BOOKS & STUFF

A recent Facebook post caught my attention. It read: “Believe it or not, 1999 was 20 years ago.” Twenty years? Where did that time go? Some terrible things have happened in our community, state and nation since 1999. I prefer to focus on the good, such as the growth and improvements at the Birnamwood Public Library. Here’s to many more in the next 20 years!
I’m sure I mentioned the fact that not all of my book choices turn out to be great selections. Needing something to read while traveling, I selected the e-book “Thirty-three Going on Girlfriend” by Becky Monson as I thought it would be a very light mystery story with a dash of romance. It had plenty of unrealistic romance but very little else.
Julia Dorning is a 33-year-old, socially awkward, Denver bakery owner. She’s also a hopeless romantic who doesn’t like being unmarried while all around her friends and family are tying the knot.
As the story opens, we find Julia shopping with her mother and little sister. They are looking for a wedding dress for her sister, Anna, and a maid-of-honor dress for Julia. The sisters used to be fairly close in a family that never shows or shares emotions, but ever since Anna got engaged to Jonathon, Anna has been too wrapped up in wedding plans to even talk to Julia.
Jonathon is a junior partner in the Dorning law firm and, according to Anna, he is brilliant. Julia has made up her mind that Jonathon is a snooty braggart and doesn’t like him. In Julia’s eyes, Jonathon doesn’t compare to her handsome and successful boyfriend, Jared Moody.
Jared owns his own consulting firm. They met when Jared was working undercover assessing the efficiency of employees. As soon as the results were in, Julia’s job was eliminated.
With a little investment help from her father, Julia bought a small bakery. It came with two employees, Patti and Debbie, and between the three they have been very successful. One of Julia’s favorite shows is “Cupcake Battles,” where teams must create the cupcakes using some very unusual ingredients.
While on some strong pain pills, Julia sends in an entry. To her amazement she is selected. This is not the best time to be prepping for the show as Julia will also be standing up in her best friend’s wedding as well as making the wedding cake.
On top of that, Anna is behaving like a “bridezilla,” constantly asking Julia to help with wedding tasks. Anna insists that Jonathon is too busy to help with anything, causing Julia to seethe at his lack of interest.
Jared has been acting strange, too, but he refuses to discuss things with Julia until after the contest. Despite some hilarious missteps, Julia and Patti manage to win the contest. But they can’t tell anyone until the show airs weeks later.
Back in Denver, Julia gets through her friend’s wedding and learns that Jared has taken a job in New York without discussing it with her. He insists that they can make a long-distance romance work, but insecure Julia breaks up with him as a pre-emptive strike.
At Anna’s rehearsal dinner, Julia is miserable and a little drunk, giving her the false courage to speak her mind to Jonathon. Only her sincere apology prevents cancellation of the wedding.
As with any romance novel, things work out in the end and everyone is happy, blah, blah. As I said, this is not my preferred genre. If you like this style, Ms. Monson has published several books in this series.
It’s good to know that your public library has a writing style and genre for every taste. All we have to do is drop in and check it out.

AT A GLANCE
BOOK: “Thirty-three Going on Girlfriend”
AUTHOR: Becky Monson
PUBLISHER: Amazon Digital Services
PUBLISHED: Sept. 8, 2014
PAGES: 276