SBD London is the Best City In America
A fun book. The various conflicts seemed weak-ish (which is surprising, since they're built into the plot) the goals not there (that was the point, actually) but I liked it. The voice and, to a certain extent the situation, reminded me of a fluffier Ann Tyler. The people are richer and less neurotic.
The first person narrator didn't annoy me, even when Emmy (that narrator) seemed annoyed with herself. Though she and her brother, Josh, might have been caught in high school worthy dramas, the view was usually fairly interesting. We watch them grow up a bit, become less passive.
The initial situation is Emmy walks out on her fiance and then stays in Narragansett, where they'd been staying the night. She stalls out and drifts along. I wished there was more about the community of fishermen and their wives--that sounded more interesting than Scarsdale where the action takes place. But part of the point of the book is that she doesn't understand those people and apparently isn't capable of it at that point in her life. She has to go back to her roots, Scarsdale (!) to figure stuff out. Sort of. Figure it out, I mean. Mostly she finally gets that it's time to move on and she sees a train and jumps it (not literally, okay? It's not that kind of a book).
There's a 16 year old in story that seemed way more open to other people and friendlier to adult strangers than most 16 year olds I know---certainly more mature than most of the other characters in the book. She's the one person I didn't quite believe. And then there's Josh's Other Woman who's also too perfect. We're supposed to love both of the women he's involved with, but I'm not convinced we see enough of them to be as in love as Emmy and her brother or maybe the two women are too perfect.
I appreciated the fact that Josh and Emmy love each other and their parents and come from a secure, happy family (they don't seem to get that's why they're allowed to screw up their lives and still remain basically secure). It's a nice change. I do sort of wish there hadn't been happiness waiting for them that they can fall into, rather than work for, but hey, that's fine. This is the sort of book I'd like to read when I'm feeling like the universe is too harsh. It's not pure escapist fluff fun of a romance, but it's cheerier than a bunch of books like it.
Here's the basic point: I enjoyed the bejeebus out of the author's voice and will actively hunt for her other books.
So. That's my SBD. Now I have to figure out why my phone is broken. This real life thing is annoying.
The first person narrator didn't annoy me, even when Emmy (that narrator) seemed annoyed with herself. Though she and her brother, Josh, might have been caught in high school worthy dramas, the view was usually fairly interesting. We watch them grow up a bit, become less passive.
The initial situation is Emmy walks out on her fiance and then stays in Narragansett, where they'd been staying the night. She stalls out and drifts along. I wished there was more about the community of fishermen and their wives--that sounded more interesting than Scarsdale where the action takes place. But part of the point of the book is that she doesn't understand those people and apparently isn't capable of it at that point in her life. She has to go back to her roots, Scarsdale (!) to figure stuff out. Sort of. Figure it out, I mean. Mostly she finally gets that it's time to move on and she sees a train and jumps it (not literally, okay? It's not that kind of a book).
There's a 16 year old in story that seemed way more open to other people and friendlier to adult strangers than most 16 year olds I know---certainly more mature than most of the other characters in the book. She's the one person I didn't quite believe. And then there's Josh's Other Woman who's also too perfect. We're supposed to love both of the women he's involved with, but I'm not convinced we see enough of them to be as in love as Emmy and her brother or maybe the two women are too perfect.
I appreciated the fact that Josh and Emmy love each other and their parents and come from a secure, happy family (they don't seem to get that's why they're allowed to screw up their lives and still remain basically secure). It's a nice change. I do sort of wish there hadn't been happiness waiting for them that they can fall into, rather than work for, but hey, that's fine. This is the sort of book I'd like to read when I'm feeling like the universe is too harsh. It's not pure escapist fluff fun of a romance, but it's cheerier than a bunch of books like it.
Here's the basic point: I enjoyed the bejeebus out of the author's voice and will actively hunt for her other books.
So. That's my SBD. Now I have to figure out why my phone is broken. This real life thing is annoying.
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