from co-writer Ina Yalof and Evanovich's daughter - and webmaster - Alex, but that's not to say it's not entertaining and valuable, just a bit, well, basic. There is little writing advice that you wouldn't already be aware of had you read any sort of introduction to writing.

What makes it different is Evanovich's experience and her openness and honesty. Also, writing tutorials are illuminated with examples from the Plum books, which is really helpful.

I'm fascinated by how Evanovich came to write the Plum books (after being a relatively successful author of category romance) along with how she treats the business side of being an author and there's a lot of enlightening information on those subjects in this book. It also features details of Evanovich's writing life, which, if you're as nosy about authors' lives as I am, you'll find fascinating.

If you're looking for a general writing guide there are other books I'd recommend ahead of this one, but if you're an Evanovich fan or as interested in writers as writing, then I have no doubt you'll enjoy this book.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Wannabe a Writer by Jane Wenham-Jones

BOOK REVIEW: No Good Girls by Jean Marie Pierson

I requested this book after seeing the fabby book trailer and I must say, I wasn't disappointed.

It is, however, a classic case of the wrong cover being slapped on a book. It's garish, uses cartoon - a pet hate of mine - and simply doesn't match the content. No Good Girls is about a group of female best friends in New York and it is funnier, snarkier and quirkier than the cover suggests...

Geri O'Brien works for a publishing house while collecting rejections for her screenplay. She hangs out with her best friends, Maria, Emmy and Sally and they collectively wonder when they will get their New York Minute.

Maria is a cop looking for action but stuck on the quiet day-shift, Emmy is nursing an unrequited crush and Sally wants a promotion and a man.

While the plot has plenty of action, thrills and slapstick humour, the real strength of this book is Geri's voice. I just loved it. She is an individual, funny heroine with an imaginary friend called J.T. and something of a death wish.

The supporting characters - like J.T. and Geri's car enthusiast dad - were great, too.

Chock-full of brilliant one-liners, film references, and fantastic dialogue, Jean Marie Pierson has won my heart. Hurry up and write another book, please!

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try: Stupid and Contagious by Caprice Crane

BOOK REVIEW: Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith

Reviewed by Jill Hart

Joan. Boring name for a boring life. Or so Joan believes until she meets her new next door neighbor. The handsome doctor her age make Joan realize that there may be more to life than settling for living at home, getting up every morning to go to an unfulfilling career and wishing she was living her one of her sisters' lives. But, Joan knows she can't make a change because no one would be there to care for her aging grandmother - a job that she has taken upon herself, but truly enjoys. Not to mention, the doctor may be adorable, but he's also a Christian. And Joan's not so sure that's what she needs right now. Her life is comfortable - why complicate it with thoughts of love and religion. Joan's not sure her life can handle either.

Stuck in the Middle is a picture of what life as like middle child. It seems most three daughter families have the smart, 'motherly' older sister; the sweet, carefree younger sister ... and the insecure, people-pleasing middle child. Joan is the epitome of a middle child and yet she's easy to love. I was rooting for her from the very beginning. The two other sisters frustrated me at first, but as the book progresses you learn how much they care about their sister and they endear themselves as well.

Stuck in the Middle is the first book in the Sister-to-Sister Series and Virginia Smith's sixth book. Smith's contemporary fiction is filled with humor as well as meaningful lessons for life. There is one specific section in the book that really made me pause and re-evaluate how I think about my life (I don't want to give it away, but look for the chocolate ice cream story). I love a book that sticks with me. Weeks after I put it down, it still comes to mind and continues to make me think.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Hanging Up by Delia Ephron (non-inspirational)

The Chick Lit debate continues...

I just read a very convincing argument from Dorothy Koomson over the term 'chick lit'. She thinks it should be renamed pronto (and makes an excellent suggestion for the new name). Check it out here.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Weiner gives her usual balanced, intelligent answer to the chick lit question in an interview on her blog and Meg Cabot weighs in with her own take on the term; hop over the cut to read it.

Whatever. People who have a problem with it are usually other authors who don’t write it, and no one is reading their books because they’re so gloomy and boring and don’t have fun scenes with girls spying on their boyfriends and doing pretend kung fu moves in the dark like in Megan Crane’s English as a Second Language.

Meg goes on to make some intelligent, well-balanced points of her own, but I love her first reaction!

Related posts: Did Janet Evanovich invent Chick Lit? | If it's good it can't be chick lit

BOOK NEWS: Not Another Bad Date

Yes, I know we told you that Rachel Gibson's next book was called 100 Bad Dates, but it seems to have had a title change since then... Out in May (US) and June (UK), it has been stuck with an unimaginative cover; yet another bottom-half-only female. Yuk.

The premise reminds me (a little bit) of Daisy's Back In Town. Listen: If only Adele could find a guy that made her heart flutter like her first love, Zach, the college quarterback who swept her off her feet senior year... before dumping her to marry someone else.

Okay, so he wasn't perfect. But when Adele heads back to Cedar Creek, Texas, for a family emergency, she discovers that her hometown heartthrob is still as sexy as ever - and now he's single.
It could be the end of Adele's streak. After all, forgiving Zach for breaking her heart years ago and learning to trust him again will take everything she's got, but Adele can handle anything... anything but another bad date.

Related posts: More book cover snap | Are butterflies the new feet?

FRIDAY FLICK: Something's Gotta Give

Okay, this film isn't adapted from a book, but it is about writing... The main character (played by the tremendous Diane Keaton) is a successful playwright.

Written and directed by Nancy Meyers (Private Benjamin, The Holiday), this is a romantic comedy with a difference; it's about middle-aged people (gasp!)

Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is a perennial bachelor who only dates women under the age of 30. He meets Erica because he is dating her daughter and they take an instant dislike to one another - and not just because of that.

Over enforced companionship (Harry suffers chest pains and Erica relunctantly agrees to let him stay at her beach house while he recovers enough to travel), the two discover that there is a mutual attraction.

There are complications from Harry's handsome young doctor (Keanu Reeves) who pursues Erica romantically, and from Harry's own set of expectations and prejudices.

The on-screen chemistry between Nicholson and Keaton is brilliant, the script witty and the drama refreshing. Plus, there's a great supporting cast in Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet and Jon Favreau.

It made a change to be watching a mature love story (in all senses of the word); highly recommended. 

Related posts: Friday Flick archives

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Carrie & Danielle

If you've been reading Trashionista for a while, you may have picked up on the fact that I have a somewhat obsessive personality. When I discover a book or author I love I become kind of evangelical about it and won't rest until everyone shares my opinion (bend to my will!). One such obsession is Carrie & Danielle's Style Statement.

I discovered the company a while ago, began reading their Friday Focus emails and have been waiting impatiently for the Style Statement book. Well, it's out in less than a month (1 May) and not only have Carrie and Danielle answered our questions, they've given us a copy to give away.

Carry on over the cut for the interview and your chance to win a copy.

The Style Statement is such a fabulous idea. How did you come up with it?

Thanks! Carrie was an interior designer and wanted to create a more meaningful approach to designing people's homes; design based on authenticity rather than dictatorship. So she began Style Statement as a simple questionnaire about what people loved in their living space. The process has since evolved into a deep and playful inquiry that covers every area of life-from your living room to your relationships, your career and your wellness plan!

How have your own Style Statements made a different in your life?

Carrie: My Style Statement is Refined Treasure, and it is my compass in everything I do. It reminds me to Treasure myself, my body, my time, and the people around me. It's a great filter for how I shop and what I bring into my home...and my whole life. The focus of it creates so much ease for me.

Danielle: I'm Sacred Dramatic. Style Statement works on the 80/20 principle: the first word represents your 80%, your foundation, the 2nd words is the 20%---your creative edge. In this way, mine really helps me to bring all of me to what I do-to embrace my contradictions. Things have got to be meaningful and impactful. I'm and introvert who feels at home on stage, a soul-seeking philosopher who loves trashy magazines and disco.

What can we expect from the book? Are readers going to be able to define our own Style Statements?

Yes! The book, Style Statement Live By Your Own Design, is a Discover-It-Yourself process. Guided by our Life Style Map, you'll ask yourself questions you've never asked yourself before. This is the place where you get to consider your choices in shoes, lovers, and careers!

Everything matters when you're taking your authentic self into consideration. You'll see patterns in what's working and not working for you in your wardrobe and your life at large, and with our Style Vocabulary as a jumping off point, you'll distill all of that down the two words that most meaningfully describe your genuine self. The book is an experience - a chance to define yourself on your own terms.

And...it's simply GORGEOUS!

Can you tell me more about your forthcoming e-magazine, CARRIE & DANIELLE?

Our e-magazine, www.CarrieandDanielle.com (launching in April) is really unique in that it's going to be an interactive newsletter. So, while we're offering inspiration and recommendations on everything from everyday Buddhism to eco-friendly jeans, we'll also be asking our subscribers what they recommend and desire and what inspires them. Of course, this is the beginning of an incredibly cool social site...watch out!

Do you get a chance to read? What are you reading at the moment?

Carrie: Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose is possibly the best book I've ever read. It's all about the space to "be." It's a lovely clear message - Accept Awake Aware - and I can feel myself expanding with it. I'm impressed that Oprah has created the seminar series (I just signed up). I want Eckhart to be my new best friend!

Danielle: Magazines are like an essential food group to me, and with all of the action around our book and new site launch, mags are where it's at for me this season. My essentials: Dwell, Fast Company and Inc., O, and Marie Claire can be smart. A friend just gave me Abigail Thomas' A Three Dog Life - it's waiting for my next holiday.

Who is your favourite fictional heroine and are you able to define her Style Statement?

Danielle: My favourite fictional heroine...Scout Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird. She was a little badass with a big heart and her daddy's integrity. Inspiring. As for her Style Statement...we never, ever dare to guess. Seriously.

Carrie: Nancy Drew - she's young, strong, independent and kind.

Do you have a theme song?

Carrie: "Let It Be" by the Beatles, but I absolutely love the version by Carol Woods from the film Across the Universe.

Danielle: it's a cross between Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and The Commodore's Brick House << owww! >

Thanks so much, Carrie and Danielle!

For the chance to win a copy of Style Statement (and I'd recommend it because it really is gorgeous), just email us at editor @ trashionista . com (remove spaces) with your name and address and the words "Style Statement" in the subject line. Closing date is 30 April and it's UK contestants only, I'm afraid (it's really heavy!).

(Don't worry, this isn't today's competition, there'll be another one - open to all - along later.)

BOOK REVIEW: The Kept Man by Jami Attenberg

Reviewed by Sarah Hague

How would you react if your loved one had a stupid domestic accident and ended up in a coma? Would you pull the plug or hold onto the hope that s/he would wake up? How long would you hold onto that hope? A few weeks? Few months? A year?

Jarvis Miller has been waiting for her beloved husband Martin, an artist, to wake up for six years. For six years she herself has been living in a limbo-land of visiting him, waiting, loving, and being brave.

Then her washing machine breaks down and, one Tuesday, she has to go to a launderette where she meets a group of three kept men. They all have dynamic working wives so can pursue their own interests as they like. They are the first people Jarvis has communicated with in six years, and she likes them, so she goes back next Tuesday.

In her gradual coming to terms with Martin's living death, she makes some discoveries which change her perspective on her situation, and she realises that her wonderful husband was not quite the loving faithful husband he pretended to be.

The story unfolds with tactical brilliance. Jarvis is a complex character - both brave and vulnerable. Her artist husband is the centre of her life even in his comatosed state - she has remained a faithful, sad, loving wife. But as she herself wakes up, so we follow her as she explores why she is hanging on, and whether she should continue to do so.

Superbly written, it's the story of one woman's journey from a living death, towards Life, whatever it might hold. A fantastic read, with colourful, charming characters and strong human warmth.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

MORE ON MONDAY: Lucky by Alice Sebold

Alice Sebold's memoir of the brutal rape and beating she suffered as an eighteen-year-old college student is something I have been meaning to read for a long time. Knowing it was going to be tough, I kept putting it off, but I am so glad I got round to it in the end...

Yes, it is very hard to read in places, but the majority of the book is about Sebold's (interesting - and a little crazy) family and her triumphant battle to convict the man who raped her.

Sebold writes with amazing honesty and insight. The account of her horrifying attack  is given with terrifying, startling candour and I can only imagine how hard it must have been for Sebold to write it.

She is amazingly brave, not just for the account of the attack, but for honestly recounting the reactions of people to her after the event and her slow recovery.

Lucky is also a book of hope. Sebold survives. She wins against the man in a rape trial and she wins against him by healing and by going on to help others with this important book. Having read and adored The Lovely Bones, I already thought Sebold was an amazing writer - now I believe she is an amazing person, too.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

BOOK REVIEW: Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot

Queen of Babble is, I think, the only Meg Cabot book that actually disappointed me. Of course, it's Meg, so it was still funny and sweet, but it reminded me too much of Sophie Kinsella's Can You Keep A Secret (my favourite Kinsella book).

Queen of Babble in the Big City is the second book in the Lizzie Nicholls trilogy and I enjoyed it much more than the first.

Following their summer romance, Lizzie is staying with Luke in his mother's New York (Fifth Avenue, no less) apartment. She wants to find a job restoring wedding dresses, but, since the only job she can find is unpaid, she has to take a morning job as a receptionist in her friend Chaz's father's law firm.

Best friend Shari is staying with Chaz (her boyfriend) until she and Lizzie can get a place together, but it seems like things aren't going well in her relationship with Chaz. Her job, however, is fabulous. So fabulous, that she's spending all her time there (and with her new boss).

Can Lizzie find a job doing what she loves (and getting paid for it)? Can she get Luke to commit? Can she help Shari and Chaz sort out their problems? And can she cope when Luke's parents come to visit?

Queen of Babble in the Big City is charming, sweet and funny and Lizzie seemed much more mature than she did in the first book (although this time she reminded me of Becky Bloomwood!). She's still sweet and naive, but this time it was more endearing than irritating so I'll definitely be reading the final book (Queen of Babble Gets Hitched).

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Now can we talk covers? The UK cover above is offensively boring, in my opinion. It's almost as if they just couldn't be bothered and so copied the pattern from some leftover wrapping paper... And what's with the back-to-front "B"? Disappointing.

The US covers (hardback, left, and paperback, right) are much nicer.

Which is your favourite?

 

FRIDAY FLICK: Catch Me If You Can

Based on the true-life story of Frank W Abagnale, master-con-man, Catch Me If You Can is adapted from Frank's autobiography of the same name.

Frank's story as a charming fraudster is an amazing one. Before his nineteenth birthday he had spent millions of dollars passing fake cheques and had impersonated a Pan Am pilot, a doctor and a prosecuting lawyer.

The film features Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale and Tom Hanks as the FBI agent hot on his trail and is directed by Steven Speilberg.

It would be hard to make a dull movie out of material this good, but I particularly like the way Frank's character and relationships are exlored.

From his adored father (played by Christopher Walken) to Carl Hanratty, the FBI agent who pursues and eventually catches him, Frank shows himself to be strangely upstanding in his relationships and is a sympathetic anti-hero.

A thoroughly entertaining tale, if a little over-long. I now want to read the book!

Related posts: Friday Flick archives

Chick Lit Heroine Grudge Match: Buffy v Wonder Woman

In the last grudge match, we had a battle of the side-kicks and Lula won out. Well, she's pretty handy with a Taser... This week, we turn to comic books for two female super-heroines; Buffy (the vampire slayer) and Wonder Woman.

Buffy

The comic books: Buffy (created by Joss Whedon) was originally a terrible film and then a wonderful, seminal TV series and, finally, a comic book. The books continue where season seven of the TV series finished, with young women around the world waking up to Slayer strength.

Likes: Shoes, shopping, her friends (the Scoobies) and pointy sticks.

Dislikes: Bumpy foreheads, The Master, math.

Loves: Angel (yum!), Spike (bad boy yum!) and Giles (in a totally platonic Watcher-Slayer kind of a way).

Preferred Method of Kicking-Ass: Kick-boxing, karate, slayer-strength, amazing jumps and, of course, the sharp pointy stick.

Wonder Woman

The Comic Books: Created by William Moulton Marston and first published in All Star Comics in 1941, Wonder Woman is looking pretty damn good for her age. In 1975, Wonder Woman got a TV series starring Lynda Carter and in 2006 the comic book incarnation got a relaunch with some of the stories written by Jodi Picoult.   

Likes: Animals, Greek mythology (Wonder Woman was often described as "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules" and her friend Etta Candy.

Dislikes: Bad guys. Wonder Woman has had a fair few enemies over the years, including Doctor Poison, Doctor Psycho, and the Duke of Deception.

Loves: Steve Trevor, her crime-fighting partner.

Preferred Method of Kicking-Ass: Well, she has super-human strength and throws some painful-looking 'kapow' punches and flying kicks, but Wonder Woman has another trick up her sleeve... The Lasso of Truth. Oh yes.

Conclusion: It's a very tough call. Both Buffy and Wonder Women are strong women with more ass-kicking power in their little pinkies than the rest of us put together.

Wonder Woman has been around a long time and been credited with too many powers and weapons to list. However, Buffy is a resourceful fighter and tough-as-nails; as well as saving the world several times, she has died twice. Will Wonder Woman's show-stopping costume tip the scales in her favour? You decide...

BOOK REVIEW: Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie

Fast Women is the first Jennifer Crusie I ever read and as such it retains a very special place in my heart.

It's also a fantastic, fast-paced read with some of my Crusie favourite characters. In fact, I've read this book so many times, I have difficulty remembering that they're not real...

Recently divorced, Nell Dysart seeks work at a down-at-heel private investigation firm. Gabe McKenna, the owner, is in need of a secretary to organise his office and Nell is in need of a paycheck.

Nell is feeling decidedly grey after her divorce. She has been so focused on being controlled and grown-up about the break-down of her marriage, she has forgotten her own needs and desires.

Gabe works with his cousin, Riley, but is used to being the boss. He inherited the agency from his father and wants everything to stay exactly the same. Utterly in control, he also feels utterly miserable.

As Nell organises the hell out of the office sparks fly, and Nell, slowly, returns back to life.

Much as I love the romance between Nell and Gabe (and I do), I love the supporting cast and subplots in Fast Women even more. Nell's two best friends are also her ex-sisters-in-law. There's sweet Margie, who obsesses over her china collection, and Suze - a gorgeous blonde with an older-man husband who is continually searching for meaning in her life.

There is also a lovely subplot between Nell's son, Jase, and Gabe's daughter (from his previous marriage) Lu. They have fallen in love and the way they mirror and reinforce the mistakes their parents are making/have made in relationships is brilliantly poignant and funny.

It's a book full of spectacular arguments, dog-napping, mystery, Clarice Cliff pottery, astrology and strong, smart, funny women. What more do you need?

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

The Ivy Chronicles casting news

The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn is being made into a film. Yes, I know we already told you this but wait - there's more!

Having worked together on Ocean's 12, producer Jerry Weintraub is being reunited with Catherine Zeta Jones. I assume she'll be playing the main character Ivy Ames. It's been a while since I read the book, but she strikes me as a good choice. What do you think?

[Via Hollywood Reporter]

Related posts: Book Review: Wife In The Fast Lane | Karen Quinn competition

BOOK REVIEW: The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson

I first read about Joshilyn Jackson's The Girl Who Stopped Swimming when we interviewed her in August 2006 and I've been keen to read it since. I loved Jackson's first book gods in Alabama and former Trashionista co-editor Diane adored her second, Between, Georgia (it's been on my bookshelf for over a year).

It's an inspired idea - Laurel wakes up one night with a ghost beside her bed. It's her 13-year-old daughter's best friend, Mollly, and she shows Laurel her body, floating in Laurel's swimming pool.

The police rule it as an accidental death, but Laurel's not so sure. Didn't she see a shadow in the garden just before finding Molly's body? And wasn't that the hair of local oddball, Stan Webelow, she glimpsed as the police arrived? She's also concerned about her own daughter, Shelby's, evasive behaviour.

And then there's the family's houseguest, Bet, who has come to stay from DeLop, a beyond-depressed and depressing former mining town where Laurel's mother grew up and got away from.

To get to the bottom of everything - and particularly to stop Shelby becoming a suspect - Laurel needs her sister, Thalia, but she and Thalia are no longer speaking. Neither approves of the other's lifestyle and any attempts at finding common ground always seem to end in misery. Inevitably, Thalia's visit results in the exposing of family secrets that Laurel, not to mention her mother, have been trying to deny for years.

I could barely put The Girl Who Stopped Swimming down, although it would be hard to say I enjoyed it. I found it such a sad book on a number of levels. Pretty much every relationship in the book is painful and strained. It's beautifully written and evocatively imagined, which is probably why, by the ending, I felt utterly drained.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Be Mine by Laura Kasischke

BOOK NEWS: No Good Girls by Jean Marie Pierson

No Good Girls is the debut novel of Jean Marie Pierson. It started life as a screenplay (Pierson has a degree in film and video production) and focuses on four best friends in New York.

I'm not in love with the cover, but the book trailer is fantastic. Take a look here, I promise you won't regret it.

Related posts: Book Trailerpark | Book Video Awards 2008

MORE ON MONDAY: When You Eat At the Refrigerator, Pull Up A Chair by Geneen Roth

I know, I know, I'm always reviewing non-diet books, but they're such a revelation to me after years of reading actual diet books (okay, WeightWatchers magazine). Geneen Roth's When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair is a classic, given credibility in my eyes by having a foreword by Anne Lamott (who I love).

When You Eat... consists of 50 very short chapters (some are only a couple of pages in length) with titles like "Carry a chunk of chocolate everywhere" and "Remind yourself that it's already broken." Weirdly, the word that came to mind when I was typing that was "Californian" so I checked the About the Author page and discovered that Roth does indeed live in Northern California - what was my point? Oh yes, if you're not comfortable with self-development, if, like Beth Lisick, it's way outside your comfort zone and you're smirking now, I'd say read the book anyway.

I found it reassuring, funny, inspiring and frequently more down to earth than the chapter headings (and that "Californian" business) would have you believe. The subtitle is "50 ways to feel thin, gorgeous, and happy (when you feel anything but)" and that's not to be sniffed (or smirked) at, surely?

I kept it on my bedside table and read one short chapter each day. Now that I've finished it, I've turned back to the beginning to read it again until I get the chance to read another of Roth's books.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try The 4-Day Win by Martha Beck

BOOK NEWS: Don't Hex with Texas

I loved Enchanted Inc, the first book in Shanna Swendson's Katie Chandler series, so why it's taken me two years (two years!) to read any more I don't know. But I have indeed ordered the second in the series, Once Upon Stilettos, and it will be with me in time to read over the Easter weekend (which I did plan to spend with family and friends, but will now be spending with my chicken pocked child - all the more reading time for me!)

Anyway, as I was ordering the second book, I noticed that a fourth will be out in April. It's called Don't Hex with Texas and features Katie returning to Texas for a family visit, but finding things have become a lot more magical there since she left.

Related posts: Shanna Swendson guest blog | Enchanted Inc movie news

BOOK REVIEW: Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott

I loved Elizabeth Scott's Bloom and, following my review, Trashi reader Little Willow commented that Perfect You is even better so I could barely wait to read it. I didn't actually prefer Perfect You to Bloom, but I loved it almost as much and that saying a lot (because I really loved Bloom!).

Kate's father has given up his job to sell Perfect You vitamins in the mall. While it may be his dream job, it's not going at all well. So badly, in fact, that the family is in danger of losing their home. Kate's older brother living on the sofa and failing to find a job isn't helping either.

Kate's not thrilled to be working for her dad on a failing mall stall, but since her best friend Anna lost a load of weight, dyed her hair and started hanging around with the popular crowd - dropping Kate like a sandbag - it's not like she's got anything better to do.

Until, that is, Will starts meeting her in the supply closet to make out. It can't be more than that, because she can't stand Will and there's no way he's interested in her. Is he?

I sympathised with Kate throughout because everyone around her was so irritating. (Irritating in a good way, I mean - realistically irritating, rather than irritatingly written!) Her grandmother is condescending and rude. Her father, inconsiderate and unrealistic. Her former friend, Anna, well, I wanted to wring her neck. I loved Will and I loved the banter Kate had with him, but he wasn't quite as sexy as Bloom's Evan.

I found Kate's mother - trying to stay positive and support her husband, while simultaneously wanting the best for her family - the most poignant character (possibly because this is a YA book and, depressingly, I'm closer in age to her than to Kate).

But really I just loved Perfect You. And I'm so thrilled to have discovered Elizabeth Scott's books.

Rating: 4/5 (I would like to give it 4.5, but I can't)

Like this? Try Bloom by Elizabeth Scott

More Heather Wells

Meg Cabot has revealed that there will be a further two Heather Wells mysteries in her series about the New York dormitory-manager and amateur sleuth.

There are no titles, as yet, but the books should be out next year, bringing the series total to five. The fourth will take place soon after the events in Big Boned, during the summer break. Meg says it will be about "Tania Trace Rock Camp", while the fifth will be "about Heather and Cooper's you know what."

Related posts: Heather Wells optioned for TV | Review: Size 12 Is Not Fat

MORE ON MONDAY: Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Scott Westerfield has taken our modern-day obsession with physical beauty and followed it to the logical end. In his future world, an operation is carried out on every child on their sixteenth birthday, turning them from an 'Ugly' into a 'Pretty'.

As well as bestowing physical perfection, the operation seems to lead to a life of parties and fun.

Tally Youngblood is a typical teenager. She lives in a dormitory-style school, separated from her parents (Uglies and Pretties are not permitted to mix), and eagerly awaits her operation.

Then, Tally meets Shay. Shay is also fifteen, but she has a very different view of the operation. She opens Tally's eyes to a different path - a path that leads to a secret community of renegade Uglies, living in the Rusty Ruins.

Tally cannot make the leap of faith - to sacrifice everything she has dreamed of, in order to join an uncertain and less attractive future. She returns home, only to find that the State knows about her friendship with Shay and has a mission for her: infiltrate the community and then report back on its location.

However, once back with the Uglies, Tally discovers that there is a lot more to the 'turning' operation than becoming beautiful...

This book is a real thrill-ride and the world utterly convincing - and frightening. I raced through it book and couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequels (there are three: Pretties, Specials and Extras).

As well as an adventure story (with an active female protagonist - yay!), it also has lots to say about freedom of thought, individuality and the pursuit of physical ideals. Excellent reading matter, in other words, for any teenage girls you may know...

Rating: 4/5

Like this (identity issues handled in original way)? Try: Split By A Kiss by Luisa Plaja

More on My Sister's Keeper movie

Jason Patric (The Lost Boys, Sleepers) has joined the cast of My Sister's Keeper. He will play the girls' firefighter father.

Hollywood Reporter also tells us that Thomas Dekker (Heroes) is to play "the older sister's boyfriend and fellow cancer survivor." I don't remember that character in the book (although it is a long time since I read it). Does anyone else?

Related posts: Movie Magic: My Sister's Keeper | More My Sister's Keeper News

BOOK REVIEW: Daisy's Back In Town

When Daisy Lee Monroe walked out of Lovett, Texas fifteen years ago, she was a frightened eighteen-year-old with a secret.

Now she's back in town, forcing herself to confront the bad boy she left behind - Jackson Parrish.

Unfortunately, her sister is  acting even crazier than usual, her mum can still talk the hind legs off a donkey and Jackson still makes her stomach flip with one glance.

Jackson is (understandably) very upset with Daisy and wants nothing to do with her. She was his friend and lover, and when she left Lovett it was with his best friend, Stephen.

What Jackson doesn't know is that Daisy's betrayal was even worse than that; she was also pregmant with his child  and has waited until now to tell him.

All credit to Rachel Gibson for managing to make me care for a protagonist who has acted so badly. Although I couldn't help but like Daisy Lee, I did feel it was very out-of-character that she had waited fifteen years to tell Jack about his son.

Daisy has to chase Jackson all over town to try and deliver her news. To complicate things further, the lusty attraction that Jack and Daisy felt as teenagers is still alive and kicking.

The Texan setting is lots of fun - a real escapist treat for a Brit like me - and Jack is a very sexy, very alpha hero. Daisy's Back In Town is a raunchy romance from an accomplished writer. 

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try: The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom by Jo Barrett

THURSDAY TRAILBLAZER: Grace Metalious

Born in 1924, Grace is most famous for writing Peyton Place (1956). The book sold millions worldwide and remained on the New York Times bestseller list. It was also made into a successful film starring Lana Turner and Lee Philips.

Peyton Place explores the dark secrets of the residents of a small New England town, and was denounced by critics as 'trash'.

She went on to write a further three novels, although none (unsuprisingly) enjoyed the same level of success.

Grace was criticised in the day for writing a racy, popular book - sound at all familar? In reply, she famously said, "If I'm a lousy writer, then an awful lot of people have lousy taste."

Grace was born in New Hampshire into a poor family with an absent father, but began writing at a young age. She married in her teens and became a housewife and mother, but despite financial hardship, never stopped writing.

Sadly, she died of alcholism in 1964.

Bibliography:

 

Peyton Place
Return to Peyton Place
The Tight White Collar
No Adam in Eden

Related posts: Thursday Trailblazer archive

BOOK REVIEW: Helping Me Help Myself by Beth Lisick

I