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Best Bet: A Novel (The Hallie Palmer Series)
 
 
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Best Bet: A Novel (The Hallie Palmer Series) [Paperback]

Laura Pedersen (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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Book Description

The Hallie Palmer Series November 23, 2009
Since Hallie's father died and left behind ten children, money at the Palmer household is tighter than ever. And just when Hallie thought she was graduating from college, it turns out she's four credits short. A professor needs one more student for a project that will take her around the world, only longtime boyfriend Craig has another proposition for Hallie.

Thus begins Hallie's great odyssey, for the first time she ventures outside the safety of Cosgrove County and the sixty-mile radius in which she's functioned for her entire life. But somehow, escaping home doesn't translate into leaving behind all of her problems, and, unfortunately, not all can be solved by putting her superior gambling skills to work.

Eventually, it's time to return home to all the good people who are great at driving each other crazy. Hallie must finally face the biggest decision of her life.

Humorous and heartfelt, Best Bet underscores the importance of friends, family, and a sense of belonging. The characters in this modest, but neighborly, small town prove that an ordinary existence made up of small but genuine moments can satisfy a soul that's hungry for life in all of its glories and disappointments.


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Best Bet: A Novel (The Hallie Palmer Series) + The Big Shuffle: A Novel + Heart's Desire: A Novel
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A delightful fourth and final book about the rich, quirky life of 21-year-old college student Hallie Palmer. When the story opens, Hallie is days away from donning graduation cap and gown to begin her post-college life when she discovers a clerical error has left her one social-sciences class short. Minutes later, she bumps into Josh, an old crush of hers who tells her she can get the course credit if she signs up with a sociology team (of which Josh is part) to travel the world, dropping wallets containing $20 each, as part of a professor's doctoral study on humanity's global honesty. But if Hallie embarks on this globe-trotting mission, it will throw a jumbo-sized wrench into her plans to move in with her longtime boyfriend Craig and start work at her new job. However, for this small-town girl, the opportunity is too irresistible to refuse and just before she departs, a stung Craig bestows a free-spirit status on them both. While her journey is fraught with food poisoning, an earthquake and various assorted comical conundrums, Hallie must also try to remain in her professor's good graces as well as withstand life with her roommate Mandy, a Mennonite who suddenly morphs into a henna-tattooed siren on the second day of the journey. Wiser for her tribulations, Hallie returns home to her family with eight siblings, her hysterically funny gay friend Bernard, and his perpetually politically correct mother, Olivia, and Craig. What follows is a marvelous ending with a funny domino-like sequence of surprises for Hallie and others. Though the book can be found on young-adult shelves, the story is more than sufficiently sophisticated to grab adults as well. Literary and cultural references add a wonderful depth to the anecdotes and metaphors. The book's laugh-out-loud funny, and readers will find themselves rereading lines just for the sheer joy of it. They may also find that going back to the preceding three books will prove irresistible. A sure bet. --Kirkus

Home may be where the heart is, but sometimes it takes a trip around the world to figure out exactly where your heart belongs. Reading BEST BET is like being at a party with some very funny people; Laura Pedersen, who has won prizes for her fiction and whose second novel was selected for the Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" program, has a distinct knack for creating spirited characters. Hallie, her saintly mother, her nine brothers and sisters, her friends Bernard, Olivia, Mandy, and Banjo, and even the giggling gaggle of girl scouts all leap fully formed from the binding, ready to make us laugh. One-liners pepper each page with savvy wit. Snuggled among bouts of laughter, moments of emotional clarity lie in wait. While Hallie's life is an enviable series of funny skits, she's also searching for a sense of grace. "Every day is a bounty and your best bet is to make it count," Pedersen writes, "just like the flowers come up after the darkness and the rain, not in spite of it, but because of it." --ForeWord Reviews

BEST BET is an excellent read and well worth the gamble. --Novel Talk

About the Author

Laura Pedersen grew up Buffalo, New York; she now lives in New York City. Laura's first novel, Going Away Party, won the Three Oaks Prize for Fiction and her second novel, Beginner's Luck, was selected for Barnes & Noble's "Discover Great New Writers" program. To read more about the author, visit www.LauraPedersenBooks.com.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: iUniverse (November 23, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1440170177
  • ISBN-13: 978-1440170171
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,010,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laura Pedersen writes for The New York Times and is the author of Play Money, Going Away Party, Beginner's Luck (chosen as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection), Last Call, Heart's Desire, The Sweetest Hours, and The Big Shuffle. In 1994, President Clinton honored her as one of Ten Outstanding Young Americans. She has appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, Primetime Live, and The Late Show with David Letterman, and she writes for several wellknown comedians. Pedersen lives in New York City.

 

Customer Reviews

15 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect beach read, December 11, 2009
This review is from: Best Bet: A Novel (The Hallie Palmer Series) (Paperback)
Hallie Palmer is all set. After the graduation party, she'll move in with her boyfriend and work as a graphic designer. When she's summoned to the dean's office, though, and told she cannot use her psychology class for both science and social science credit, all of her plans come undone. She could still move in with her boyfriend and take classes at the community college, but there's a chance to get college credit flying around the world and dropping wallets. Her boyfriend is not in favor of the world-flying. He'd be even less in favor if Hallie had told him that sexy Jeff is also taking the trip. Still, Hallie really wants to see the world...and isn't quite sure about moving in with her boyfriend anyway.

Author Laura Pedersen takes us on a charming coming-of-age story. Hallie is precocious in many ways, but worries about what she'll miss if she settles in with her boyfriend without really exploring all of her other options. The whirlwind tour of the world makes for interesting reading, as does the abrupt transformation of Hallie's roommate for the journey, Amanda.

Pedersen's breezy style drew me in, and Hallie's supportive extended family (complete with monkey) add a light and amusing touch. BEST BET is a great beach read.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars FABULOUS FINALE, October 28, 2009
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This review is from: Best Bet: A Novel (The Hallie Palmer Series) (Paperback)
Fabulous Finale

I read BEST BET without realizing there were three books ahead of it in the series (BEGINNER'S LUCK, HEART'S DESIRE, and THE BIG SHUFFLE) but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of the story and especially the characters. And once finished I immediately read the first three in order. Pedersen has amassed a great crew with sparkling wit, plenty of twists and turns, and equal parts wisdom and compassion. The main character, Hallie Palmer, matures as she undergoes a series of adventures and calamities, while the supporting cast watches, adjusts, occasionally antagonizes, and often attempts to help, although they're idea of "help" doesn't always agree with hers. Amidst all the humor Pedersen manages to work in a lot of thoughts on life and death and I was inspired in so many different ways - to live more fully and to have more fun without worrying so much, even when times are tough. Also, it was a nice change to not read about designer clothing and shopping and manhunting. Even though I read the last book first, I still didn't want it to end. The characters are very hard to leave and I feel like maybe they're out there somewhere. I hope so.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!, August 22, 2011
This review is from: Best Bet: A Novel (The Hallie Palmer Series) (Paperback)
This series is a great read for women young and old alike. It's very easy to feel a connection to Hallie and her story, and you will enjoy every page.
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