Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat?

May 18, 2015
Scottoline, the prolific and bestselling author of two dozen novels, and her daughter, Serritella (with whom she writes a weekly column for the Philadelphia Inquirer), pile plenty of laughs and a few tears into the latest volume in their humor series. Super-organized single parent Scottoline lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her menagerie of pets, not far from her beloved Mother Mary, her sassy mother, who has a couple of marriages under her own belt. Mother Mary, food (especially Mary’s spaghetti sauce), and close friends get a lot of coverage in Scottoline’s writing. Her daughter, another animal lover, calls New York City home, where she deals with issues that will click with a lot of city dwellers: mice, gym membership gouging, and noisy early morning construction. When 90-something Mother Mary suddenly falls ill with advanced lung cancer, the writing takes on a note of sweetness and poignancy without becoming maudlin or treacly. Unable to talk comfortably in her final weeks, Mary uses a dry erase board to curse up a storm, demand that the family not talk about any end-of-life business, and share some hard-earned wisdom. This breezy, thoughtful book offers funny and lovely family moments that mothers and daughters will savor.

May 1, 2015
A mother and daughter team up for another volume of anecdotal stories. There are countless readers for whom a book is akin to a truffle, a small, sweet, delicate treat lacking in anything particularly sustaining. Often, it's as much about having others know you're enjoying it as it is about actually enjoying it. Here, bestselling novelist Scottoline and her daughter Serritella (Have a Nice Guilt Trip, 2014, etc.), both Sunday columnists for the Philadelphia Inquirer, deliver another truffle of a book. It is about nothing but enjoyment, a nudge-nudge, wink-wink narrative about womanhood in all of its messy, wonderful glory (well, "all" from the viewpoint of two well-to-do white women). It is the sixth such book from this mother-and-daughter team, ostensibly in the tradition of humorists like Erma Bombeck. Scottoline and Serritella have yet to reach Bombeck's level of popularity, but it isn't for lack of effort-or perhaps it is: many of the sentences (even paragraphs) consist of only a few words: "We get it." "We rock!" "Like Mensa." One essay notes that, in disagreements with the power company, they always win: "Because they have the power." Elsewhere, "I have a gangrene thumb" describes a comical difficulty with planting "a zillion" perennials. Other examples: "She's like Oprah if Oprah could twerk." "Woot woot!" "LOL." "I'm in love. / With my Fitbit. / I'm smitten, which makes me Smitbit. / Or maybe Fitbitten. / Either way, I'm into it....By the way, my dogs do not have Fitbits. / They don't Fitbite." The topics are mostly the same as in their previous books, many similar to those Bombeck covered far more dynamically in her many bestsellers. There's another, more relevant, definition of a truffle: "a strong-smelling underground fungus that resembles an irregular, rough-skinned potato." A silly, featherweight confection that will only appeal to the authors' many fans.

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June 1, 2015
The mother-daughter team of best-selling crime writer Scottoline and her writer daughter, Francesca, follow Have a Nice Guilt Trip (2014) with another collection of humorous essays. This time, Lisa riffs on fleas, DNA testing, first-world problems, weight, rescue by a white knight on a bicycle, celebrities (particularly Bradley Cooper), fear of flying, and of course, dogs. Francesca counters with a fantasy league for The Bachelor, Myers-Briggs personality tests, college reunions, dating (including the mutual fade-out), singing Gilbert and Sullivan, gym memberships, diving off cliffs, and driving sports cars. Hovering over this laugh-out-loud compilation is the specter of Lisa's mom, Mother Mary, and her fight with lung cancer. With her characteristic laugh and who needs it? quips, Mother Mary remains feisty to the end, and Scottoline and Serritella's grief and remembrance make for a poignant collection. The coauthors of the Philadelphia Inquirer's Chick Lit column know women and aren't afraid to laugh at themselves. Their keen observations and fresh twist on life's challenges make this the perfect book to pass from mother to daughter.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2015

Scottoline and daughter Serritella bring to the table a new helping of humorous, insightful, and touching vignettes from their lives. The two detail everything from bicycle riding to reentering the dating scene to Scottoline's love of Bradley Cooper. This volume in the collection of mother-daughter memoirs takes a melancholy tone though as it is dedicated to and discusses the passing of Mother Mary, the family matriarch. Through the sadness are messages of familial love and strength. Readers of the previous installments will not be disappointed with the pair's wit and quirkiness. Scottoline's segments about being a middle-aged writer offer a pleasant generational contrast to that of her twentysomething daughter's self-discovery in New York City. It's one of the most satisfying things about the work--it leaps over generational gaps and ultimately mothers and daughters will nod in recognition of feminist values, the oddities of life, and the bonds of family. The brevity of each essay makes this a quick read, perfect for the beach as the title would suggest, yet some pieces end too quickly, leaving readers to feel as though thoughts went unfinished. VERDICT A strong choice for fans of the Scottoline and the series (Have a Nice Guilt Trip; Meet Me at the Emotional Baggage Claim). [See Prepub Alert, 1/12/15.]--Kaitlin Connors, Virginia Beach P.L.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2015

Edgar Award-winning and blockbuster-best-selling novelist Scottoline also writes a column for the Philadelphia Inquirer--and a series of funny, insightful books with daughter Serritella that bear titles like Meet Me at the Emotional Baggage Claim. This sixth in the series continues to ponder the imponderables of contemporary life and all the anxieties, detours, and, yes, sunny moments women everywhere will recognize. Guys, you might get something from this, too.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.