If You Were Here

by Jen Lancaster

After five amusing memoirs, Jen Lancaster has decided to give fiction writing a whirl. Really, reading this novel isn’t much different from reading her memoirs. Lancaster has a decidedly unique point of view. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Mia and Mac have had it with renting and are ready to buy a house. With her successful teen novel series (which features Amish zombies), Mia has earned enough dough to buy a pretty nice place. But Mia has set her sights a wee bit too high: Abington Cambs. AC is the setting for the iconic films of John Hughes, the master of the teenage exploitation films of the eighties (my mother’s words). A ritzy ‘burb, AC is hardly the right place for Mia and Mac to be looking. But Mia has her heart set on it, and they soon find the perfect fixer-upper.

And then the real fun begins. . .

Cranky neighbors, termites, and more DIY than even Bob Villa could handle are the tip of the iceberg for this modern tale of the money pit. You’ll laugh and cringe simultaneously.

7/1/11