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Welcome to the TLC Book Blog Tour of Waxed: A Novel by Robert Rave.


The blurb:
Waxed is the story of three relationship-challenged sisters working together at New York's hottest waxing salon, catering to socialites, actresses, and regular folk alike.

Yank.  On the surface, glamorous Carolina Impresario -- big sister and owner of Impresarios--unapologetically wants it all, but secretly she is caught between her successful boyfriend adn teh only man she has ever truly loved.


Pluck.  After a painful divorce, middle sister Anne reluctuatnly reenters the workforce and puts on a brave face while attempting to raise her children, one of whom is decidedly different.

Tear.  Newlywed Sofia is a hybrid of her two older sisters: She loves the idea of a domestic life like Anna's, but is entranced by New York nightlife and a new best friend, resulting in some major complications at home.

Amid the sticky confines of a perfectly manicured world, these three sisters search for love, friendship, and better versions of themselves.

Waxed is a funny and heartfelt novel that illustrates the lengths to which  some people will go to present a seemingly flawless exterior, even when it involves pain. . . .


Review:
Looking for a fun, light, New York chicklit novel to bring to the Park or the beach?  Waxed will surely entertain.  The three sisters are interesting in their own right, but the family dynamics and the drama of their love lives keeps Waxed moving at

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April was a busy and guest-post-and-interview-packed month for Jacket Knack and may I just say, wow. Really, may I? "Wow." Julie did the lion's share of the posting because I've been moving and stuff. And there were some amazing interviews presented here this month. To wit:

• April 8th. The Bologna Children's Book Fair as seen through the eyes of Sarah Blake Johnson. What great cover images she sent us! Highlights of her guest post for me:

  1. The cover from Portugal. Love it. Interesting that the artist chose to have the animals facing left. I can't read Portugese, but is that first word, "bichos" the word for a female dog? Probably not. (No, it means "animals." What is wrong with me?) 2. The idea that the Korean covers were the most visually stunning = intriguing. Must look for some Korean kids' book cover images soon.

• April 12th. The interview with Sally Wern Comport about the cover art of Rita Williams Garcia's One Crazy Summer. Stuff I learned:

  1. The red cover symbolizes, among other things the "hot tempest of this particular time in history," which is to say, the Civil Rights Movement. Didn't think of that. 2. The observation that illustration in the late sixties had skewed perspectives and thickly outlined elements. So true! Oh, how I long for those groovy days of yesteryear when we ate Knox gelatin to lose weight.

• April 15th. An interview with the cover designer for Warriors in the Crossfire, Helen Robinson, now at namelos. So many juicy tidbits to nosh on here. Here are two:

  1. I was struck by the way Helen goes about envisioning an image, intuitively and almost without thinking. How fun it must be to approach a creative project in that manner. 2. The idea of design for an e-book. I've been wondering about this a LOT--not that it's keeping me awake at night or anything, but still. Hope to do a post about it sometime.

  
  
• April 22nd. The interview with art director Richard Deas at Holt about the cover for Once. Amazing. Two things:

  1. Seeing the comps gives us an understanding of the "organic" nature of cover desig

  5 Comments on Highlights from Our 4 Juiciest April Posts, and a Fluffy Cover that Works, last added: 4/26/2010

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  NicolaSigel0508 said, on 4/26/2010 5:37:00 AM
  

  Julie Larios said, on 4/26/2010 8:23:00 AM
  

  Great overview, Carol. Let's find out what "comps" is short for! I can't come up with anything - compensatory? Complimentary? Compost?
  
  Just for the record: I'm going to go in and put a hold on comments like the one above. Comments from now on are going to need to be approved first. I'm happy to believe, not knowing what language this is, that it praises our energy and chuckles at the ducklings, but when I get to the part that says "sex story" I think, "Ducklings?"

  Julie Larios said, on 4/26/2010 8:26:00 AM
  

  Hey, wait a minute - the crazy comment above mine just disappeared. So I have a lot to learn about comments, I guess. I didn't know that could be done. Good!!!! Thank you!

  Carol Brendler said, on 4/26/2010 2:54:00 PM
  

  Yes, comment moderation might be in order (blecch). I think maybe "comps" means "comparables." That's my guess.

  Julie Larios said, on 4/26/2010 10:04:00 PM
  

  I'm going to be disappointed if it's not "Compost." Though you're probably right. Or it could be "composites."

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For tweenie readers who might be more inclined to combat boots than Uggs, Scholastic has introduced a new range of middle grade chicklit. We've seen the sparkly Candy Apple books. Now readers can sink their teeth into the Poison Apple books! I have to admit, my heart sang when I saw this in a recent publisher's catalog. I don't object to books like the Candy Apple books; they are popular for a

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So, I have long wished that Meg Cabot and I were BFF. Earlier this summer, she wrote a blog post about why she writes the types of books she writes:

When I began writing, one of the reasons I chose the genre of romantic fiction was because romances were what saved me from being so incredibly depressed (even suicidal) about my life as a teen (that, and eventually our mother getting us all into Al-Anon, of course).

I just can’t imagine writing (or reading) a book that wasn’t romantic fiction, or at least was funny. Romantic fiction was the only thing that helped me escape when my life was the worst it ever was (and the worst I hope it ever will be).

And I vowed then that if I ever became a professional writer, I’d write books that I hoped would give readers like me a fun escape from whatever awful thing they were going through.

Yes, there are “lessons” in my books (you have to hunt for them because I hate books with heavy-handed “messages.” I try to make my “lessons” subtle, but believe me, they’re there).

But mostly, my books are written to make people feel better about their lives while not reminding them of their own horrible problems.

In the past few weeks, I've had some really rough days at work. Some were just the normal rough day of people being mean and grouchy and you know, one of those days. Some days were way rougher and included people being so mean I ended up having to give witness statements to the police.

On bad days, I have discovered that a Meg Cabot novel will pretty much instantly make me feel better. On bad days, I run over to the teen and adult side and check a bunch out, because I know they will work. And they do. That and the fact Dan makes a wicked cocktail.

The Boy Next Door Meg Cabot

Told entirely in email, this is the story of Mel, a small time girl who's landed in New York. She's a gossip columnist trying to break into real news. Meanwhile, someone attacked her elderly next door neighbor and left her in a coma. Mel's taking care of her neighbor's pets until her only living relative shows up. Max Friedlander is a selfish playboy photographer who could care less about his great-aunt's cats and dogs so he calls in a favor... John Trent was just going to walk an old lady's dog to get Max off his back, little did he expect to fall in love with the girl next door. Mel likes him, too, but what will happen when she finds out that Max is really John and not Max at all?

Meg Cabot always puts me in a good mood. This is a fast, fun, totally hilarious chick lit read. Everyone gets in on the action--John's 8-year-old nieces, random people at Mel's office, and even a supermodel. Within 5 pages, I was feeling better from my horrible day. My only complaint is that the email header didn't have a time stamp. Other email books (such as e) make good use of the time stamp for added hilarity, and I think Cabot could have done the same. Ah well, it's a minor issue.

Boy Meets Girl Meg Cabot

This is a stand alone sequel to Boy Next Door. Kate is works in HR at the New York Journal, under the Tyrannical Office Despot, Amy (who kept sending Mel all the tardy notices in Boy Next Door.) Kate's been forced to fire the ever popular dessert lady Ida, who then sues the company for breach of contract. Amy and the paper's slimy lawyer are in love, and if Kate's not careful, the same could happen with his brother, the other lawyer representing the paper. How could she like a lawyer who's against Ida and her to-die-for cookies?!

This one is told in more than just email. We get IM transcripts, receipts, journal entries, voice mails, and notes passed back and forth during meetings. We even get Ida's recipes (which I haven't tried out yet.)

I'm a big fan of books in "stuff" even if there isn't a time stamp on the email. While this isn't a sequel per se, we do find out bits and pieces about how Mel is doing. We also see more of Stacy because she's the lawyers' sister.

Every Boy's Got One Meg Cabot

Once again, a related book that tells us "what happened next" from the previous book, but isn't an actual sequel.

Jane's best friend Holly is eloping to Italy to marry her boyfriend Mark and Jane's coming to be a witness. Unfortunately, Mark's best friend Cal is also coming and Cal's a classic Type A modelizing jerk who doesn't believe in marriage and will do all he can to stop the wedding from actually happening. Unless Jane can stop him.

Like Boy Meets Girl this has a lot more than just IM. More journal than anything, because even though all four main characters are connected to the New York Journal and the other characters we know and love, they'll all in Italy and removed from the situation.

Even better was the back material which tells us that the elopement to Italy and the hilarity that ensued was highly based on Cabot's own elopement to Italy, with a full run down of what was real and what wasn't.

All-American Girl Meg Cabot

Sam is a goth girl in DC who is wallowing in loserville (which is made worse by the fact her sister is super-popular). To make matters worse, she's completely in love with her sister's boyfriend. One day, while cutting the stupid art class her parents are making her take as a punishment for getting a C in German, Sam ends up saving the life of the President and is now a national hero. Sam doesn't feel like a hero. She just acted, she didn't think, so it wasn't even scary at the time. There was no bravery, just instinct. What she really needs bravery for is dealing with the complications that come from her friendship with the President's son. He's pretty obviously into her, but she's in love with her sister's boyfriend, right?

I love how many of Meg Cabot's heroines are total dorks, but awesome at the same time. Well yes, you can be awesome and still write Battlestar Gallactica fanfic, even if your hair is a nightmare and the popular girls hate you. At least, you can in Meg Cabot's world. Her books might be light and fun and fluffy but she still does have some really strong female characters (ok, not Princess Mia, but the others!) and sneaks awesome girl power messages in under the wire.

In this book, I most loved Sam's other sister (not the one with the boyfriend) who is 11 and definitely lacks social skills, so she has been reading romance novels in an attempt to learn some. Hysterical!

Minor complaint? As someone who drives across DC twice a day, I do not see nearly as many motorcades as Sam does. Especially Presidential ones. I only saw the Presidential motorcade once. The most extreme motorcade I ever saw involved the Queen of England and First Lady Laura Bush. Then there was the really weird one I saw a few months ago that involved a lot of coach buses filled with senior citizens. They had more police protection and black sedans than the Queen! But then again, they shut down the entire highway for the Queen. They didn't do that for the coach buses.

Most annoying are the small motorcades of people going to the Capitol during morning rush hour. They don't stop traffic, but you can't cut in the middle of a motorcade and they drive soooooooooooooooo slowly. I always want to know who's inside so I know to NEVER VOTE FOR THEM AGAIN. If you're important enough to get a motorcade, then you wield enough power to be all "you know what? Why don't we not meet until 10, so then the regular people trying to get to work won't be caught in this." Jerks.

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So, this is all a Jane Austen-y post. But in YA land.

Did you know that Shannon Hale is having a Princess Contest? Time is running out (it's one of those things that require thinking and entries are due on Monday!) (This is totally relevant because she wrote the chocolate cake of book Austenland: A Novel which is NOT a Jane Austen wannabe book (so please, don't judge it as such) but a fun little romp about those of us with an unhealthy Jane obsession. Or rather, an unhealthy Colin Firth obsession.

Another fun book about unhealthy Jane obsessions?

Enthusiasm Polly Shulman

Julie's best friend, Ashleigh, is an enthusiast. When she becomes interested in something, it goes a little overboard. So, when Ashleigh decides to become obsessed with Jane Austen? Julie sees her high school career ending up in the toilet. Ashleigh is speaking rather properly now and refuses to "bare her lower extremities" aka show her ankles. Or wear trousers. Oiy.

To top it off, in order to find her own Mr. Darcy, Ashleigh has decided to crash the fall formal of the snooty boys school up the road. Not only does Julie thinks this is an awful idea, she can't help but wonder why Ashleigh gets Darcy and she's stuck with the perfectly fine, but a bit boring, Mr. Bingley.

Of course, at the dance, they both find Mr. Right and an unfortunate communication error means Ashleigh claims him first. Ashleigh would never move in on a guy Julie likes, so Julie stays mum, her heart breaking.

Meanwhile there is the school musical, other friends, extra-curriculars, a boy who can't take a hint, mysterious poetry, and messed up step-families.

NOT a Jane Austen wannabe, but a fun romantic romp about friendship, high school, and boys, and an overbearing best friend whose heart is completely in the right place.

A big thank you to Tiny Little Librarian for the recommendation!

One that was not done so well is

The Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love Rosie Rushton

This is a retelling of Sense and Sensibility set in modern day England

It was light and airy and fun, but not nearly as lovely as the original. I think I would have liked it more if I wasn't familiar with the source material.

Now, I like some remakes... Clueless was a wonderful look at Emma. It made fun of itself.

Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason? Really well thought out and hilarious takes on Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion (the worst part about the movies was that they stripped out a lot of the parallels.)

The adaptions that work work because (a) They know what they are and are able to stretch the story within those confines (b) Are hysterical. They also, in their own way, (c) Retained a bit of the subtle commentary on society.

Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love is lukewarm. It is so strictly worried about faithfulness to the original material that it doesn't add anything to the story. If you're not going to add, then why retell?

If you've never read Sense and Sensibility then this would be a fine, if not memorable, teenage brit chick lit about girls dealing with divorce, a new town, and boys. It strips away the commentary.

Read the original. Skip this. Unless, you have to read Sense and Sensibility for school and totally don't understand it and have access to this and not access to the movie. This book won't help you pass the test, but if you read it first and then go back to the Austen, you might understand the basic plot of the Austen a little more.

Oh, and completely unrelated, here's a great site for wasting some time and learning your geography-- check out all the challenges.

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Kelsey has to move to the west coast from Boston with two months notice, because her mom decides to pursue her dream of going to law school. Now that Kelsey's folk's divorce is final, her mom says it's time for her. Hence the move to Cali and in with the grandparents for the duration of law school.

As Kelsey says, the move would have been better timed either before or after middle school. Having to negotiate a whole new 8th grade at a private school (and one for girls, at that) is never easy. Kelsey would have no friends at all if it weren't for her grandmother's best friend's granddaughter Amy. Actually, straight-laced Kelsey probably wouldn't be friends at all with Amy (who is a self proclaimed Punky Retro Goth Vegan with Straight Edge tendencies), if it weren't forced at first. But Amy turns out to be okay, and she opens Kelsey's eyes to the world of public school versus privilege.

As the reader whips through 8th grade, Kelsey decides to campaign to her parents for the right to go to public school. When she gets her wish, she certainly isn't thinking about boyfriends, but when semi-pro skater C.J. Logan comes to her rescue while she is babysitting her little bro at the skate park one day, she can't stop thinking about him. Soon she goes from obscurity of the new girl at a public high school, to being C.J.'s girl.

But what does it mean to be C.J.'s girlfriend? How often does she have to go to the park, or a jam, or a party with C.J.? And what happened to all those extra curriculars that Kelsey used to campaign for attendance at East Bay High? And what happens to the reputation of a girl who dumps the un-dumpable guy ... the one who is used to being the dumper not the dumpee?

Rosemary Graham has written a super fast paced piece of chick lit with quite a bit of substance. We follow Kelsey over 3 years in a mere 281 pages, but the reader doesn't feel rushed. The writing style is breezy and you blink and a couple months go by, but somehow it works. Kelsey is naive, but likable and C.J. is your typical popular guy. I have to admit, that I have a soft spot for the skater dude ( I married one after all), but this title easily translates to those who don't know skating, but do know about trying to negotiate the world of school, popularity while trying to stay true to oneself!

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You know how much I love Shannon Hale and she's written a book for us adults! Woo hoo!

This is nothing like her previous work. This is not fantasy in made up lands, but pure chick lit. In her blog when she talks of Austenland, she says,

I truly did not think that this book would ever be published. It was a side project for so many years, just a fun story I kept returning to, quite different from anything else I was writing. It's just so fun to see it coming about. It's just such a gooey chocolate cake of a book for me, a steaming plate of chocolate chip cookies, a carrot pudding with rum sauce.

A gooey chocolate cake of a book is a perfect description. Jane Hayes is a graphic designer in New York and not getting any younger. She can't find a man to live up to the expectations set by one Mr. Colin Firth playing Mr. Darcy in the Pride and Prejudice.

See, this is something I can totally understand. Shannon Hale has a minor Colin Firth obsession. In the acknowledgements she assures her husband "you know this Colin Firth thing isn't really serious... It's just a girl thing, I swear." I'd just like to take this moment to assure my husband the same thing. But he can still give me Colin Firth movies for Christmas, I really won't mind.

Also, I love her dedication: "For Colin Firth-- you're a really great guy, but I'm married, so I think we should just be friends."

If you understand the Colin Firth thing, this is the book for you. If you don't, well then you probably won't get it and might want to skip this one.

So anyway, Jane is hung up on an illusion. When her wealthy great-aunt dies, Jane is left a trip to Penbrook Park, where you can pretend you're living in a Jane Austen novel for three weeks. Jane decides to take it as one last hurrah to kick the Firth habit for good. It'll work, right?

I will warn you, this is completely different than Hale's other books. It doesn't have her normal literary writing style (because, let's face it, chicklit with literary writing style just doesn't work).

That is not to say it isn't good. For those of us who understand the Colin Firth obsession, it's wonderful. I opened it as soon as it arrived on my doorstep, started reading and only stopped to IM my similarly Firth-obsessed friend. We then wished we could go to Penbrook Park and planned all sorts of adventures. It's hilariously funny as well.

Also, this is good chicklit. It's not as straightforward as it could be. I like that Penbrook Park was not as perfect as it sounded and was populated by desperate women. Hale really thought this through and didn't take the easy way out. Because, let's face it, Hale is awesome, even when writing chicklit.

If the words "Colin Firth in a wet shirt" make you swoon, well then, this is the book for you. You'll be googling Penbrook Park in no time to see if it really exists...

Also, check out the letter Ms. Hale sent to Mr. Firth with an ARC...

Other blog reviews: Eclectic Closet, Writing and Ruminating, Bookburger, Estella's Revenge, Mads Reads, A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy, A Novel Idea

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Hello Mean Girls!

Spencer, Aria, Emily and Hanna were all friends with Ali. They loved her and loathed her at the same time. She always managed to get secrets out of them, and then lord that fact over their heads.

But Ali disappeared.

Two years later, the girls are juniors and have changed drastically since junior high. Aria is back from Iceland and is more bohemian than ever. Hanna lost all that weight and wears the latest fashions. Emily is trying to love her boyfriend, while she is lusting after new girl Maya. And Spencer is still trying to surpass her older sister.

An amazing amount of things are going on in this book. Sex, drinking, affairs with teachers etc. It kind of reminded me of a girl version of Doing It in that my brain refuses to believe that all of this could possibly be going on.

But admidst all of this a some pieces of brilliance. Like when Emily realizes that her mom is a racist. The slow dawning of this unthinkable idea is life altering for her. Also, the pacing is perfect. What Sara Shepard is writing about is nothing new, but she made me stay up past my bedtime, wanting to find out what the "Jenna Thing" was all about.

More substantive that other mean girl series, girls 8th grade and up are going crazy for Pretty Little Liars.

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So the prom to the teen is somewhat like New Year's Eve to us old folks. Big anticipation, and a bit of let down. I would know. I went to 3 "formals" as they were called in my hometown, and each was depressing in its own little way.

But I digress.

Laura, Jace and Chloe are bestfriends. At least they were in the 8th grade. Now they've each gone their own way. Laura is the popular, organized on. She is going on a year and a half dating her boyfriend Mike. She went to his prom last year. Jace is the athletic one...the star of the basketball team. And Chloe? Let's face it. She's just weird with her red barrette and Sylvia Plath obsession. It's hard to think that once they were known and "The Three Ts" (It's a last name thing.)

Laura has decided that it is her duty to get her old friends together to have the night of their lives. She has her date, Jace thinks she can get one with the new tennis boy in town, and they will simply have to help Chloe out.

Can these three overcome their differences in time for Prom? Is there really such a thing as a perfect night? What happens when you figure out that your boyfriend is a jerk?

All important questions to be answered.

Blake Nelson's Prom Anonymous will most likely appeal to a younger teen girl. You know how I feel about the super different friends coming together...(see Queen of Cool )But Chloe is so helpless and Jace is so nice and Laura is a mess, so as a reader, I found myself routing for the night to go well.

Not my fav, but an entertaining read, nonetheless!

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