| © 2006 HarperCollins. Heather McElhatton Publishing rights © Heather Elaine McElhatton Pretty Little Mistakes, Million little Mistakes, Pretty Little Murder, characters, names and related indincia are trademarks © Harpercollins Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
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Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single Heather McElhatton. Harper, $13.99 paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-06-146136-1 A heroine with Bridget Jones-like neuroses and klutziness learns the costs of scoring a glamorous life in McElhatton's delightful second novel (after Pretty Little Mistakes). Jennifer Johnson is a financially unstable copywriter toiling in the marketing department of Keller's, a family-run Minnesota department store. Jennifer learns her ex is engaged and is subjected to her younger sister's wedding preparations, horrid dates and a fire in her Hello Kitty–adorned apartment. Enter Brad Keller, the caddish heir to the Keller's department store fortune. Though at first she couldn't imagine that he'd ever be interested in her, soon enough they're dating, and a marriage proposal follows. Things, of course, aren't exactly as they appear, and Jennifer's eventually confronted with the classic dilemma: money or love. Jennifer's a wonderful narrator—honest, witty, self-deprecating and sharply observant—which more than redeems the story's familiar aspects (gay best friend, high maintenance sibling's pending nuptials, lame Internet dates). McElhatton blends just enough cynicism into the whimsical narrative, creating a fun romp through a woman's manifold insecurities. (May) |
