The Boy Next Door

I had to take a break from my current classic of Lady Chatterley's Lover and since my best friend had recently provided me with a copy of Meg Cabot's The Boy Next Door, firmly instructing me to read it as soon as possible, I started reading Cabot's book last night. Then when I got up, I sat down and finished it, drawing odd looks from my family when I would, quite literally, laugh out loud.

Mel is the gossip columnist for the New York Journal and has just accrued her thirty-seventh tardy because her next door neighbor, a kind old lady, was hit over the head and is now in a coma. Mel takes it upon herself to take care of the neighbor's pets until the neighbor's only living relative, a nephew by the name of Max who is also a famous fashion photographer, arrives. Only Max asks her to call him John. And he is very handsome. And, of course, Mel is falling in love with him.

This book is, without a doubt, absolutely hilarious. The narrative is told through emails between the characters and while I was hesitant to read this book because of that, Cabot pulls it off beautifully. The story is fairly predictable but it was hugely amusing and it was just fun. More difference between writing styles of different characters would be nice but I had a great time with it.

I do have two small complaints though. The first of which was the lack of chapters. While I understand why Cabot decided not to use them, it made The Boy Next Door even harder to set down, as there were no set divisions or breaks. My second complaint is that I now wish that my own emails were as much fun as those in The Boy Next Door and I now feel that my emails are completely inadequate. Sigh. Outside of that, I love this book and am very glad that my best friend also lent me the other email narrative books by Cabot.

Rating: 4.5

Remember Me?

When we first meet Lexi Smart, things are not going well. She missed out on the yearly bonus given out by her employer by a single week, her boyfriend, Loser Dave, just stood her up, and her father's funeral is tomorrow morning. As she is trying to hail a cab, she slips and hits her head. The next thing she knows, Lexi is in the hospital, but things aren't quite as she thought them to be. Very quickly, Lexi discovers that three years have passed, she is married to a gorgeous and rich man, and she has the job of her dreams. It would be the perfect life except for the part where she can't remember any of it.

I actually listened to an audio version of this book because I had to go on a road trip and figured this would be an enjoyable way to fill the driving time. While the version I had was abridged, (why do people do that to books?) I loved the narrator and the voices she gave to the characters. It helped that the narrator was British and brought Kinsella's story to life.

I truly enjoyed this light, if predictable, story. It was cute and exactly what one is looking for when the word "chick-lit" is brought up. I am looking forward to reading more of Kinsella's work and will probably buy the book soon, just so that I can have it to flip through when I feel like it.

Rating:4.5

A Promising Man (And About Time, Too)

I don't know why, but I decided to give myself something nice and fluffy to read and when I saw A Promising Man by Elizabeth Young, I thought it looked and sounded perfect and I think I was right.

A Promising Man is about Harriet Grey, a woman in her late 20's who lives in an old house with some interesting friends. Sally is one of her closest friends who recently had a little boy, Jacko is an old school friend on the mend after a car accident, and Frida is a beautiful young woman from Sweden. One day, Harriet meets John, who seems to be perfect and maybe a little into her. The only problem is that he might be dating a girl Harriet knew from school.

There were a few side plots that seemed completely unnecessary but they weren't bad so I wasn't bothered by them. The most difficult thing for me was to understand some of the British slang and some of the abbreviations in the book. I figured out what most of them meant and looked up a few others but I am still scratching my head about one or two of the others.

Outside of that, this was an amusing book, even if it seemed like some of the characters had a tremendously hard time telling the truth. It was cute and enjoyable and I am glad I saw it. If you enjoy lighter books on occasion, you will probably enjoy this one as well.

Rating: 3.5

Queen of Babble

I am sure all of you have seen some movie where one of the protagonist does something very stupid and something that should/will cause a great deal of shame for that particular character and those around him or her. I tend to get so embarassed by the actions of characters in a film that I turn the show off for a time. I bring this up because I felt the same way when I was reading Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot.

Lizzie Nichols has just graduated from college, except for that pesky 50 page thesis paper that she just found out about and has to complete before she can recieve her diploma. She is also traveling to England to meet her boyfriend, who she last saw three months ago. When things don't go well, partially due to Lizzie's tendancy to saw the Atlantic to meet - she had known him for a whopping 24 hours before he went back to London.

I didn't really like Lizzie to much but I was interested in seeing how the story ended. Then again, maybe I am just incapable of setting a book down for any reason other than mind-numbing boredom. Either way, this seems to be an example of a book I can read but not one that I would want to read. Apparently, my tastes in chick lit are fairly specific and Meg Cabot (young adult or chick lit) just doesn't do it for me.

Rating: 3.0

The Undomestic Goddess

So, I have never read anything that would be classified as "chick lit," but I think I may be a fan. At least, I enjoyed Sophie Kinsella's The Undomestic Goddess.

Samantha Sweeting has devoted her whole life to being a lawyer and she is great at what she does. She has no life outside of the office, carrying her BlackBerry everywhere, and her idea of a balanced diet is pizza and Chinese food (anything she can order for delivery). She hasn't had a vacation in 2 years and put in around 200 office hours this month. Now, at 29, she is up for a position as a partner in one of the best law firms in London. At least, until she realizes she has made a huge mistake that will erase any chance of being a partner. In shock, she walks out, catches the first train and ends up in the middle of nowhere and soon finds herself employed as a housekeeper, of all things.

This story is fluffy and amusing. I enjoyed reading it so much that I didn't set it down until I finished it. Kinsella's writing is easy to read and enjoy - a perfect book for a slow day or a bit of relaxation.

Rating: 4.5