After a breakup, a Manhattan gallery owner takes in tenants at her West Village brownstone.
Francesca, 35, has to admit that her future with live-in boyfriend Todd is nil. But after Todd moves out, how to pay the mortgage on the old house they were rehabbing on Charles Street, and prop up the failing finances of the gallery they once co-owned? Francesca’s father, a famous artist, invests in the gallery, and Francesca advertises for roommates. Her mother, Thalia, a 60-something jetsetter, is too busy hunting husband No. 6 to help with anything beyond undermining her daughter’s self-esteem. Soon the house is occupied by a group that fast becomes Francesca’s surrogate family: Eileen, a 20-something transplant from San Diego, is obsessed with meeting men on the Internet. Marya, a newly widowed famous food writer, needs a New York pied-à-terre and, often aided by flirtatious French chef Charles-Edouard, cooks fabulous meals in Francesca’s tiny kitchen. Chris, a graphic designer, is shell-shocked by struggles with his ex-wife, Kim, who managed to get joint custody of son Ian despite the fact that she’s a heroin addict. Ian, a third grader, twice saved his mother from overdosing. Ian relishes his brief visits at Charles Street, especially when Marya makes him Mickey Mouse pancakes. Eileen’s latest online conquest, Brad, a tattooed biker type, is obviously trouble, but her roommates’ respect for her privacy has disastrous consequences. After Kim lands in jail for manslaughter after a fellow addict ODs in Ian’s presence, Francesca learns Chris and his ex represented a failed merger of two of the nation’s most powerful political families. Chris, attracted by Francesca’s comparative normalcy, impulsively kisses her. Wouldn’t Thalia be thrilled to see her daughter reel in the scion of a dynasty more illustrious than the Kennedys? But Francesca insists they are just friends.
Pub Date: April 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-385-34314-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
Florian’s seventh collection of verse is also his most uneven; though the flair for clever rhyme that consistently lights up his other books, beginning with Monster Motel (1993), occasionally shows itself—“Hello, my name is Dracula/My clothing is all blackula./I drive a Cadillacula./I am a maniacula”—too many of the entries are routine limericks, putdowns, character portraits, rhymed lists that fall flat on the ear, or quick quips: “It’s hard to be anonymous/When you’re a hippopotamus.” Florian’s language and simple, thick-lined cartoons illustrations are equally ingenuous, and he sticks to tried-and-true subjects, from dinosaurs to school lunch, but the well of inspiration seems dry; revisit his hilarious Bing Bang Boing (1994) instead. (index) (Poetry. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-202084-5
Page Count: 158
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
A steamy, glitzy, and tender tale of college intrigue.
In this opener to Kennedy’s (Hot & Bothered, 2017, etc.) Briar U romance series, two likable students keep getting their signals crossed.
Twenty-one-year-old Summer Heyward-Di Laurentis is expelled from Brown University in the middle of her junior year because she was responsible for a fire at the Kappa Beta Nu sorority house. Fortunately, her father has connections, so she’s now enrolled in Briar University, a prestigious institution about an hour outside Boston. But as she’s about to move into Briar’s Kappa Beta Nu house, she’s asked to leave by the sisters, who don’t want her besmirching their reputation. Her older brother Dean, who’s a former Briar hockey star, comes to her rescue; his buddies, who are still on the hockey team, need a fourth roommate for their townhouse. Three good-looking hockey jocks and a very rich, gorgeous fashion major under the same roof—what could go wrong? Summer becomes quickly infatuated with one of her housemates: Dean’s best friend Colin “Fitzy” Fitzgerald. There’s a definite spark between them, and they exchange smoldering looks, but the tattooed Fitzy, who’s also a video game reviewer and designer, is an introvert who prefers no “drama” in his life. Summer, however, is a charming extrovert, although she has an inferiority complex about her flagging scholastic acumen. As the story goes on, the pair seem to misinterpret each other’s every move. Meanwhile, another roommate and potential suitor, Hunter Davenport, is waiting in the wings. Kennedy’s novel is full of sex, alcohol, and college-level profanity, but it never becomes formulaic. The author adroitly employs snappy dialogue, steady pacing, and humor, as in a scene at a runway fashion show featuring Briar jocks parading in Summer-designed swimwear. The book also manages to touch on some serious subjects, including learning disabilities and abusive behavior by faculty members. Summer and Fitzy’s repeated stumbles propel the plot through engaging twists and turns; the characters trade off narrating the story, which gives each of them a chance to reveal some substance.
A steamy, glitzy, and tender tale of college intrigue.Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-72482-199-7
Page Count: 372
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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