American Girls About Town [Paperback]

Jennifer Weiner (Author), Lauren Weisberger (Author), Adriana Trigiani (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2004

Born in the U.S.A....

American gals are taking liberties -- and pursuing happiness on their own terms -- in this star-studded story collection featuring the nation's red-hot women writers.

They've declared their independence!

Jennifer Weiner (In Her Shoes) learns "The Truth About Nigel" -- and the trouble with falling for an incognito Hollywood actor. Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada) sends a single New Yorker on a backpacking trip halfway around the world -- where she sees her love life back home with new eyes -- in "The Bamboo Confessions." A harried mom with a hit novel crosses the pond in "My Great Brit Book Tour" by Adriana Trigiani (Lucia, Lucia), and turns a crumbling talk show appearance into a sweet success. Also uniting their talents in this free-spirited anthology are

JULIANNA BAGGOTT • CINDY CHUPACK • LYNDA CURNYN • QUINN DALTON • LAUREN HENDERSON • JUDI HENDRICKS • GRETCHEN LASKAS • CLAIRE LaZEBNIK • CHRIS MANBY • SARAH MLYNOWSKI • MELISSA SENATE • JILL SMOLINSKI • NANCY SPARLING • LAURA WOLF

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Now that the Scottish girls and the Irish girls have had their chance (Irish Girls About Town; Scottish Girls About Town), a delightful—if uneven—new collection of 17 stories from American women authors hits the scene. While many stories are simply shorter versions of chick-lit books—breezy, light, fun—some play with the rules. The best of the bunch come from a mix of name writers and lesser known talents. Laura Wolf's "Amore" follows a young woman through her lifelong quest to bypass dull American boys and find an interesting foreign man—a quiet-sounding premise that heats up with an unexpected twist. Sarah Mlynowki's lively "The Two-Month Itch" chronicles the possible outcomes of kissing—or not kissing—the cute boy seated next to you on a plane when you're not at all single. Lynda Curnyn's "The Uncertainty Principle" is a dreamy, atmospheric story of what happens in one apartment when the lights go out in New York City in the summer of '03. And in Claire Lazebnik's charming "Leaving a Light On," a married couple pretends to meet for the first time in a hotel bar, spicing up their marriage with "casual sex." While this anthology has its share of mediocre padding, the gems in it are strong enough to make this a rewarding read for lovers of chick lit.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Jennifer Weiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nine books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, which was made into a major motion picture, and Fly Away Home. A graduate of Princeton University, Jennifer is also the co-creator and executive producer for the ABC Family show State of Georgia. To learn more, visit www.jenniferweiner.com.

Lauren Weisberger is the New York Times bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada, which was made into a major motion picture starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway; Everyone Worth Knowing; and Chasing Harry Winston. A graduate of Cornell University, she lives in New York City with her husband. To learn more, visit www.laurenweisberger.com. 

Adriana Trigiani grew up in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, and now lives in New York City with her husband and daughter. In addition to being the author of Big Stone Gap, Big Cherry Holler, Milk Glass Moon and Lucia, Lucia, Adriana is an award-winning playwright, television writer, and documentary filmmaker. Lucia, Lucia was nominated for Richard and Judy's 'Best Read', 2004. She has written the screen adaptation of her novel Big Stone Gap, which she will also direct.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 369 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Original edition (October 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743496957
• ISBN-13: 978-0743496957
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lauren Weisberger is the author of The Devil Wears Prada, which spent more than a year on the New York Times hardcover and paperback bestseller lists. The film version, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, won a Golden Globe Award and grossed over $300 million worldwide. Her second novel, Everyone Worth Knowing, was also a New York Times bestseller. She lives in New York City with her husband.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't miss this one!!!, October 30, 2004

By 

Diane Moore - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: American Girls About Town (Paperback)

At first, I was skeptical. I like to read short stories, but I reserve my chick lit interests for the long versions.
There are 17 stories about 17 different women in this collection, and a picture of each aurthor on the back page (in case you don't recognize the names.) Even though I only know about half of them, I think I might have to check out some of their books, because they really know how to tell a story!!

Since I enjoyed (most) of the stories, I will just go over the few that I liked the most.

Leaving a light on--- This is about a woman who embarks on an affair that is nothing like it seems. The ending surprised me!

The Truth about Nigel---A woman stars working with a very good looking English guy, starts to become interested in him, and they start a friendship. But, something happens that only she didn't see coming!

The Bamboo Confessions---This was probably my favorite story by the author of "The Devil Wears Prada." A Woman goes to Vietnam for a backpacking trip. She is one who is never alone. She leaves her boyfriend, her family, and her life to do this---Even though this was a trip that she was skeptical about, she found the best time and greatest adventure in this trip!

Bad Manners--She is dating someone who may seem like a prince, but he doesn't treat her right. So, when they break up, she is off to find a quick fling, and she finds it with someone the exact opposite of her ex.

Forty Days---she has forty days until she turns 40. She is going to do things that she has never done or been afraid to do. I lived vicariously through her story.

This book will not disappoint!

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There's enough good stories to buy it, January 3, 2005

By 

M. M. Murray "Princess Buttercup" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Girls About Town (Paperback)

Because these are short stories, I am going to go through each story and say if I liked it and why. The good thing about this book is the bad ones end quickly, but there were some I didn't want to end!

1. A Day in the Life of My Great Brit Book Tour--3 stars--ok. There is a pretty good looking cake recipe, although I haven't tried it yet to say if it is good! The story however is just so-so. Nothing notable to remember and kind of glad it was over.

2. Five--3.5 stars--I don't think this was the best story for a short story. Might have been ok as an intro for a longer book, but as a short story not that great.

3. Leaving a Light On--5 stars--This made a great short story, but I am not going to tell you more, b/c the ending as a suprise makes it wonderful!

4. Moving Day--3.75 stars--Pretty good, but not as good as #3 which it followed.

5. Yoga Babe--0 stars--Hated it! Makes all the other stories great. Why do I want to read about some egocedntric yoga chic! Skip it!

6. The Truth About Nigel--4.25 stars--I am slightly biased on this one, since Jennifer Weiner is one of my favorite authors and the reason I bought the book. But this one of my favorites in the book.

7. Voodoo Dolls, C-cups and Eminem---5 Stars---I loved this story. Probably my most favorite in the book along with 10. I would recommend the book for this, #3, #6 and #10 alone.

8. The Bamboo Confessions--3.75 stars--Pretty good. It's about finding yourself and realizing who you are away from the people that seem to know you.

9. Amore--4 stars--this was pretty funny, although I wanted more at the end. I hope she found her foreign man!

10. Andromeda on the Street of Ducklings--5 stars--I would give this one ten if I could. Well I guess I can since it's my review and my rating :) This was a perfect short story that was the right length with the right amount of info at the right time.

11. Bad Manners--4 stars--Unfortunately most of us have dated an jerk like this. It was a good story that put it in a funny amusing context.

12. The Two-Month Itch--1 star--Not that great. I didn't enjoy it and it did nothing for me except annoyance.

13. I Know a Woman--3 stars--This was ok...the only reason I even gave it 3 stars, is the very last line is one of the most beautiful I have read. It won't give anything away if you skip immediately to this line and give it a read.

14. Just Visiting--5 Stars--This was great! I absolutely loved it and it made me laugh out loud. She didn't make the best decisions, but anyone can understand why she did it.

15. Forty Days--4.75 stars---didn't give it 5 simply b/c the ones I did give five were sooooo good. But it was a great story and great for the beginnning of a new year. This should be done all the time.

16. The Uncertainty Principle--1.75 stars--This was ok. Not as bad as some of the stories, but not that great.

17. Small Worlds--2 stars--The book ended on a couple of duds in my opinion. This was again decent, but definately not worth recommending the book for. The others in this book help make up the duds though.

I highly recommend this book. It's nice to read decent short stories, some of which are just great.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely Worth the Buy and it Helps Raise Money for a Good Cause, March 7, 2006

By 

Lauren Wastal "Book Addict" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Girls About Town (Paperback)

While there were some stories that didn't particularly excite me some of them were perfect and exactly how short stories should be. Here are my reviews:

Cream of the Crop:
3. Leaving a Light On- I loved it. It reminds you that on some golden afternoons, you can still feel like anything can happen and anything can change. Just read it.
6. The Truth About Nigel- Jennifer Weiner's contribution. It's pretty good, she never disappoints. It's about a woman who thinks she finally found a man, who turns out not to be the man she thinks he is at all.
8. The Bamboo Confessions- Lauren Weisberger's contribution [The Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing]. It's a good story about a woman who uproots herself. This story reminds of the quotation [this isn't exact] "Sometimes the only way to know yourself is if you go some place where you don't have to be anyone else.'
10. Andromeda on the Street of Ducklings- This story is beautiful to me. It's about loving, losing and dealing with it. Some parts made me want to cry.
14. Just Visiting- Great. It is exactly what we all wish would happen to us, if we left home in search of a new life.
15. Forty Days- We should all try doing what this woman does- for Forty Days she tries all of the things she never tried before and ends up with better results than she could have ever dreamed of.

Middle Ground:
1. A Day in the Life of My Great Brit Book Tour- Doesn't do it for me. I don't really agree with the observations of the other characters' about the main character. But it wasn't horrible.
4. Moving Day- Pretty good. I like the beginning and the narration. It's about a woman who finds out that her finacee' isn't as straight as he seems. It's by the woman who used to write for Sex and the City [Cindy Chupack] and you can really see similarities in the writing style.
7. Voodoo Dolls, C-cups and Eminem- Just okay. Not the worst, not the best. But it is more of a sisters story than love story or a finding yourself story.
11. Bad Manners- Bad girls rock. She dates a jerk, dumps him and acts like a bad girl- you go girl!
12. The Two-Month Itch- Fairly entertaining. It's about a woman who never seems to keep a man around longer than two months. While, I prefer to, I know some women out there who suffer from the same syndrome.
13. I Know a Woman- Eh. It doesn't make me laugh or think too much but it did make me a little sad. Since, it evoked some emotion from me, it's placed in the Middle Ground category. And there are moments in it, that are pretty good.

Bottom Rung:
2. Five- It really didn't do it for me at all. It's about a woman who is convinced that her 5th husband is the one for her. Kind of sad and the main character is a bit narcisstic and I can tell that at the end of the story, the author wanted to make the main character have an revelation but for some reason I just didn't really believe it. It could have been too predictable but I am unsure of what exactly turned me off of this story.
5. Yoga Babe- I just didn't get it. I know there was a point in the story somewhere about the perfect pretty girl being annoyed with overweight girl being more apt at Yoga than she but I never got the point.
9. Amore- The ending confused me. I understood the main character and her obssession with finding and marrying a foreign man but I don't really know what exactly happened at the end. I think I may understand why but not how. For some people, it may be obvious but it wasn't to me.
16. The Uncertainty Principle- Definitely just didn't do it for me. I kind of wanted to kick the main character in the butt a little bit.
17. Small Worlds- The ending was too vague for me. Again, I know there was supposed to be some great epiphany at the end but it just didn't get conveyed to me at all. It's about a woman who gets stood up by the man she was going to have an affair with. And it just doesn't do it for me in the slightest.