I DID (BUT I WOULDN’T NOW)

Name: I DID (BUT I WOULDN’T NOW)
Author: Cara Lockwood
ISBN: 0-7434-9943-3

by Cara Lockwood ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2006

No great shakes, but at least this one has bar fights, psycho exes, drug use and a constantly urinating dog to keep up...

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The selfish sister of an uptight chick-lit heroine gets her own book.

In this sequel to 2003’s I Do (But I Don’t), which was made into a Lifetime TV movie, Lockwood gives the spotlight to the rebellious and irresponsible sister of Lauren, the wedding planner heroine of the previous book. When this one opens, black sheep Lily Crandell is on a plane to London, having left her rock-star husband Ted Dayton after finding him making out with an actress in a bar. So Lily’s hopping across the pond for some R&R with ex-boyfriend Carter (they are now strictly platonic). For Lily, ending it with Ted proved messy: Not only did she knee him in the crotch at the bar, resulting in an assault charge, but afterwards, she charged $40,000 to his credit card, advertised his cell and home phone numbers on a billboard and stole her sister’s passport in order to travel. As Lily repeatedly says, “I may, quite possibly, be a bad person.” But given the laundry list of unctuous offenses attributed to Ted, it’s unlikely that many readers will hold her occasionally deranged behavior against her; chalk it up to the spunk of a good Texas girl. London proves no less drama-ridden than Austin, with Lily landing right in the middle of a psychotic relationship between quailing Carter and his deranged stalker girlfriend (and boss). Although she’s trying to act responsibly for once (except for that whole losing-her-sister’s-passport thing), by staying well away from Ted and even volunteering at the hospital where Carter works, Lily lands back in the tabloids with little difficulty. Though occasionally bereft of imagination, Lockwood’s tale builds nicely to a slapstick finale—a marked improvement over her first time around.

No great shakes, but at least this one has bar fights, psycho exes, drug use and a constantly urinating dog to keep up reader morale.

Pub Date: May 2, 2006

ISBN: 0-7434-9943-3

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Downtown Press/Pocket

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2006

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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THE COLORS OF US

by Karen Katz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1999

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This vibrant, thoughtful book from Katz (Over the Moon, 1997) continues her tribute to her adopted daughter, Lena, born in Guatemala. Lena is “seven. I am the color of cinnamon. Mom says she could eat me up”; she learns during a painting lesson that to get the color brown, she will have to “mix red, yellow, black, and white paints.” They go for a walk to observe the many shades of brown: they see Sonia, who is the color of creamy peanut butter; Isabella, who is chocolate brown; Lucy, both peachy and tan; Jo-Jin, the color of honey; Kyle, “like leaves in fall”; Mr. Pellegrino, the color of pizza crust, golden brown. Lena realizes that every shade is beautiful, then mixes her paints accordingly for portraits of her friends—“The colors of us!” Bold illustrations celebrate diversity with a child’s open-hearted sensibility and a mother’s love. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-8050-5864-8

Page Count: 28

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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THE TRAIL TO BUDDHA'S MIRROR

by Don Winslow ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 1992

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Neal Carey, the Smollett-loving specialist in finding people who don't want to be found (A Cool Breeze on the Underground, 1990), is hustled off to San Francisco to drag AWOL pesticide expert Robert Pendleton away from china doll Li Lan and back to paternal corporation AgriTech. But the fireworks that erupt after Neal's found the happy couple make him wonder whether gorgeous, talented painter Li Lan isn't actually a Communist agent who's trying to woo Pendleton back to her country; by the time Neal has been taken prisoner in the Walled City of Hong Kong, he's already gotten the Communists, the CIA, and AgriTech ready to burn him. And more trouble lies ahead, as shadowy patriarch Xao Xiyang and his treacherous underling Peng plot against each other to manipulate Neal into exposing Pendleton and Li Lan in a climax that still has room for a surprise or two. Despite Neal's inveterate habit of wising off in his mind's mouth, this is a sturdy two evenings' worth of entertainment.