bookereview : See Jane Date by Melissa S

Jane Gregg, the heroine of See Jane Date has just about had it - had it with her younger, more-popular cousin Dana, who's getting married at Manhattan's celebrated Plaza hotel; had with being father and mother-less; had it with being an assistant editor whose tenacious on-maternity-leave boss Gwen won't stop calling her and detailing her baby's poop schedule; had it with the author she's been assigned to work with, Natasha, who Jane's known since childhood and who she secretly calls "The Gnat."

But most of all, she has had it with the fact that she had no date for Dana's wedding to a (what else?) millionaire. Fed-up Jane, who feels inferior to everyone around her, finally makes-up a boyfriend, who everyone expects to be Jane's escort to Dana's wedding.

Jane's job (in addition to editing The Gnat's memoirs about her torrid affair with an unnamed celebrity who made her sign a confidentiality agreement before consummating their "relationship") becomes finding someone - anyone - to be her date for the wedding-of-the-century.

Jane's worlds are also colliding. The Gnat, who was once Dana's babysitter, is suddenly going to the wedding and even the bachelor-ette party, treating a resentful Jane like an intimate confidante, and calling all hours of the day or night. Jane also contends with regular lectures from her aunt (Dana's mom, who raised Jane after her mother's death). Her aunt is disappointed in Jane's less-than enthusiastic participation in wedding party activities and prep.

She allows herself to be "set-up" on a round of blind dates, in the hopes that one will "take," so that she'll be able to keep up the facade that she's got a boyfriend who's more-than-thrilled to take her to (shudder) "the event."

Senate is most successful as she chronicles the stream of bad blind dates - dates that ring, no, even clang, with truth.

On one of her five blind dates, the guy suggests she meet him at a location - but coyly only gives Jane the address, without any details. She realizes the neighborhood is dicey, except for the earliest stages of gentrification - art galleries -and Jane assumes she's being invited to an opening.

Wearing a borrowed (and provocative) dress, she trudges to the remote location, only to have her date's mother answer the door. Not only is he not home yet, but soon finds out that she's been invited to her date's 11-year-old-nephew's birthday party, held at the home where the "date" lives with his mother.

On another date (one that also reads as very "real"), she meets a date at Starbucks, only to find herself competing for his attention with any other woman who walks by.

Jane's desperation to be close to what family she has left (and who she really doesn't feel quite bonded to) adds a soulful touch to the story. Her granny even joins in, and tries -unsuccessfully - to get Jane to meet the nice guy next door, claiming he often helps out and even, occasionally, plays chess with her uncle. Jane cannot imagine what this guy is like, but decides with great alacrity that he isn't for her. But as the story progresses, the question then becomes, "or is he??"

bookereview : La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander M.C.S

Charming. Can any of us make a difference to the great events which determine our fate? That is the question Alexander McCall Smith explores in La's Orchestra Saves the World.

The story is set in Britain and told through the eyes of a young woman named Lavender (all her friends call her La). La is a very real character - although intelligent, strong-willed and determined, at times she displayed self-doubt and struggled with want versus obligation. McCall Smith takes the reader on a journey with La from her days at university, first love, personal tragedy and the upheaval of the Second World War. Along the way the reader is introduced to a cast of characters from many walks of life, displaying determination and courage in many forms, as they each do what they can to contribute to the war effort.

The best word I can use to describe the writing style displayed by McCall Smith in this novel is 'quality'. It is neither self-indulgent nor sparing - his use of the British language and vocabulary is exemplary. There is something very rewarding about learning a new word or two through the enjoyment of a charming story. After all, why read if it is not to learn something, whether that be a new word or more about ourselves through personal reflection? La's Orchestra Saves the World serves up opportunities for personal reflection in spades. Would I have been so selfless? At what point does defence become aggression? What do allegiances really mean, and can the place a person was born dictate what they do and don't deserve out of life? Is happiness a right or something we must earn?

La's Orchestra Saves the World is a story about personal sacrifice and the strength of the human spirit. Although at times hauntingly sad, this story is equally uplifting, and well worth reading.

bookereview : The X Files by Jane M

The Ex-Files is not exactly Jane Austen, but you still get a smart, wry and uncertain heroine in Fay Parker, a high-profile model, who's prepared (or so she thinks) to marry sweet chef Mark Hawkins. The couple harmoniously decides, in a fit of magnanimity, to invite their most recent - and serious -- exes.

For Faye, this includes a kind, but ultimately dull boy-from-home and a narcissistic celebrity. Mark's featured "ex" is Kate, with whom he had a long - and primarily happy - relationship.

The catalyst (and of course, there is one) for Faye's sudden cold feet is a near one-night stand with a guy she meets while out. Their chemistry is electric and Faye considers what has led her to this point.

UK journalist and best-selling author Moore offers up an ambitious tale. Moore's lead, unlike many in the genre is far from the everywoman who represents the book's intended audience. Instead of a lovelorn, weight-conscious, awkward put-upon lead, Moore gives us a popular supermodel, confident and carefree. And Moore is nearly successful in getting her reader behind Faye and her dilemma.

The Ex-Files reads almost like a sequel - like a book that challenges its more conventional predecessor. It is as if someone proposed the idea to Moore - "why not examine, in a 'fresh and new' way - an alternative to the happily-ever-after.

And for this novel, it offers this: meaning, Mark's and Faye's pre Ex-Files story is traditional: meet cute, opposites attract - with the icing on the cake: an engagement. The premise of The Ex-Files should work, because as everyone knows, there's almost always a caveat to the happy ending. But Moore eventually becomes burdened by characters that don't ring true. She tells the reader rather than shows them - a mistake a seasoned writer like Moore should avoid. In short, because she doesn't have empathy for Faye and Mark, why should the reader?

Moore also tackles what really seems to be a film and television conceit - and one that is pretty much never happens in reality: the caricatured wedding ceremony. In real life, most weddings are called off before the guests arrive at church, not like in The Graduate, not like in Four Weddings and a Funeral, not like Picture Perfect, not like Sweet Home Alabama. Basically, not like any wedding ceremony in fiction.

That said, there is enough in the premise, enough in the first chapter (which features Faye's pseudo indiscretion) to pretty much give a reader familiar with the genre more than a hint of what will happen. Still, despite the predictability, the ambitiousness of the premise (as it challenges reality), it is a quick and fun read - perfect for the plane ride, the beach or while waiting for your turn at the DMV.