Whitfield’s second novel (after Beeperless Remote, 1996), a romantic comedy set in the social swarm of contemporary weight-loss culture, is just about as thin as the characters wish their stomachs were. Sonny Walker, thirtysomething, has been gaining weight. In fact, so much weight that beautiful Marsha dumps him just as he’s reaching for another piece of cheesecake. After the breakup, he goes on to gain some more, but then when he’s asked to model as a tent at work (a sporting-goods store), Sonny decides some serious weight loss is in order. Signing up with FutraSystem, he quickly gets acquainted there with a shady counselor who realizes that “A hefty guy like you ain’t gonna make it on that little bit of food they give you.” For a little extra cash, therefore, Sonny can get as much Futra food as he can pack away. But, more important, at that first meeting he encounters Kayla (smart, sassy, and independent). There’s only one problem: she’s too fat. Nevertheless, they strike up a friendship—the kind that’s supposed to offer support if they ever feel the urge to, uh, cheat on their diets. (They cheat, anyway.) Though Sonny feels guilty about his failures to meet the challenge, Kayla is comfy with her own body: she’s always been overweight, deriving her self-image from who she is, as opposed to what she looks like. The two build a tender relationship (despite their aversion to dating anybody on the obese side) as Sonny sticks anew to the goals of his diet and exercise regime and Kayla remains happily the way she’s always been. For her second outing, Whitfield has built a compelling portrait of young African-Americans in D.C., with humor that’s sometimes laugh-out-loud (does an extra-big man really need extra-big condoms?), but there’s no emotional resonance also built in, anything that might make a reader cheer on Sonny and Kayla’s battle against the bulge—and their thick-thighed romance. Amusing, but little else.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-385-48935-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Entertaining and unpredictable; Reid makes a compelling argument for happiness in every life.
Reid’s latest (After I Do, 2014, etc.) explores two parallel universes in which a young woman hopes to find her soul mate and change her life for the better.
After ending an affair with a married man, Hannah Martin is reunited with her high school sweetheart, Ethan, at a bar in Los Angeles. Should she go home with her friends and catch up with him later, or should they stay out and have another drink? It doesn’t seem like either decision would have earth-shattering consequences, but Reid has a knack for finding skeletons in unexpected closets. Two vastly different scenarios play out in alternating chapters: in one, Hannah and Ethan reconnect as if no time has passed; in the other, Hannah lands in the hospital alone after a freak accident that marks the first of many surprising plot twists. Hannah’s best friend, Gabby, believes in soul mates, and though Hannah has trouble making decisions—even when picking a snack from a vending machine—she and Gabby discover how their belief systems can alter their world as much as their choices. “Believing in fate is like living on cruise control,” Hannah says. What follows is a thoughtful analysis of free will versus fate in which Hannah finds that disasters can bring unexpected blessings, blessings can bring unexpected disasters, and that most people are willing to bring Hannah her favorite cinnamon rolls. “Because even when it looks like she’s made a terrible mistake,” Hannah’s mother observes, “things will always work out for Hannah.” The larger question becomes whether Hannah’s choices will ultimately affect her happiness—and it’s one that’s answered on a hopeful note as Hannah tries to do the right thing in every situation she faces.
Entertaining and unpredictable; Reid makes a compelling argument for happiness in every life.Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4767-7688-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Washington Square/Pocket
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
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