Customer Reviews

School of Fortune

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

 

 

School of Fortune is such a cute and funny story. I have never before been so tickled with a book . With each new school that Pippa Walker attends comes amazingly witty encounters with some amusing characters. If you are looking for a laugh, this book will definitely give it to you!

Janice Weber's first books, "The Secret Life of Eva Hathaway" and "Customs Violations", are two of my all-time favorite reads. I was thrilled to see her getting back to this genre after the recent run of mysteries.

However, this book isn't any where near the same caliber. The first quarter of the book is almost unreadable, full of stock characters from Bad Sitcom 101. It focuses mostly on Thayne, the main character's insufferable mother, and aside from a few amusing quips, is one big predictable yawn.

Things pick up a little as Pippa finally takes center stage and enrolls in a few different schools. By far, the best part of the book is her internship with the quirky Russian circus. It's the most original -- and therefore unexpected-- piece of the story. Everything else, including the romance with the valet, is pretty mundane. A lot of scenes seemed forced, like the situations were created just to showcase a clever one-liner. It was also strange that the catalyst for Pippa's "getaway" to the big job in Las Vegas is completely out of left field. Her best friend, Ginny, does something totally uncharacteristic out of the blue, and it's never explained.

All in all, the stereotypical characters are not flushed out enough, so it's difficult to become invested in what happens to them. I normally hate coming to the end of a Janice Weber book, but in these last few chapters, I did a lot of skimming vs. reading, just to get it over with. This book has none of Eva's sauciness, or the multi-layered, richly drawn characters, sharp dialogue, smart-aleck social commentary, and intriguing plots of Weber's other books. I haven't read anything of Amanda Brown's, although I did see the Legally Blonde movie. This book strikes me as "Elle Woods Gets Married in Texas", which isn't necessarily a bad thing, except in comparison to the expectation set by her co-author's gifts.

This book seems to have been written specifically so it can be made into a 90-minute Oxygen movie. (Whereas "Eva" or "Customs" would have to be multi-night Mini-Series Events in order to fully capture all the charms of those stories!) Overall, it's not a total waste of time, if you're in the mood for a cutesy piece of fluff with a few giggles thrown in. Still, I'd rather re-read "Eva" for the 80th time...

This is a frivolous read, if you like that kind of thing. Better yet, watch the movie, Legally Blonde, if you don't want to waste your time and are looking for light entertainment.

I must tell you that reading some of the other peoples reviews makes me wonder if they actually read the book. I thought this book was very humorous and action packed. The heroine of the story, Pippa, was funny and unassuming in her being an heiress. She not only provided a funny side to the tales and stories of being rich and the world they live in, she made all the characteristics hysterical. I read it straight through in one evening.

I really enjoyed this book. Even though some parts seemed a little forced, it kept me laughing so I had to give it a five anyway. I've never had so many lighthearted laughs all the way thru a book. I recommend it for sure.

Soooo good! when you think your life is bad.. ya ya.. take some tips for rolling with the punches from Pippa, the heroine. Talk about hilarious misadventures. And you thought only people who weren't rich had problems.

When things get low, it's really the pits, but Pippa just goes with the flow and ends up in yet another adventure. Delightful read. Definitely in my 'reread' pile. Thanks for this lovely book :)

I really liked this book. I agree with the other reviewer...it was "laugh out loud funny!". The entire wedding fiasco was hilarious. I couldn't wait to find out what happened. I found myself sneaking a few pages whenever I could. Every new school was a hysterical escapade, which wound down to a great ending. I recommend it. It was very enjoyable.

I was looking for something to read on a 5 hour flight to CA. A friend recommended this book to me. I'm so glad she did. The book is laugh out loud funny. (litterally, I was laughing out loud on the plane).

The enitre wedding descriptions were hysterical.

Each new school is an adventure in itself.

The whole book was great. It kept my attention (which is hard to do). I finally finished it on my return from CA. I couldn't wait to find out what happened.

I definitely recommend this.