Jessica Morrison (1)

Fun, Well-Paced Read in Great Setting, Though not 10o% Authentic: This is a smart, tight, well-written debut, a staple for chick lit with most chick lit ingredients (sans The Gay Pal) in an international setting, and, usually, more intelligent than average.



In Seattle, web assistant producer Cassie has learned to cope with her parents' divorce and her anxious mother's warnings ("Men leave you for your secretary") by becoming obsessive-compulsive and aligning her entire life, past and show more future, to The Plan: she's devised a complicated spreadsheet with Goals for every stage of her life, including love, romance and happy-ever-after.



But then, predictably, everything goes wrong: not only does she not get a much-expected promotion--she's deemed "unexciting" and is fired from her job. In typical Hollywood fashion, that same day (seriusly, hasn't anyone told this writer that too much may well be, ahem, "Too Much"?) she's evicted from her apartment and finds her Perfect Fiance, Jeff, in bed with his ex girlfriend--a non perfect girl whom he still likes better than Cassie--again, predictably, he tells Cassie she's "too perfect." Clearly, The Plan has failed.



Devastated, Cassie licks her wounds and, drunk, books herself an "outta here" six month destination to, of all places, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cassie isn't the most urbane or sophisticated of girls, has apparently never been anywhere other than tourist spots in Mexico, speaks no languages, and has never felt any interest in "other cultures." This, she tells us ourselves. And it's quite obvious too!



So I guess it shouldn't be surprising that, from the moment she hits the plane Argentina-bound (in a very funny, well-told scene with a drugged Argentine woman) everything Cassie sees and experiences, and everything her friends and family tell her about her "crazy travel plans," is one cliche after the other.



To start with, she seems to arrive in Buenos Aires late at night. This is way odd. I've been to Argentina countless times from different parts of the world and have NEVER arrived at night. Always early in the morning. The writer may have chosen to do this on purpose to up the stakes, since Cassie is afraid and sees everything as odd and frightening.



Then, she goes from one cliche after the other, even when many of her pictures of modern Buenos Aires are right-on and very well told, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant. The language is completely off--have never heard an Argentine who talks this way. For example, in this story everyone seems to be saying "Chica"--a Mexican term virtually unheard of in this context in Argentina. The verbs are wrong, too. And I guess it wouldn't matter half so much if the writer hadn't been somone who supposedly HAS spent several months in Buenos Aires.



Still--back to story: In Argentina, Cassie's Plan is shattered by new experiences, new connections and new revelations. She meets an enigmatic Argentine, Mateo, with a sad past, and it takes her forever to figure out that she's falling in love with him, but the tnesion between them is real and affecting and you'll have no problem going along for the ride. She creates a group of other "broken hearts" finding solace in B uenos Aires, other expats from different parts of the world (though, note, all Anglophiles--sophisticated, as I said, Cassie is not--and, clearly, neither is the author) and she eschews many, many cliches along the way. Some, she learns to grow from and many others, she never does.



The writing is snappy and at its best when describing secondary characters (her landlady Andrea and Andrea's toddler Jorge are beautifully described) and at is worst --as happens quite often in chick lit-- when turning inwards and philosophical.



But it's a book worht reading, and a with it you'll have a good time. show less

Very typical chick lit, but I liked the travel spin and I felt like it was more satisfying than average.