Customer Reviews

American Girls About Town

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

American Girls About Town is the third book in the "Girls About Town" series that Downtown Press has published over the past couple of years. This latest collection is filled with delightful short stories by many of our favorite authors, such as Lauren Henderson, Sarah Mlynowski, Melissa Senate, Jennifer Weiner, Adriana Trigiani, Laura Wolf, Lynda Curnyn, and many more.

There were some truly outstanding and offbeat stories in this collection. "My Great Brit Book Tour" by Adriana Trigiani starts the book out on a hilarious note that tells how Anna, a new mother, who has to juggle a screaming baby, a broken tooth and a TV guest spot in London; "Yoga Babe" by Lauren Henderson is one of my favorite stories in the book. It is short, sweet and features an un-named heroine who shares some of the ups and downs of attending an advanced Yoga class; "The Truth About Nigel" by Jennifer Weiner is a well-written and engaging tale of a girl who falls for a new guy at work only to discover he is a famous actor in hiding; "Voodoo Dolls, C-Cups and Eminem" by Melissa Senate is an interesting story that explores the sometimes tough relationships between sisters and new fiancés; "The Bamboo Confessions" by Lauren Weisberger is about how one young woman goes backpacking alone in Vietnam and finds a lot more than she ever dreams she would. And there are many other great stories in this collection!

The author lineup is impressive and many of the stories are so good that you wish they were full novels! I couldn't ask for a better short story collection. This is as good as it gets.

I enjoyed this book because I didn't have to commit to an entire novel, and was surprised by the authors I liked:
Melissa Senate, Cindy Chupak and (the big surprise) Lauren Weisenberger (as I wasn't a fan of DWP).
Weisenberger had an interesting heroine with a lousy boyfriend, and she travels off to the other end of the world to make him squirm--or does he?
I was surprised by Weiner's attempt, and it appeared that she may have been reading a lot of Green, Holden and Maxted with her stab at being British. Stick with what you know so we can enjoy your talent.

Like many other reviewers, I also don't read many anthologies, but I have to say I enjoyed this. Was I crazy about every single story in it? No, but there were enough good ones to merit a good review.

Basically, the stories fell into a few categories. The selections by Hendricks, Weisberger and Sparling were about women abroad contemplating their relationships back home, (or lack thereof). All three were very good.

Weiner's, Trigiani's and Manby's all took place in England. They were all just OK, in my opinion. Weiner's writing style was perhaps too serious for its silly plot, Trigiani's was just too fluffy, and Manby's was kind of sleazy (but was probably the best of the three.)

Chupack's, Henderson's, Wolfe's and Curnyn's were the most literary, and were very stream-of consciousness. I didn't like these that much.

Three of the stories were not really chick-lit but of that "Southern small-town woman" genre. The stories were all right (Baggott's, Dalton's and Laskas's)but didn't belong with the others in the anthology.

I didn't get through Mlynowski's, which seemed very shallow, so the three remaining were probably the best.

Gold--Voodoo Dolls, etc.--Melissa Senate. Funny and moving
Silver--Leaving a light on. Cute, with a surprise ending
Bronze--Forty Days, by Jill Smolinski. Close tie with the "vacation" stories, but this one was more origninal.

I usually don't go for short stories, but picked this up because I love Jennifer Weiner and many of the other authors. The stories were mainly good ones, but the ones I loved like "Leaving a Light On," left me not wanting to read on after finishing the story. I couldn't sit for hours and read like I can with a good novel. The stories for the most part were really good, with a few disappointments mixed in, but it didn't make me inspired to pick it up every free minute I had like novels like Baker Towers or Little Earthquakes did.

Some of these stories are good, while others I skipped over. I like a lot of chick lit, but also some more serious lit, so I am probably a good barometer. For me, the highlights of the collection were:

Claire LaZebnik, "Leaving a Light On": Claire wrote "Same as It Never Was," a novel I read last summer and loved. I highly recommend it. Anyway, "Leaving a Light On" showcases her same clever but easy-to-read style and absorbing, instantly relatable characters. This story is about a woman who puts on a little black dress and heads out for a night at a bar and picks up a married guy...but the reader is in for a big surprise about both of them.

Lauren Henderson, "Yoga Babe": I love yoga so I may be a bit biased, but I thought Lauren really created a memorable character here. It's about a princess type who's befuddled by the fact that a stocky girl with hairs on the back of her thighs can beat her at yoga.

Cindy Chupack, "Moving Day": This was written by the same woman who wrote the scripts for "Sex and the City." There was a little too much telling as opposed to showing in her story, but all the same, it's a funny story about a girl who finds out her husband is gay and starts over.

Jennifer Weiner, "The Truth About Nigel": This story is set in London for some reason, and Weiner uses some British-isms like "crisps" but at other times the dialogue sounds totally American. So that was a drawback. But the plot, about an office worker who falls in love with an impostor, is interesting enough.

Melissa Senate, "Voodoo Dolls, C-Cups and Eminem": This is about a woman who is getting married to a man she's only known for six weeks. Her family is opposed, and her sister expresses her feelings in an unexpected way!

Chris Manby, "Bad Manners": This is about a girl who dates a member of the British royalty, who is totally rude!

Jill Smolinski, "Forty Days": This one drags a bit but is a nice example of "older" chick lit, like Claire Cook's novels (Must Love Dogs, Multiple Choice). Smolinski herself wrote Flip-Flopped, an okay book. Anyway, Forty Days is about a woman approaching 40 who decides to do something she's never done before on each of the forty days before birthday.

Gretchen Laskas, "Small Worlds": While this story is a little creepier and darker than the rest, it is memorable for its vivid characterizations. It's about a woman who's unhappy because she and her husband can't have a child, and I don't want to give away the rest.

Lauren Weisberger, "The Bamboo Confessions": I'm not sure how great a writer Weisberger is, but when she has an interesting situation, she can write a good story. Here the focus is on a girl who goes to Vietnam by herself, meets some new friends and gains some insight into her boyfriend back home.

Julianna Baggott, "Five": This is an unusual story about a woman who just left her fourth husband and is looking for her fifth, while staying with her sister and her sister's husband.

The other stories - by Adriana Trigiani, Laura Wolf, Judy Hendricks, Sarah Mlynowski, Quinn Dalton, Nancy Sparling, and Lynda Curnyn - just didn't hold my attention, even though I'm an avid reader. I thought they were dull and plodding. But the stories I described above were enjoyable. It might be a good bet to take this one out of the library.

It seems that there are chicklit anthologies springing up everywhere, and it's been nice to read short stories for a change. Once again, there's something for everyone, and some stories will keep your attention and leave you wanting more, while others you'll breeze through and never think twice about. I hope they keep publishing these collections and include different and new writers to keep them fresh instead of rehashing the same authors. What I particularly like about them is that I've read authors I've never read before and now will read their other work. It's a great way to test out an author before investing in a book.

This is a short story collection featuring 17 different American women's fiction authors, the most famous of whom is probably Jennifer Weiner (In Her Shoes, Good in Bed). Like virtually all short story collections I've ever read, I found the stories to be very hit-or-miss. Weiner's contribution, "The Truth About Nigel," about a woman's burgeoning crush on a mysterious co-worker, was one of the best. I also liked "The Bamboo Confessions" by Lauren Weisberger, a sort of self-discovery tale of a woman on a backpacking tour of Vietnam, and I found Judi Hendricks' "Andromeda on the Street of Ducklings" sweetly poignant. I particularly related to "Forty Days" by Jill Smolinski, about a woman reaching the same milestone birthday I've just reached myself, and as a psychologist, I enjoyed reading the main character's amusing perspective's on therapy in Cindy Chupack's "Moving Day." Additional authors featured in this book include Lauren Weisberger, Adriana Trigiani, Melissa Senate, and Laura Wolf. Overall, if you enjoy women's fiction in general and short stories in particular, this book is a worthwhile read.