Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Review: How Perfect Is That

This was my first book for Maggie's Southern Summer Reading Challenge, and I really enjoyed it.

Following her divorce from the son of one of Austin's finest families, Blythe Young is cast out of the very society that paraded her around on their shoulders during her marriage. Thanks to a prenup, she's also out on the street, with nothing left but an out-of-gas minivan and the couture on her back. To add insult to injury, her career as an upscale event coordinator is over, with no money to buy food or pay her employees.

Luckily, she's able to wash all these troubles down with her "proprietary blend of Red Bull, Stoli, Ativan, just the tiniest smidge of OxyContin, and one thirty-milligram, timed-release spansule of Dexedrine."

Resources depleted, Blythe ends up at the only place that will take her in, her college boardinghouse, now overseen by her former roommate. And, she's got to eat some crow to go back to both to the house and her long-abandoned friend. However, it may be just what she needs to get her life back on track.

This book is hysterically quirky. It's Southern, it's eccentric, it's witty. I love the specificity of the characters...the author has a knack for including details that really make these characters come alive off the page. I haven't read anything by Sarah Bird before, but I'm sure going to check out her others.

5 comments:

maggie moran said...

Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and you pointed me into a new author which I love! Thanks! :)

Linda Jacobs said...

I love quirky and witty so will definitely check it out. Thanks!

Linda Jacobs said...

Me, again.

I was just going through some of your older posts and saw your review of Janet Evanovitch's 14th Stephanie Plum novel. I haven't read it yet since I'm only up to eleven but I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

You are right; the characters are the best!

maggie moran said...

Thanks for all the chat between you and author Sarah Byrd. She has agreed to send an autographed copy of the book for give-away during the challenge! You might win it!!!

Jim Rhodes said...

I don't want to miss this challenge next time. I enjoy reading. And I like this https://samedaypaper.org/blog/exploratory-essay site too. Have you seen it?