This book was a fast read, somewhat funny, but not really what I expected. This story is a compilation of short stories that go in chronological order. I thought it would be more like a cohesive memoir. Not sure what I got out of reading this.... ( )

While the author sees herself trying to emulate Marlo Thomas in the TV series "That Girl", I see Ms. Jakiela more as a younger Irma Bombeck ("When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"). After a far from perfect childhood in a Pittsburgh working class family, she describes a series of relationships, none of which worked out quite the way she expected, on to a career search and after majoring in English trying to pursue a writing career, stumbling into a career as an flight attendant.

All through these trials of life, Ms. Jakiela never looses her sense of humor or appreciation of irony. While not exactly side-splitting funny, many humorous adventures are detailed, despite the fact that Lori herself is at the center of much of the irony. There are also accounts of her dealing with the loss of her father, distant memories of her grandfather and some interesting New York apartment dwellers inhabiting the building she lived in. Lori Jakiela also reminds us that "There's no place like home", as in the final chapters, she returns to Pittsburgh.

Not only does Ms. Jakiela give us a glimpse into her life, through her travels, we are shown that people are pretty much the same where ever they live. Despite this, there are still some cultural differences that can lead to some embarrassing situations. If you don't take yourself too seriously, many of these situations are quite funny . . . even when you are the unintentional butt of the joke.

Wonderful light reading, but no piece of fluff, "Miss New York Has Everything" will please readers of biographies and humor relating to the human condition. Recommended for get-away reading or holiday travel reading. ( )

Sometimes, things don't work out as expected. Lori Jakiela thought she'd escape a boring life in Pittsburgh by taking a job as a New York-based flight attendant, which proved much more of a pain than expected. She thought her big break would be a book of poetry (she has a masters degree in that area); instead, she got a contract for this fairly decent (though slow moving at first) memoir. ( )