Rating: 
Summary: Chick Lit Comes of Age
Review: In the 50's it was Rona Jaffe. In the 70's it was Erica Jong. Now 2004 has brought us a diarist of breadth and wit, Laurie Graff. Taking a page from Gogol's "Madman" and a few more from Cynthia Heimel, Graff weaves an entertaining, insightful and always engaging fiction leavened with the truth of experience.
The lead character Karrie Kline is an everywoman adrift in the sea of humanity that is Manhattan with an emphasis on the 'Man'. With colorful supporting characters and intricate behavioral insight this novel on the hazards of the dating profession is a must-read for anyone with a regard for the follies and fantasies of the human comedy.
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money
Review: It takes a lot for me to put a book down without finishing it. In the history of me reading there have only been 3 books that I have put down without finishing. This is one of them. The premise is that a lady is on the hunt for a man to settle down with. The chapters are written as if a diary history of 10 years of dating. The chapters are not immediately connected and the main character is so slimly designed that you could care less if a bus hits her. I would put this on one of the all time worst chick-lit books ever written. And to top that off probably one of the worst books ever. I find more interest in reading bathroom wall graffiti than this.
Rating: 
Summary: Not recommended...
Review: It was a chore to finish this book. Karrie (lead character) drove me nuts, and the subplot about the random meeting of her unknown father on a set was completely unrealistic. I've read most of the RDI books, and this was one of the worst. It's not a good sign when celebrities supply the blurbs on the cover and back instead of other authors. Read the new Shannon Olson book instead.
Rating:
Summary: You have to kiss alot of books and this is a great one
Review: Karrie Klein is relatable to every woman, Jewish or not, New York, LA or Kansas. The plight of the single woman is a universal one and it nice to read an honest account by a woman who is not 28 and blonde. Its funny, sad and engaging, I highly recommend it to anyone who has every been on a date!!!
Rating:
Summary: You have to love yourself first...
Review: Karrie Kline, a struggling actress, takes us on a journey of disastrous dates and poignant personal reflections. She allows us to see her at her most vulnerable. We laugh with her and cry with her through years of dating in New York city. Single people will love this book because it will reassure them that they are not alone in the arena of modern dating disasters. Married people will relive old dating scenarios and live vicariously through the escapades of Ms. Kline. This is a fast-paced enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Delicious
Review: Laurie blows up a ballon labelled religion, romance, wanting, needing and believing and punctures it with sadness, bitterness, and then acceptance. One of the best chick lit I've read so far as it deals with real grown up stuff. A highly recommended read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not chick lit, but a novelized memoir--PhilipRoth-like
Review: This book is not chick lit. That's why it confused the readers who were expecting a chicklitty read all about designer labels and shopping. This book is a literary novelization of the author's actual life, or at least that's how I understand it from reading the back blurb. It deals with issues far deeper than chick lit. Moreover, Laurie Graff has talent and has that special way with words and a turn of phrase. (Lots of authors now just don't. Their prose clunks. The no-style style. Clunky.) It was a pleasure to read her narrative and escape into the world of the character. Unlike some reviewers, I experienced her viewpoint character (a somewhat modified version of herself, I gathered, with the author winking at us from the distance of the years) as being charming and deep, if a bit ditzy about men. It's an episodic novel about all the guys she dated. I do have to say that she (the main character--and perhaps the author, by extension, though you should never assume a character represents the author, even when you're told it's based on real life!) was unwise in sleeping with all those men, protection shrotection. She slept with more guys than I have ever even flirted with, let alone dated! But I realize that's a typical lifestyle as portrayed, yadda yadda. The episodes all have some meaning to her life. She doesn't have a big character arc, just a small one, but that's more realistic anyway. At the end, she chooses not to take back the last guy who dumped her and says she'll wait for what's really hers to show up. That was her character change. I realize that most romance novels and chick lit take a brick and pummel the reader over the head with the paradigm of being rescued by a man and so forth, so this novel wouldn't suit their reading tastes. But if you are used to more literary and more lasting works, give this one a try. She writes well, and I'll be looking forward to seeing more of her work.
Rating:
Summary: more than 5 stars for this one!!!
Review: This is such a great book! The protagonist is Karrie Kline, an actress who has not quite made it but gets enough work to be considered a "working actress." Originally from Queens, raised Jewish while passing for a Shiksa, Karrie is single and about to turn 45 when she puts together this anthology of dating that takes her down memory lane --- throughout the decades, in different cities and states, in the personal ads, set up by friends, and back to the present.Her mother Millie, stepfather Henry, building superintendent Gomez, friends Fred and Jane, and the absence of her father Mel (since age 4) all figure in as Karrie tells us her life. It never borders on maudlin. Stories are funny, not in the over-the-top ha ha slapstick or because of some stupid incidence, but becasue that is how life naturally plays itself out sometimes. The dates run the range from awful to awesome, one night stands to long-term to possibly "The One". She also ruminates on the lovelife of her mother Millie, and how she manages to move on from her first marriage. The chapters that bring up Mel are particularly good. Especially hilarious is when she is dating Alan, a Jewish boy who does not want a Jewish woman, so she pretends she is Gentile so later she can 'convert' to Judaism for him. This is amazing writing for what could have been trite subject matter, but instead it's a great read you can't put down.
Rating:
Summary: more than 5 stars for this one!!!
Review: This is such a great book! The protagonist is Karrie Kline, an actress who has not quite made it but gets enough work to be considered a "working actress." Originally from Queens, raised Jewish while passing for a Shiksa, Karrie is single and about to turn 45 when she puts together this anthology of dating that takes her down memory lane --- throughout the decades, in different cities and states, in the personal ads, set up by friends, and back to the present. Her mother Millie, stepfather Henry, building superintendent Gomez, friends Fred and Jane, and the absence of her father Mel (since age 4) all figure in as Karrie tells us her life. It never borders on maudlin. Stories are funny, not in the over-the-top ha ha slapstick or because of some stupid incidence, but becasue that is how life naturally plays itself out sometimes. The dates run the range from awful to awesome, one night stands to long-term to possibly "The One". She also ruminates on the lovelife of her mother Millie, and how she manages to move on from her first marriage. The chapters that bring up Mel are particularly good. Especially hilarious is when she is dating Alan, a Jewish boy who does not want a Jewish woman, so she pretends she is Gentile so later she can 'convert' to Judaism for him. This is amazing writing for what could have been trite subject matter, but instead it's a great read you can't put down.
Rating:
Summary: To all the frogs I've loved before....
Review: To any woman who's kissed (and may still be kissing) her share of frogs- you'll adore this book. The protagonist is a 45yr old single jewish actress. The novel is written as an account of her 20+ years of dating. Karrie Kline (the main character) looks back over all the blind dates, relationships and strange occurrences of the male kind she has had with humor and wit. The book is a great find and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys 'chick-lit' or can appreciate another woman's man trials and tribulations.
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