Recently a friend gave me this book for Kindle. I have to say it was a delight. 522 people have rated this book 4 1/2 stars at Amazon, so I am in good company. The Kindle version is available for $5.99.
Sophie Kinsella also wrote the shopaholic books.
The story
Emma Corrigan faces the usual difficulties of a young woman. She has a boyfriend who is perfect in every way, including looks, but he’s not perfect for her. She has kept herself hidden in the relationship, and he thinks she likes everything that he does. Not! Her family is enamored with her cousin Kerry who can do no wrong, in their eyes, and is a successful businesswoman. She has, however, not treated Emma right.
Emma’s job at Panther Cola involves the usual office politics, and Emma has her own ways of getting around them. No one takes her seriously, even her immediate boss, who has promised her a promotion, but has no intention of giving it to her. And she would like to have it as much for herself as a statement to her family.
Enter a business trip that isn’t the most successful. Feeling sorry for her, one of the flight attendants upgrades her to first class (business) and she is seated next to Jack, a man who must be successful, mustn’t he, to be in that seating also.
And then the plane hits enormous turbulence, and Emma in her extreme fear tells the man everything — everything — in her life — her family, her doubts about her boyfriend, her job, things about the office, her roommates, her sex life, her weight, what her perfect date, she thinks, would be.
And it is very, very funny.
And then, as books do, while they part at the airport, they meet again in the office, for lo and behold he owns the company she works for.
And she is not to mention that she met him on a plane coming back from Scotland.
He knows everything about her, but she knows nothing about him. He is very secretive about his own life. And he becomes moreso as the book goes on. The speculations as to why are both serious and funny.
How the story is told
For the most part, the story is told in Emma’s stream of consciousness. It is a testament to Kinsella’s ability that we never tire of it. And it is very funny!
Along the way
Emma divests herself of her perfect boyfriend, gains her voice in many ways, and earns our respect and sympathy. She is spot on in her assessments of much in the office, and Jack becomes her ally as well as her lover. As he says, she is the only one who has told him the truth, albeit on the plane.
The sex
There isn’t much. Most of it is off-screen and talked about in retrospect. And it is funny, and much like you’d expect with Emma.
My view
I give it 5 out of 5. I really enjoyed the humor, which isn’t forced, in the book. I liked the resolution in the end. It was very satisfying and believable. There were a couple of twists and turns along the way.
Have you read it?
If you are looking for something light, yet with some deep concepts, with a lot of humor, you could do a lot worse than this book. Let me know if you enjoy it as much as I did.
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I saw this movie today, and it was surprisingly funny. I hadn’t particularly wanted to go, but I was glad I did.
The entire audience laughed a lot. There were only a few really dumb things, and one character I could have written out, but the main character is so delightful and watchable and innocently kind that she is a pleasure to watch. And she holds many lessons.
There are a couple of questionable things for very young children and some bad language, but not a lot. My girls would love it, at 10 and 12. I think they can handle it.
Shelley (Anna Farris is charming in the part and makes the movie) is living the life of her dreams at the Playboy Mansion. She feels the mansion has given her the home she never had before. (The movie begins with a short montage of her early childhood spent in an orphanage, until she finally found acceptance and a sense of family. This is not dwelt upon, but you might need to be aware of it.)
Hugh Hefner plays himself in several cameos in the movie. It’s good to see his health has improved. I hadn’t realized he was in it.
When Hugh goes off for a time, immediately after Shelley’s 27th birthday party, she is presented with a letter from him giving her 2 hours to leave the premises as she is now ‘too old.’ 27 is now evidently 59 in Bunny years.
How she finds herself the housemother of what likely began as Zeta (Zeta Tau Alpha) but morphed into a close cousin in name, is part of the poignancy and fun. The girls in the house need to pledge 30 girls in order not to lose their charter. How she turns them into a viable sorority is a delight.
There is a typical sorority bitch that has shown up in several movies. (And there is a Bunny bitch too.) In a way this movie is like a female version of Sydney White, but we liked it better. (The theater rated it 3 out of 5.)
It’s easy to imagine Elle Woods living this life. (Colin Hanks plays her love interest.)
She’s definitely a likeable bimbo, and you can’t help but root for her. Many scenes touched my heart.
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We got to the theater about 10:45 last night, and they were letting us get our seats. They had sold out 4 theaters, which was probably par for the course, because one of the other theaters in town had done the same. Next to us was a girl and her father. He had never read the books.
My disclaimer is that I’ve read the books, but found them hard to get into, and I consider them OK, but not great.
Anyway, we had a good time. Except for the first couple of scenes (which are like the book — dorky/hokey teen) — and we hoped it wouldn’t be like that for the entire movie (and it wasn’t) — we enjoyed the movie. I’d give it a 4, except for those scenes, so it’s a 3. And I bet if we saw the movie again, those scenes would not bother us, because we know where its heading.
Interestingly, the father next to us said he wouldn’t give it a 5, but he’d give it a 4, and he intended to read the books.
I heard people behind me saying at the movie’s end that they are switching teams from Team Jacob to Team Edward.
Then this morning’s paper gave it a 1.5. No, no, no.
I loved the relationship between the teen friends — well cast — and Bella. Bella is just perfect for the part, very beautiful and easy to watch. (I agree with the reviewer that it would be fun to see her part played by the one friend.) Sometimes these teen friends (and ‘teen’ vampires) are the best parts of the movie. The Cullen father gets some swoons when he first appears on screen.
And the exceedingly bad vampires have fun with their parts.
Nothing can compete with the scenery. Or the screen kisses. Or the spectacular baseball game…and the ensuing scene with the bad vamps.
I loved the relationship between Bella and her father. It was true to life and very funny in parts, just the way teens and their parents/fathers are.
I disagree with the reviewer who said there was no humor. We laughed at a lot of the friends’ convos and Bella and her dad.
I was afraid how I’d take the ballet school scene, but it was very well done. Scary, but not frightening. After all, we know where the story is heading. James is the vampire you love to see die.
And we loved the ending. It was just right. All the way over CG wondered if it would end at the last chapter or the first chapter of the beginning of the book.
OK, where is Book 2’s movie? Count us in for the first night midnight showing. CG is already talking about seeing this one again.
In one sense it is refreshing to see a movie where the romance is unrequited. Bella and Edward have chemistry and double entendres, but they also have innocence and love, the unfoldment of learning about the other, caring and the desire to protect (even if the protection is necessary because of the protagonist.)
Even I liked it!
Karin
Be sure to visit InkyProductions at Etsy to see CG’s Twilight pendants. I love mine!
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Handbags and Homicide is a Haley Randolph Mystery.
If you like Stephanie Plum, you will love Haley Randolph, with a cast of characters as quirky and loveable as the SP books, what’s not to love!
I knew this was going to be a good book, when I laughed my way through the first chapter. And, of course, since retail is in my blood, it was even funnier.
Haley Randolph is in trouble, big time. She is a purse aficionado, and she knows her ins and outs of handbags. Her mother has a trust fund, but Haley wants to make it on her own. And it necessitates a lot of cash because she can’t resist a good multi-$100 handbag, for every outfit.
First, she gets a job through connections to a tony law firm — then is let go under suspicion.
At the same time she has a second job working retail at Holt’s Department Store, a store whose merchandise she doesn’t like. It’s a hoot to see how she manages to ‘work’ in all the areas of the store, not get anything done, yet do more than others who actually work.
Then she finds a dead body in the stock room, and she is a suspect.
It’s up to her to clear her name on both counts.
Along the way, she picks up some friends — and some purses. She helps customers put together outfits that are actually wearable.
Her stream of consciousness is a hoot.
There is very little romance in it, less than in a SP book, but there are similarities in the number of men interested in her. She has an almost-boyfriend.
In my head I kept hearing the voice of Isla Fisher as Rebecca Bloomwood in Confessions of a Shopaholic.
If you want a book to make you laugh, this is it. I give it 5*.
And for those of you who like a good series, the second book is already out:
PURSES AND POISON, the second book in the series, finds Haley still working at Holt’s Department Store. When her sort-of boyfriend Ty Cameron’s ex-lover is poisoned and suspicion falls on both Haley and her mom, Haley launches her own investigation. From the L.A. club scene, to the Fashion District, to the elegant Biltmore Hotel, Haley must find a way to catch a murderer, get the guy, and find the purse of her dreams.
And a third:
Howell also writes historical romance novels under the pen name Judith Stacy. She’s has 23 other books and almost 3 million readers worldwide. So it’s a good bet we can expect more from her, in this series too. This is the first book I’ve read of hers, but it won’t be my last.
And good news for Kindle owners: the first two books listed here are available for Kindle. $4.47 and $9.99.
Have you read this one?
If you are a fashionista, don’t miss this one — or if you simply love purses.
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Some people have such fun ideas! This group of 11 from Houston, target public places with knitting. Sometimes they choose the target; other times the target comes to them. They are making their own good news! And it benefits the rest of us.
Sometimes we tag randomly (car antennas, door handles, stop sign poles, park benches) and sometimes we choose larger, more specific targets. The random tag nights are usually “come if you can”, while we knit with a purpose for the larger targets. For one large project we did (24′ scarves on two statues in Houston), we all knit piecemeal, then crocheted all the pieces together to form the giant scarves. Those were nice.
Occasionally, our targets come to us. We get requests every now and then. We’ll still bomb those requested targets under cover of night, in order to retain some sense of anonymity though. Every once in a while, we knit and knit and knit for a trip out of town to spread Knitta out a little. This coming weekend, for instance, four of us went to New York City for 4 days of crazy tagging. We had an extra suitcase full of pieces that will grace the streets of New York (for at least a week or two, we hope). MascuKnitity just got back from a 3-week trip to China, where he was able to leave a little Knitta presence on the Great Wall. We still haven’t figured out how we’re going to top that one.
What kinds of things have they done?
As for quantity of projects, I really can’t say how many tags we’ve thrown since we started this. Probably hundreds of antenna cozies. We covered lamp posts on three local highway bridges with 6 foot, hot pink wraps the night before New Year’s Eve. We laid 24 foot scarves at the end of January.
Bored by long projects? I sure am! Plus, who has the time?! (Except for the Waikiki ponchos.)
We were bored with the usual knitting projects and get-togethers. Personally, I get tired of a project that takes more than 2 or 3 days to complete. I call it crafting ADHD. I had plenty-o-unfinished projects laying around my house that I’d simply become bored working on.
Well, now you have some ideas for unfinished projects. I generally find that I’m not too crazy about a project until I hit the half-way point, then I hurry like crazy to get it finished. OTOH, I know someone who donates her half-finished (or less) projects that she no longer wants to do to Goodwill! I’ve bit the bullet and done it a few times myself. Why finish something you really don’t enjoy!
The woman who started this began with making door knob cosies. How funny is that!
What are you knitting or crocheting right now?
I think I have a scarf going somewhere, but I’ve been doing more beading lately. Yesterday I took apart a necklace and made two bracelets out of it, plus an extender. Didn’t have to change the patterning, just took it apart.
Don’t you think this idea is wonderful! Make some happiness in your life. Go for it!
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Are you going to New Moon when it premieres?
Are you going to sparkle?
The story behind the story
A few weeks ago on Aromaleigh’s forum, for theme week, it was my turn to suggest the week’s theme. I was telling Book Girl, and she suggested having a Vampire Week, based on the movie Twilight, and the book series.
So that’s what I suggested. I suggested doing a vampire look based on Twilight, using any colors, so long as their skin sparkled in sunlight, which is easy to do with Aromaleigh.
Many entered into the spirit of it, even if they hadn’t heard of the book(s) or movie. That particular theme week had 1582 views and 74 responses, to date. Even Kristin, the founder of Aromaleigh, contributed a look.
The Twilight DVD came out at midnight Friday night, and we were there — in two cities! Book Girl was out of town.
Twilight Sparkle supernatural powder
This is the first one I’ve tried in this set of three. The glitter is very fine and shows up on my hand. On my face, it is a very sheer, sheeny look, not a glimmer look. My own mix is more sparkly, though there is more sparkle in the AL. I applied it with a FO brush.
Twilight Sparkle contains distinct shimmering iridescent glimmers. In the sunlight or under bright light, it shimmers like radiant tiny diamonds. Apply over skin that you have applied lotion to (preferably with a high SPF, of course!), the effect is even more pronounced, and the product will stay longer on your skin. Twilight Sparkle may slightly lighten your skin, but it is formulated to be suitable for many skintones, in a transparent base.
FOTD
I chose to wear it in my FOTD today in honor of the DVD debut.
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I know several people who are Fannie Flagg fans, but this is the first book I’ve read of hers. Two different people loaned it to me at two different times, and I finally got around to really getting into it vs. just looking through it. The second time it was loaned to me, I was told that she laughed all the way through and just loved it.
It took me a while to get into this book (obviously!) Every character has a narration voice — that takes a bit of getting used to, but makes the book more interesting. It truly was a funny book. I suspect we’d feel this way if we were cognizant of other people’s thought processes.
Flagg looks at her subjects with compassion. Their foibles are highlighted, but gently.
Imagine the consternation when a beloved older member of the community is pronounced dead, then several hours later abruptly sits up in the hospital and starts talking. The village hot line broadcasts her death immediately. Neighbors go in to straighten her house. They are all in mourning. We learn why she is so beloved, the many kindly things (and much more interesting than her daughter or son-in-law would expect) she has done over the years. We learn how she spends her time when she is dead. Throw in assorted characters: a would-be rapist; a murder; a hidden gun; a hidden body; a young man lifted out of his circumstances; the popular hair dresser; the obsessive daughter; the hospital attorney; the son-in-law who stops every day before going to work…
It’s really a lovely book, one that makes you think, one that makes you smile and laugh out loud, one with a bit of melancholy, but hope for a life well lived. I enjoyed her time between death and living again.
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A friend loaned me her copy of the book eat, pray, love, because she liked it so well and felt I would too. I knew by the first few pages that I wanted a copy of my own.
It took me quite a while to work my way through the book, but in that way I could savor it. It’s a rare book that is so enjoyable.
Gilbert has a wonderful way with words.
And the good news is that it is being made into a movie with Julia Roberts starring. That should be interesting!
The book is her chronicle of searching across Italy (where she eats her way, while learning Italian), India (where she is in an Ashram searching for God, finding herself in silent devotion and in words and communion with others), and Bali (where she finds love and helps a woman buy a home.)
Along the way we see her work through the angst of her difficult divorce. She moves from a sense of no belief to profundity. It is by turns funny, touching, endearing, sad…
If you’ve read it, how did you like it? And if you haven’t, treat yourself.
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I thought this was too funny. I hope it makes you smile.
Find it here where you can find other columns he has written.
Karin
David McClure of McKinney: A senior moment … at 48?
Friday, June 26, 2009
$5.37. That’s what the kid behind the counter at Taco Bueno said to me. I dug into my pocket and pulled out some lint and two dimes and something that used to be a Jolly Rancher. Having already handed the kid a five-spot, I started to head back out to the truck to grab some change when the kid with the Emo hairdo said the harshest thing anyone has ever said to me. He said, “It’s OK. I’ll just give you the senior citizen discount.”
I turned to see who he was talking to and then heard the sound of change hitting the counter in front of me. “Only $4.68″ he said cheerfully. I stood there stupefied. I am 48, not even 50 yet – a mere child! Senior citizen?
I took my burrito and walked out to the truck wondering what was wrong with Emo. Was he blind? As I sat in the truck, my blood began to boil. Old? Me?
I’ll show him, I thought. I opened the door and headed back inside. I strode to the counter, and there he was waiting with a smile.
Before I could say a word, he held up something and jingled it in front of me, like I could be that easily distracted! What am I now? A toddler?
“Dude! Can’t get too far without your car keys, eh?” I stared with utter disdain at the keys. I began to rationalize in my mind. “Leaving keys behind hardly makes a man elderly! It could happen to anyone!”
I turned and headed back to the truck. I slipped the key into the ignition, but it wouldn’t turn. What now? I checked my keys and tried another. Still nothing. That’s when I noticed the purple beads hanging from my rearview mirror. I had no purple beads hanging from my rearview mirror.
Then, a few other objects came into focus. The car seat in the back seat. Happy Meal toys spread all over the floorboard. A partially eaten doughnut on the dashboard.
Faster than you can say ginkgo biloba, I flew out of the alien vehicle. Moments later I was speeding out of the parking lot, relieved to finally be leaving this nightmarish stop in my life. That is when I felt it, deep in the bowels of my stomach: hunger! My stomach growled and churned, and I reached to grab my burrito, only it was nowhere to be found.
I swung the truck around, gathered my courage, and strode back into the restaurant one final time. There Emo stood, draped in youth and black nail polish. All I could think was, “What is the world coming to?” All I could say was, “Did I leave my food and drink in here?” At this point I was ready to ask a Boy Scout to help me back to my vehicle, and then go straight home and apply for Social Security benefits.
Emo had no clue. I walked back out to the truck, and suddenly a young lad came up and tugged on my jeans to get my attention. He was holding up a drink and a bag. His mother explained, “I think you left this in my truck by mistake.” I took the food and drink from the little boy and sheepishly apologized.
She offered these kind words: “It’s OK. My grandfather does stuff like this all the time.”
All of this is to explain how I got a ticket doing 85 in a 40. Yes, I was racing some punk kid in a Toyota Prius. And no, I told the officer, I’m not too old to be driving this fast.
As I walked in the front door, my wife met me halfway down the hall. I handed her a bag of cold food and a $300 speeding ticket. I promptly sat in my rocking chair and covered up my legs with a blanky.
The good news was I had successfully found my way home.
David McClure teaches science and coaches at Faubion Middle School in McKinney. He is also a Teacher Voices volunteer columnist. His e-mail address is dmcclure9066@yahoo.com.
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Matthew McConaughey has superb comic timing, as well as believability when he delivers a changed monologue. And I have to say that he looks a lot like a young Paul Newman here.
Michael Douglas must have had a blast riffing on his own life to a degree, making fun of everything most folks might have believed about him. He looks mighty good in this movie. Either he’s had work done; the work has settled; or he might not be quite as thin as he was, which is better on him than the other way. Anyway, he’s a hoot delivering lines spoofing himself (and Hugh Hefner) with a straight face.
I’d like to see the outtakes. Both Matthew and Michael have a twinkle in their eye. That in itself is fun to watch.
Jennifer Garner is good always. She has a very expressive face.
I enjoyed seeing Breckin Meyer. I expected him to play a part similar to the one he played in Kate and Leopold, but he played this differently.
Anne Archer looks good in this movie. It was like seeing her in Clear and Present Danger. She brings a lot to the part, just with her facial expressions. She plays a mature woman who doesn’t cross a line into sleaze.
We walked out of the movie saying that it was one we wanted to own.
Hey Good Looking by Fern Michaels I enjoyed this book by Fern Michaels. It is only the second one I've read by her. Central to the story are three sisters ranging in age upwards from 69. They were so funny to...
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Fearless Fourteen continues the comic saga of Stephanie Plum and her cohorts in bond enforcement. Along the way there are the requisite crimes to solve to the tune of $9 million missing from a heist. Then add to the mix being stalked by the perpetrators who are dying one by one. Complicate it with the kidnapping of a cousin of Morelli’s, and it gets more and more crazy.
If you are a fan of this saga, you will appreciate this latest caper. So many of the characters seem like old friends — Lula, the overweight ex-’ho, who has no concept that she dresses for a woman half her size; Grandma Mazur, who is always a hoot and never acts her age; Joe Morelli, the longsuffering cop who loves Stephanie in his own way; Ranger, hot as hades; and assorted other characters who add to the zaniness — Zook who is totally absorbed in an online game until he is asked to watch Morelli’s house –saved by potatoes; Brenda, the 61 year old singer, who is being stalked by a man who claims to be prescient, then she wants to be an interviewer…
Ranger was sort of periphery in this book. He could have had more of a part. Lula is planning her wedding to Tank, who can’t quite remember how he got roped into it. Stephanie holds it all together, while at the same time she creates situations that for any other person would mean disaster.
I laughed a lot, either because it was funny or because it was so hard to believe.
I give it a 2.5. It wasn’t as good as some of her books, but it was a happy read for summer.
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I enjoyed this book by Fern Michaels. It is only the second one I’ve read by her.
Central to the story are three sisters ranging in age upwards from 69. They were so funny to me, especially when they instigate a ‘kidnapping’ of sorts, which is really a rescue. I suppose what I like about them is that I want to be like them when I get to that point in life — feisty, involved, loving, fun to be around, engaged in what is going on around them, taking care of their families. I wasn’t enamored of the amount of drinking they did. And there is a brief mention of a child born and left to be raised in Japan.
Alongside their stories (and two brief forays into romance for two of them) is the story of their grown niece, interwoven with the stories of the historical nature of where they live, as well as those who live in their neighborhood.
Also central to the story is the subject of organ donation (which was done against the will of well-beloved character.) It ultimates in finding those who received the donations (by computer hacking) — and ultimately redemption.
It is a story of love, affirmation and good will, with a tidy ending, perhaps tidier than real life would be, but evidencing forgiveness.
I think I enjoyed it as much for the older women and their relationship to each other as anything. In some ways they reminded me of a beloved grandmother. While there are difficult subjects tackled, they are tackled in a light way. Sort of like the substance of whipped cream. Not real satisfying, but an attempt to be deeper than the average romance novel.
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This book is a delicious romp, with some serious issues handled through the story and the relationships, but in ways that you care about the characters and don’t look at them with a jaundiced eye. Most of us have known someone who might act this way, given half a chance. And most of us have felt the brunt of some of this, even if in lesser degree.
Again, I was struck by the cover (which was what made me choose it) — both the illustration and the clever title with its play on words to the English idiom, “Wolves in sheep’s clothing.” (It gave me the opportunity to define the idiom to my younger girls.) And because it said chic clothing, I hoped it would be as fashionably interesting as it turns out to be.
Oh my, this story is a lark! Filled with twenty-something abbreviations, it is Mean Girls grown up. I read nearly every word so as not to miss any of the humor or the abbreviations. The authors skewer anybody and everything. They even skewer themselves:
Lell: “My number-one priority is discretion…I don’t like to have people who are loose-lipped working close to me [she has security cameras trained on everyone]…I don’t gossip about my coworkers, and I expect — no, no demand the same from them. Besides the fact that we have no friends in common, you don’t seem the type to waste time on meretricious persiflage.”
Julia (thinking): Meretricious persiflage? What the hell was that? “Of course not. I am like a vault…” And God, what had she told Douglas so far? She’d need to put a filter on that.
Lell: I didn’t think so. Because gossip is really just tacky and harmful…In fact, there are two girls that I’m sort of friends with, and they have a book deal to write about twenty-something Park Avenue debutantes. I think it’s really shameful and tacky.” p 64
It has everything — a thoroughly likable main character, Julia; love; sex; morality; sexless marriage (and adultery and wished-for adultery); a pedophile married to one of the women; extreme wealth and those who have wealth, but can never keep up; four friends who are variably supportive of each other; gay men (friends with the heroine Julia) who later enter into marriage in Canada; foreign phrases used to separate the knowledgeable from the less knowledgeable…
All this is delivered with a camera’s eye, dished up with humor, while we laughingly wince at the character flaws, which are our own, but exaggerated enough to make them palatable.
Julia has naturally what the others need to develop — style with a capital “S.” She works at Pelham’s jewelry store, a mere peon in the system, until she is noticed by Lell, the store heiress, when she is asked to deliver a necklace on Lell’s wedding day. Julia is handcuffed to the briefcase containing the necklace and escorted by security. While there, she knows intuitively how the bridal attendants can successfully wear the normally staid and old-ladyish Pelham jewelry (which is delivered in a second delivery), by making some deceptively simple changes.
Suddenly Julia becomes the pawn in Lell’s and Polly’s makeovers. Both see her potential and feel it will reflect well on them if they are her mentor. Lell really has nothing to prove with the snobbery to bring it home, but Polly is playing catch up. Julia finds herself thrust into the world of trust funds (and lack of), loveless marriages, the milieu of high fashion, and more. She loses herself for a bit, but never completely loses her good sense, her kindness, her sense of seeing the good in everyone, even when they treat her crassly.
I rate it a 5. I chuckled out loud more than once, and I look forward to reading their first book on the off chance that it is similar to this one.
BTW, this would make a great movie!
Have you read it? If you like the relationship between the women in Sex and the City or the cattiness of The Devil Wears Prada, this is a book you will thoroughly enjoy.
Karin
If you are looking for interesting jewelry or bridal attendant gifts, look to Inky Productions. You can find more information at her blog. Her MySpace.
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