Rating: 
Summary: Light and Fun
Review: In The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Melissa Bank has created a working-girl heroine who is searching for Mr. Right and who makes all the mistakes along the way. Jane Rosenal, the protagonist of this first novel has been called another version of Bridget Jones, but if I were Bank I would definitely take offense at that. Jane is her own person, and much more fully-realized than Bridget Jones could ever be.Jane is someone we actually would enjoy spending time with, someone with whom any woman could imagine sharing the intimate details of her life...and being understood. We first meet Jane as an awkward fourteen year old whose main preoccupation in life is dissecting her brother Henry's behavior with the girlfriends he chooses to bring home. "I was surprised how long Henry sat with us on the porch, as my mother turned the topic to summer, touching upon such controversial issues as corn on the cob (Silver Queen was best), mosquitoes (pesky), and tennis (good exercise). Finally, Henry did get up. He went outside as though on a mission. He might be going to check on the crab traps or to see if we'd brought the bikes; he could do whatever he wanted...While Mother hostessed and Girlfriend guested, Younger Sister stood up. When there was a pause in their nicing, I made my mouth move smileward: I'd love to stay and talk, but I have to go shoot some heroin now." Jane narrates this book and the chapters jump around to various pivotal points in her life: a vacation with her first "real" boyfriend; her career as an editorial assistant in the book publishing world of New York City; her relationship with a much-older editor and the death of a family member. These chapters are witty, fun and poignant, but in between Bank has written odd and unnecessary chapters that are narrated by the woman who lives in the apartment downstairs from Jane. I kept expecting these chapters to somehow connect with the main plot, but they never did. A mistake, I think. Melissa Bank is definitely a talented writer and this book is an extremely easy read. The best thing about Jane is the fact that she does make mistakes. There are no paragons of perfection here. Jane questions everything about her existence from her self-worth to her choice in clothing. And she is witty when does so. "I'd been a rising star," says Jane, speaking of her career, "until Mimi Howlett, the new executive editor, decided I was just the light of an airplane...It was like she was a different species from me. She had the lollipop proportions of a model--big head, stick figure, pale skin, wintergreen eyes, and a nose barely big enough to breathe out of...She might have been a romantic heroine from a novel, The Age of Innocence, maybe, except she was with me, in my sacky wool dress, a worker in a documentary about the lumpen proletariat." The above is funny, to be sure, but the trouble is, sometimes Bank lets jokes get in the way of her story. Jane has a problem expressing her emotions and seeks to hide behind her sharp and incisive wit, and, although this makes the book both distinctive and interesting, it does detract from emotional intimacy. Bank does capture some things perfectly, though, such as the delicacy of a relationship and all its attendant uncertainties. When Jane realizes that the older editor really isn't the man for her, she wants to leave him...but she can't--a situation with which almost any woman alive will be able to identify. Far too many readers might dismiss Jane as the epitome of the lonely, single career woman of the modern age. In some ways, she might be, but she is also a woman who grows, emotionally and spiritually, throughout this book until she comes to know what it is she is really seeking. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing is a light and entertaining book that, for the most part, is very well written. The fact that it contains no deep messages or profound, universal truths shouldn't stop anyone from reading and enjoying it to the fullest.
Rating: 
Summary: Laugh Out-Loud Funny
Review: Melissa Bank writes dialogue better than any other author I have read lately -- and she is so darn funny. I really don't understand the people who gave poor reviews to this book. It is absolutely wonderful and will go in my permanent collection. I'm going to have to rearrange the books on my "favorites shelf" to make room for this one now. As you read this book -- these stories -- you might think you really know these people. But, even if you don't identify with them that much, I guarantee you will laugh -- a lot!
Rating:
Summary: an easy read... but
Review: this book wasn't all that it was hyped up to be. i was looking forward to a laugh, a giggle, some tears but the whole time i seemed to be waiting for that great moment. it didn't come. However i really liked the main character and the way the book was written. it's style i should say. it had it's little moments. i just felt a little let down by all the reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Relateable but weird at times.
Review: At the beginning I found the book very relatable and funny. As a teenager, I found the settings comforting and encouraging. The stories were dramatic and realistic. Jane is extremely sarcastic and familiar. I loved the book till she started going out with the old guy. He was way too strange for her and I found myself questioning if I should read on. But then decided it might get better and it did. So if you like sarcastic teenagers and mature adults, I recommend this book to you.
Rating:
Summary: An Inspiration in A Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing
Review: There are only so many books I enjoy so much that I am able to read them whithin a short amount of time. A Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing was one of these books which I couldnt put down and read over the weekend during the wee hours of the morning and even on the bus to a band competition. You might ask why its so good and the reason is it because it exceeds youre first impression. The title seems so odd one might have the assumption that this is a novel for girls about hunting animals and catching fish. Yet this is not the case. This is a story about a girl named Jane and her independent journey though love. I thought that this novel would have been too old for my age but I'm glad I read it now for the message it gives you. You have to be youre own person because thats the only way that anyone can really trust you and in Jane's case fall in love with you. One incident that reminds me of this is when Jane meets Robert. Because Jane feels that her love life has not been sucessful, she buys the book "How to meet and Marry Mr. Right" and she internalizes the characters Faith and Bonnie. But, by using the guide, she alienates the man that loved her for who he met before the guide. Through her attempts at changing herself into a feministic woman for a man, delivers the message that one should not try to change youself for men. You can only be yourself and accept that if a man really loves you, he will love you for who he sees and not for someone who is a fake. Although I am not old enough to fully know the truth of her message, I realated to her occurences. From living near the Hudson river, to her childhood memories, watching a loved one die, and even trying to change yourself for a guy, she is a very realistic character. The negatives of this book were that it has 7 sections that make it hard to get comfortable with one story because it becomes short and not very lengthy. Also, the author does not go into detail with the characters, so they seem very flat. Also some sections didnt seem to fit into the storyline. For example, the story about Barney and his entomologist girlfriend. All things considered, I think Jane realized that the world is not a Utopia, and that you can flock to happiness but not really find it in the end. You can only be youself and not try to change the person you are for anyone, man or mother.
Rating:
Summary: poignant, insightful, and at times laugh-out-loud funny...
Review: banks crafts an interesting novel here. although not always immensely deep, the narrator, jane, is very easy to identify with. her bitter sarcasm and irony are used to give the reader insight to her personality, along with her own fears of failure and loneliness. this book is by far one of the best coming of age stories since catcher in the rye. the only negative criticism i would make is that the chapter narrated by nina is totally out of place and disrupts the flow of the work, although it is interesting. the chapter narrated in the second person (but still jane) is also not necessary... it seems like a junvenile ploy to be orignal but comes off cheesy and lowers the integrity of the novel. had banks alternated narration by chapter, it might have worked, but these two come out of nowhere.
Rating:
Summary: Some very good stories
Review: This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I would have just bought this book to read "The Worst Thing a Suburban Girl Could Imagine". This was a very good book, but I did have a few problems with it. One, I did not understand why the story of Nina was put into the book. I have been reading it over and over to see if that story had any relevance in Jane's life. The last story which was the title story did not do justice for the character of Jane. Jane became Bridgete Jones. I love both Bridgete and Jane, but I did not like Jane becoming Bridgete. Know what I mean? At the end of the book, Jane was a totally different person.
Rating: 
Summary: Umm, no thanks
Review: I must admit that I am only writing a review about the first half of this novel since I could not bear to finish it. If you are looking for rehashed plot devices, flat characters, and sub-par literary style, this is the book for you. I admit that I cannot cosy up to any of the contemporary women's fiction books out there right now (ala Bridget Jones). I still harbour the hope that some day a well-written engaging novel will be written with a dynamic and interesting lead female at the helm. Until then, I think this book has signalled to me that I must ignore this genre altogether.
Rating:
Summary: A book that let's you see the other side of the world
Review: Being a mother, wife, career-girl, PTO member, suburban person, I thought perhaps I should read this book to see how "the other half lives." Ms. Bank's stories -- told through Jane's eyes -- were wonderful, charming, laughable and sometimes, deep. I skipped working for one morning so I could finish the book. It made me cheer at the end -- what a good book full of good things to say. I'm going to make my book club of other mom/wife/minivan drivers read it to get perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Forget those other reviewers
Review: Forget the comparisons with Bridget Jones!! This book really does stand on it's own as light but insightful entertainment. Melissa Bank provides a glimpse into the world of someone who is an introspective girl growing into womanhood. This book is clearly "American" and addresses the simple problems of growing up in a complicated world. Although the writing style isn't always crisp, the book clearly possesses the ability to develop a connection to the reader. I know that as a male, my perspective and opinions will not mimic that of a female. But I do feel that it is probably an entertaining book for anyone who chooses to read it. Take a chance, it's a quick read that will leave you smiling.
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