Up

Rating:
Summary: Learn How to Negotiate the Used Car Lot of Life
Review: "Up" is a very good book. Yes it is funny and yes it is a coming-of-age story, but Ms. Jones' ability to describe the world to us is far beyond those limitations. This is perhaps the best book for anyone in the middle of that time of life when finding someone to love is the all consuming thought which you wouldn't stop thinking about even if you could - or anyone who remembers feeling that way. "Up" should dent the best seller list and win awards - and if you read it and recommend it to a few friends, it will.

Also recommended: "Fate" by Mary Jane (that's me!) and "Widow for One Year" by John Irving.

Rating:
Summary: Learn How to Negotiate the Used Car Lot of Life
Review: "Up" is a very good book. Yes it is funny and yes it is a coming-of-age story, but Ms. Jones' ability to describe the world to us is far beyond those limitations. This is perhaps the best book for anyone in the middle of that time of life when finding someone to love is the all consuming thought which you wouldn't stop thinking about even if you could - or anyone who remembers feeling that way. "Up" should dent the best seller list and win awards - and if you read it and recommend it to a few friends, it will.

Also recommended: "Fate" by Mary Jane (that's me!) and "Widow for One Year" by John Irving.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh, Humorous, and Highly Amusing
Review: Becky Pine graduates from college and smack dab into the realization that she is lesbian. Just to be sure, she goes out on the town, meets a woman named Marta, and sleeps with her. Sure enough, she's gay. Becky calmly reports this news to her parents, jumps in the car, and heads out of Colorado toward what she hopes will be a more gay friendly life in L.A. where Marta just happens to live. She moves into a gay-friendly neighborhood and tells us she "hoped that a motherly lesbian couple would knock on my door and give me Bundt cake. I imagined a sisterhood of women like woodland nymphs adorning me with flower garlands. There would be singing, dancing, as I was inducted into a lesbian society of mutual support. At the very least I expected a few friendly hellos. This was not to be."

Alone and lonely, Becky gets a job at a car dealership and learns a lot about the business of roping people into buying vehicles. Squatty is her boss. Gil is the sleazy lead salesman, ready to betray a coworker in an instant. Reynolds is another salesman who is more ethical. An "Up" is the sucker the salesperson tries to get to buy something. Becky is only marginally successful with her Ups. She can sell the buyer on the car, but the weaseling and obfuscation of closing the monetary deal is not her best skill. "At Southland Auto Acres, selling and screwing are interchangeable concepts." Becky is not very good at screwing. Literally. We find that out in one bizarre scene with Gil.

In boredom and loneliness, Becky looks up Marta, the woman from the one night stand in Colorado. This leads to a series of misadventures, including much bad blood from Marta's lover, Joy. It also gives Becky the chance to focus her `gaydar' on Linnie, a straight woman who is engaged to a man but who has all her meaningful relationships with lesbians. Becky believes Linnie is running from her true sexual orientation, and Becky becomes enamored with her, intent on winning the other woman over. Disaster follows swiftly.

Jones' writing style is fresh, humorous and entertaining. Her characters are drolly sketched, and seeing things through Becky's eyes is often highly amusing. It becomes abundantly clear early on that Becky has no clue what she wants in the car lot of life, and the only way for her to find out is to get into the metaphorical car and experience it. The test drives she takes lead to disaster far more often than not, but she is a fast learner after all.

At a mere 121 pages, the book could have been longer, but Jones packs a lot into those pages, and the story is resolved effectively. If you enjoy clever dialogue, funny turns of phrase, and a coming out plot that manages to be both wacky and reflective, then Up: A Novel will entertain you immensely.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh, Humorous, and Highly Amusing
Review: Becky Pine graduates from college and smack dab into the realization that she is lesbian. Just to be sure, she goes out on the town, meets a woman named Marta, and sleeps with her. Sure enough, she's gay. Becky calmly reports this news to her parents, jumps in the car, and heads out of Colorado toward what she hopes will be a more gay friendly life in L.A. where Marta just happens to live. She moves into a gay-friendly neighborhood and tells us she "hoped that a motherly lesbian couple would knock on my door and give me Bundt cake. I imagined a sisterhood of women like woodland nymphs adorning me with flower garlands. There would be singing, dancing, as I was inducted into a lesbian society of mutual support. At the very least I expected a few friendly hellos. This was not to be."

Alone and lonely, Becky gets a job at a car dealership and learns a lot about the business of roping people into buying vehicles. Squatty is her boss. Gil is the sleazy lead salesman, ready to betray a coworker in an instant. Reynolds is another salesman who is more ethical. An "Up" is the sucker the salesperson tries to get to buy something. Becky is only marginally successful with her Ups. She can sell the buyer on the car, but the weaseling and obfuscation of closing the monetary deal is not her best skill. "At Southland Auto Acres, selling and screwing are interchangeable concepts." Becky is not very good at screwing. Literally. We find that out in one bizarre scene with Gil.

In boredom and loneliness, Becky looks up Marta, the woman from the one night stand in Colorado. This leads to a series of misadventures, including much bad blood from Marta's lover, Joy. It also gives Becky the chance to focus her 'gaydar' on Linnie, a straight woman who is engaged to a man but who has all her meaningful relationships with lesbians. Becky believes Linnie is running from her true sexual orientation, and Becky becomes enamored with her, intent on winning the other woman over. Disaster follows swiftly.

Jones' writing style is fresh, humorous and entertaining. Her characters are drolly sketched, and seeing things through Becky's eyes is often highly amusing. It becomes abundantly clear early on that Becky has no clue what she wants in the car lot of life, and the only way for her to find out is to get into the metaphorical car and experience it. The test drives she takes lead to disaster far more often than not, but she is a fast learner after all.

At a mere 121 pages, the book could have been longer, but Jones packs a lot into those pages, and the story is resolved effectively. If you enjoy clever dialogue, funny turns of phrase, and a coming out plot that manages to be both wacky and reflective, then Up: A Novel will entertain you immensely.

Rating:
Summary: Don't do what I did!
Review: I began reading "Up" because it was given to me and I had a casual acquaintance with the author. Sort of an obligatory thing. When I put it down, completed, I felt as though I had been given an intimate view into her heart. That's poorly put, and maybe the intimate view is more one into the heart of anyone who is trying to grow up, whether s/he is 18 or 80. Although the lead character in the book, Becky, is a young lesbian woman (is that redundant?) ostensibly looking for love and meaning in life, I think that all of us (myself being an aging white heterosexual male) will find some very profound truths in this book. Themes like self-awareness, acceptance and personal responsibility are fundamental to Becky's journey, and, strange as it may sound, I related completely with what she was going through, and what she put herself through.

And by the way, it's a delightful story, with humor, pathos, and a bunch of other words you can probably figure out for yourself. If you are offended by strong language, well, you probably couldn't get past the lesbian issues, either.

Anyway, don't do what I did, and almost miss this book. Buy it and read it and tell a friend. In "Up," "coming of age" has a fresh and enjoyable new advocate.

Rating:
Summary: Don't do what I did!
Review: I began reading "Up" because it was given to me and I had a casual acquaintance with the author. Sort of an obligatory thing. When I put it down, completed, I felt as though I had been given an intimate view into her heart. That's poorly put, and maybe the intimate view is more one into the heart of anyone who is trying to grow up, whether s/he is 18 or 80. Although the lead character in the book, Becky, is a young lesbian woman (is that redundant?) ostensibly looking for love and meaning in life, I think that all of us (myself being an aging white heterosexual male) will find some very profound truths in this book. Themes like self-awareness, acceptance and personal responsibility are fundamental to Becky's journey, and, strange as it may sound, I related completely with what she was going through, and what she put herself through.

And by the way, it's a delightful story, with humor, pathos, and a bunch of other words you can probably figure out for yourself. If you are offended by strong language, well, you probably couldn't get past the lesbian issues, either.

Anyway, don't do what I did, and almost miss this book. Buy it and read it and tell a friend. In "Up," "coming of age" has a fresh and enjoyable new advocate.

Rating:
Summary: not just another coming-of-age story
Review: I love this book!! I have read it at least three times -- and I hate to reread books! Up is funny and smart. Although the main character is a lesbian, this is by no means a 'lesbian book'. The themes of searching for love and meaning in life are universal, but given a fresh perspective through the eyes of a hilarious, modern young woman. If you're looking for lots of steamy sex, you'll be disappointed; but if you're looking for something that says wise things in a funny way, you'll enjoy Up.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre at best
Review: I think this writer has potential, but I'm unimpressed by her work here. I appreciate the concept and cute cover design, but this book still seems mediocre to me (at best). Maybe it's just that I'm not into comic lesbian-themed novels!

Rating:
Summary: a fast read
Review: I was grinning on page one and laughing out loud by the end of page two, plus it's easily read in one sitting.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and Poignant
Review: Jones has a talent for keenly observing everyday life, and then weaving a story in a humorous and touching way. I did "laugh out loud" many times, and would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, quick summer read!