Communication Breakdown

There Goes the Bride

Holly McQueen

Fiction

Another mixed feelings book. I liked it, but I didn’t like it.

There Goes the Bride is about Polly, who, confusing everyone in her life, decides to call off her wedding two weeks before the event. Her sister and best friend can’t understand why Polly’s done this, and as the called-off-date approaches, everyone tries to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first. Too many pop-culture references. One character refers to herself as Blair Waldorf, for goodness sake. Then we have my main pet peeve, which is Polly’s unbelievably lame reason for calling off the wedding. It was just…I could hardly believe it when I read it. 

Onto the good stuff. I liked all the characters and wanted to see how they would end up. The ending was kind to them all. The story also moved fast and the pacing was just right.

If you’re looking for a new chick lit author to fall in love with, this book’s for you. Otherwise, skip it.

Untasty Pudding

Charlotte au Chocolat: Memories of a Restaurant Girlhood

Charlotte Silver

Memoir

Any non-fiction book with “chocolate” in the title (especially if it’s in French) is guaranteed to lure me in. While this wasn’t the best restaurant memoir I’ve ever read, it certainly wasn’t the worst.

Charlotte Silver grew up in the restaurant biz. Her parents ran Upstairs at the Pudding, a restaurant in Harvard Square. Eventually, her parents divorced and Charlotte's mom ran the place on her own while Charlotte observed. Only she didn’t really observe all that much. You’d think a book about watching all the behind-the-scenes action in a restaurant would be juicy. But it’s not. Ms. Silver spends most of the time describing her dresses and sometimes the food. It all gets kind of boring after awhile and I found myself skimming a lot.

If you grew up in Boston or around Harvard, you’ll probably like this book. Otherwise, forget it.

Pound Cake

Read My Hips: How I Learned to Love My Body, Ditch Dieting and Live Large

Kim Brittingham

Memoir

Don’t get all excited (or annoyed) thinking this is a diet book. It’s not. It’s just a memoir of a woman who is sick of all the mixed messages and judgements our society hands down about overweight people.

Ms. Brittingham grew up obsessing about her weight, like a lot of women. She tried all sorts of diets and crazy ways to lose the pounds. It was only when she reached full adulthood that she finally realized it was time to let go and be happy with who she is. So she started a blog and suddenly became a semi-celebrity, then wrote this book. The best part of Read My Hips are her comments on how we treat overweight people, women especially. It’s pretty sad.

If you’ve ever had weight issues at all, you’ll like this book.

Capital B

White Girl Problems

Babe Walker

Memoir

This book confused the hell out of me. I thought it was a memoir, and then when I started reading it I figured it couldn’t possibly be true and noticed my library had it labeled as fiction, but then I checked and it definitely is a memoir. So…now I don’t know what to think.

White Girl Problems is the story of Babe, a spoiled rich girl who grows up in L.A. She ends up in rehab for overspending and basically not doing a thing with her life. But first she has to go to five different colleges and drop out of all of them, work for her father’s law firm for one day, and use and discard all sorts of guys like they’re Kleenex. Babe is a bitch, too. I did not feel much sympathy for her, which I suppose is the point. She can be hilarious at times, though, I’ll give her that. She’s so heinous and over-the-top you can’t help but laugh at some of the stuff she does, says, and thinks. 

If you don’t mind reading about a self-centered “heroine” and her Hollywood antics, this book’s for you (it’s a short read, too). If you need to read about someone you can relate to, skip White Girl Problems.

Life of the Party

I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag: A Memoir of a Life Through Events—the Ones You Plan and the Ones You Don’t

Jennifer Gilbert

Memoir

This book was a lot better than I thought it would be. I read a review of it a few months ago, jotted it down on my to-read list and when it came in on my holds last week, I’d totally forgotten what exactly it was about. So I was beyond surprised once I started reading.

I assumed I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag was all about how Jennifer Gilbert become a party planner. And it was, but little did I know how traumatizing and rom-com her life would turn out to be. Not only did she get attacked by a screw-driver wielding psycho and almost die, but it took her years to trust a man and start a family. All the while putting together fabulous dinners and parties. She’s a true inspiration and this book was so good I finished it in one day. 

I recommend I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag to everyone (especially if you’re into event planning, because she gives lots of good tips).