Mitch Samuel is an oft-rejected writer who tries hard and means well but when he forgets to pick up his girlfriend at the airport, he’s not only unpublished, but single too.
After having his book rejected for the millionth time, Mitch takes it out on his neighbor’s magazines. Feeling bad about his tantrum, Mitch goes to the bookstore for new magazines and finds a mob of woman losing their minds –the queen of chick-lit, Katherine Longwell , is in the house promoting her new book, The Cappuccino Club.
Through his fog of disgust of the formulaic genre, Mitch notes that Katherine Longwell has sold millions of books and enjoys incredible success; while he only gets rejected. Mitch grabs a copy of the book and walks out.
With the new Longwell tome in hand, Mitch is off to Starbucks, where he can read in relative anonymity. With his IQ dropping rapidly, Mitch closes the book, only to find the author standing in front of him requesting his input. Seeing an opportunity, Mitch proceeds to tell Katherine he’s reading at the request of his cousin – the aspiring writer and huge fan of Katherine Longwell. By the end of the chat, Katherine has promised to do everything she can to get Mitch’s cousin published. Now all Mitch needs is a story to write, but how to get into the minds of women?
So starts the Oprah marathons, self-guided shopping trips and anything else that will give him insight into the female psyche. When his best friend and roommate tells him about the dance class his sister is taking, Mitch thinks he has the perfect solution. Although well intended, Mitch’s plan will cost him much more than he expects.
Dan Begley had me at “Here’s what I was doing at 6 o’clock when the apartment door flies open…” and Mitch proceeds to explain what happens when his girlfriend comes home after he forgets to pick her up at the airport. Begley renders the scene beautifully, painting Mitch’s fate with an easy, clever and funny style that turns one of the worst days of Mitch’s life into a very entertaining moment for me. I haven’t enjoyed reading a chick-lit book this much since Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing. Begley did an excellent job providing a new perspective on such a female-driven genre. The writing was funny, sarcastic and refreshing, without all that annoying whining, chortling or squealing – just the way I like it.
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Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pub. Date: June 2009
ISBN-13: 9780446506182