American Girls About Town

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Chick Lit Short Story Collection - Don't Miss It!
Review: American Girls About Town is the third book in the "Girls About Town" series that Downtown Press has published over the past couple of years. This latest collection is filled with delightful short stories by many of our favorite authors, such as Lauren Henderson, Sarah Mlynowski, Melissa Senate, Jennifer Weiner, Adriana Trigiani, Laura Wolf, Lynda Curnyn, and many more.

There were some truly outstanding and offbeat stories in this collection. "My Great Brit Book Tour" by Adriana Trigiani starts the book out on a hilarious note that tells how Anna, a new mother, who has to juggle a screaming baby, a broken tooth and a TV guest spot in London; "Yoga Babe" by Lauren Henderson is one of my favorite stories in the book. It is short, sweet and features an un-named heroine who shares some of the ups and downs of attending an advanced Yoga class; "The Truth About Nigel" by Jennifer Weiner is a well-written and engaging tale of a girl who falls for a new guy at work only to discover he is a famous actor in hiding; "Voodoo Dolls, C-Cups and Eminem" by Melissa Senate is an interesting story that explores the sometimes tough relationships between sisters and new fiancés; "The Bamboo Confessions" by Lauren Weisberger is about how one young woman goes backpacking alone in Vietnam and finds a lot more than she ever dreams she would. And there are many other great stories in this collection!

The author lineup is impressive and many of the stories are so good that you wish they were full novels! I couldn't ask for a better short story collection. This is as good as it gets.


Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this one!!!
Review: At first, I was skeptical. I like to read short stories, but I reserve my chick lit interests for the long versions.
There are 17 stories about 17 different women in this collection, and a picture of each aurthor on the back page (in case you don't recognize the names.) Even though I only know about half of them, I think I might have to check out some of their books, because they really know how to tell a story!!

Since I enjoyed (most) of the stories, I will just go over the few that I liked the most.

Leaving a light on--- This is about a woman who embarks on an affair that is nothing like it seems. The ending surprised me!

The Truth about Nigel---A woman stars working with a very good looking English guy, starts to become interested in him, and they start a friendship. But, something happens that only she didn't see coming!

The Bamboo Confessions---This was probably my favorite story by the author of "The Devil Wears Prada." A Woman goes to Vietnam for a backpacking trip. She is one who is never alone. She leaves her boyfriend, her family, and her life to do this---Even though this was a trip that she was skeptical about, she found the best time and greatest adventure in this trip!

Bad Manners--She is dating someone who may seem like a prince, but he doesn't treat her right. So, when they break up, she is off to find a quick fling, and she finds it with someone the exact opposite of her ex.

Forty Days---she has forty days until she turns 40. She is going to do things that she has never done or been afraid to do. I lived vicariously through her story.

This book will not disappoint!

Rating:
Summary: There's enough good stories to buy it
Review: Because these are short stories, I am going to go through each story and say if I liked it and why. The good thing about this book is the bad ones end quickly, but there were some I didn't want to end!

1. A Day in the Life of My Great Brit Book Tour--3 stars--ok. There is a pretty good looking cake recipe, although I haven't tried it yet to say if it is good! The story however is just so-so. Nothing notable to remember and kind of glad it was over.

2. Five--3.5 stars--I don't think this was the best story for a short story. Might have been ok as an intro for a longer book, but as a short story not that great.

3. Leaving a Light On--5 stars--This made a great short story, but I am not going to tell you more, b/c the ending as a suprise makes it wonderful!

4. Moving Day--3.75 stars--Pretty good, but not as good as #3 which it followed.

5. Yoga Babe--0 stars--Hated it! Makes all the other stories great. Why do I want to read about some egocedntric yoga chic! Skip it!

6. The Truth About Nigel--4.25 stars--I am slightly biased on this one, since Jennifer Weiner is one of my favorite authors and the reason I bought the book. But this one of my favorites in the book.

7. Voodoo Dolls, C-cups and Eminem---5 Stars---I loved this story. Probably my most favorite in the book along with 10. I would recommend the book for this, #3, #6 and #10 alone.

8. The Bamboo Confessions--3.75 stars--Pretty good. It's about finding yourself and realizing who you are away from the people that seem to know you.

9. Amore--4 stars--this was pretty funny, although I wanted more at the end. I hope she found her foreign man!

10. Andromeda on the Street of Ducklings--5 stars--I would give this one ten if I could. Well I guess I can since it's my review and my rating :) This was a perfect short story that was the right length with the right amount of info at the right time.

11. Bad Manners--4 stars--Unfortunately most of us have dated an jerk like this. It was a good story that put it in a funny amusing context.

12. The Two-Month Itch--1 star--Not that great. I didn't enjoy it and it did nothing for me except annoyance.

13. I Know a Woman--3 stars--This was ok...the only reason I even gave it 3 stars, is the very last line is one of the most beautiful I have read. It won't give anything away if you skip immediately to this line and give it a read.

14. Just Visiting--5 Stars--This was great! I absolutely loved it and it made me laugh out loud. She didn't make the best decisions, but anyone can understand why she did it.

15. Forty Days--4.75 stars---didn't give it 5 simply b/c the ones I did give five were sooooo good. But it was a great story and great for the beginnning of a new year. This should be done all the time.

16. The Uncertainty Principle--1.75 stars--This was ok. Not as bad as some of the stories, but not that great.

17. Small Worlds--2 stars--The book ended on a couple of duds in my opinion. This was again decent, but definately not worth recommending the book for. The others in this book help make up the duds though.

I highly recommend this book. It's nice to read decent short stories, some of which are just great.


Rating:
Summary: Mostly enjoyable
Review: I guess when you're reading an anthology you can't expect to love EVERY story. And that's true here as well. Most of the authors included in this anthology are ones that I've never read before, so it was nice to discover some new authors I'll be looking for in the future. Some stories are more serious than I expected (Cindy Chupack's Moving Day) and some just did nothing for me (Lauren Weisberger's Bamboo Confessions). I'd say that overall, there are probably enough stories that make it worthwhile to read this collection, and the good thing is you can skip right through the ones you don't want to read.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable collection
Review: It seems that there are chicklit anthologies springing up everywhere, and it's been nice to read short stories for a change. Once again, there's something for everyone, and some stories will keep your attention and leave you wanting more, while others you'll breeze through and never think twice about. I hope they keep publishing these collections and include different and new writers to keep them fresh instead of rehashing the same authors. What I particularly like about them is that I've read authors I've never read before and now will read their other work. It's a great way to test out an author before investing in a book.