DIARY OF A MAD FAT GIRL: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

 

GIVEAWAY ENDED 
DIARY OF A MAD FAT GIRL

BY STEPHANIE McAFEE

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Graciela "Ace" Jones is mad-mad at her best friend Lilly who cancels their annual trip to Panama City for mysterious reasons; at her boss Catherine for "riding her ass like a fat lady on a Rascal scooter;" at her friend Chloe's abusive husband; and especially at Mason McKenzie, the love of her life, who has shown up with a marriage proposal three years too late. Ace is never mad, though, at her near-constant companion, an adorable chiweenie dog named Buster Loo.

Ace's anger begins to dissipate as she takes matters into her own hands to take down Chloe's philandering husband-and to get to the bottom of a multitude of other scandals plaguing Bugtussle, Mississippi. Then, she starts to realize that maybe Mason deserves a second chance after all.

With a sharp and distinctive voice, Stephanie McAfee delivers a hilarious and fast-paced tale about Ace Jones and her two best friends-thick as thieves and tough as nails-navigating Southern small-town politics and prejudices, finding love, and standing up for each other all the way.

PRAISE FOR DIARY OF A MAD FAT GIRL: 

“Diary of a Mad Fat Girl is bawdy, sexy southern fried fun. McAfee makes a powerhouse debut that readers will love.”

—Valerie Frankel, Author of It's Hard Not to Hate You and  Four of a Kind

"[Ace Jones] will grab you by the shirtfront and take you with her on her ride....Diary of Mad Fat Girl is pure fun."

—Rachael Herron, Author of  Wishes & Stitches 

"Ace Jones is my kind of girl: Her outsize appetite for life, plus a dangerously low tolerance for losers, get her into one impossible fix after another."
—Sophie Littlefield, Author of  A Bad Day for Scandal 
 
"Ace Jones is a hoot!"

—Wendy Wax, Author of  Ten Beach Road 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Like Elvis, I was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.  And while I'm not the King (or Queen) of anything that I know of, I do have a white steed, a noble knight, and a royal court. Ok, I'm lying. I have a brown chiweenie, a buck wild toddler, and if we line our "Cars" cars up just right...

I have lived in the Wild Wild West, but don’t live there anymore because I discovered that some people belong in the south and I am one of those people.  Humidity, as it turns out, is not such a bad thing after all. Neither are thunderstorms. Plus I have a deep love and genuine appreciation for normal sweet tea, fresh seafood, SEC football, and large bodies of salty water. So now I live in Florida.

I have a B.A. in English from the University of Mississippi and I'm a life-long fan of the Ole Miss Rebels (despite their current rash of ridiculous and embarrassing problems). I also have an M.A. in Secondary Education from the University of Alabama, which gives me the right yell “Roll Tide!” every now and then. Despite my solid educational background, my work history is what you might call checkered (if you wanted to be nice). It ranges from dispatching at my father’s trucking company to teaching high school Spanish to temping at a technology consulting firm in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Another thing about me: One day, I decided to write a book. Ten years later, I wrote it. It’s called Diary of a Mad Fat Girl and I think it’s pretty funny. Maybe you might think it's funny too!

Now let's move on to the almost unbelievable part of the story:

I self-published Diary of a Mad Fat Girl on Christmas Day of 2010, then listed it on Barnes & Noble’s Pubit! and Smashwords a few weeks later.

In March of 2011, it showed up at #31 on the New York Times Bestseller list in combined print and e-book fiction where it lasted two weeks. That same week, it debuted at #17 in e-book fiction, and hung on there for twelve weeks.

How’s that for crazy?

Now I write full-time, along with taking care of the buck-wild toddler of mine. 

ENJOY MORE FROM AUTHOR STEPHANIE MCAFEE AT HER WEBSITE HERE! 

MY REVIEW/THOUGHTS ON DIARY OF A MAD FAT GIRL:
Stephanie McAfee’s DIARY OF A MAD FAT GIRL was a book that I read for fun after completing a long, hectic week preparing seven posts for my blogiversary. Also, I am enjoying, but also working on reading a couple of physically, and emotionally, heavy books so something light in every way fit the bill for me. DIARY OF A MAD FAT GIRL called out to me and I am glad I answered that call as it made for a quick and fun afternoon read!

As far McAfee’s writing, I think one must keep in mind that this is the author’s first book, however, she also has a three book deal with the publisher who obviously recognizes her talent, and knows with each book, certain writing skills will develop more fully. I think one to work on would be character development because on the surface, some readers may not like Ace, or her overuse of offensive language. With a fleshed out, deeper personality, readers might understand Ace better and be more accepting of her, and thus McAfee will probably improve this character over time. I still liked her and she made me laugh!

Personally, I not only laughed out loud but think I needed DIARY OF A MAD FAT GIRL right about now. When McAfee writes about subjects I can relate to like dressing for comfort as opposed to for looks, or the necessity of going to a gym, Ace was often right in line with my thoughts, or at least funny enough to make me laugh and not care if she was politically correct or not! The fact that Ace was a “go-gettum” type gal who although originally angry at just about everybody including the love of her life Mason and her friend Chloe, gets over it and takes matters into her own hands. Having that cute pup of hers helped get my seal of approval, as well. Ace is the kind of friend that some of us just might need at times. I thought the plot line moved well, even if it was a little far fetched sometimes, but then again, it wouldn’t have been a light, easy read if I was made to contemplate issues too deeply. I think a little happy ending book is good for all of us from time to time and helps us to not take things so seriously. I am sure others will disagree, but for me, DIARY OF A MAD FAT GIRL was just plain entertaining! I will be anxious to see how Stephanie McAfee’s career progresses as she appears to be a very energetic “go gettum” gal herself! Thanks for the fun, Stephanie!

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO MY GOOD FRIENDS AT

PENGUIN/NAL, I HAVE ONE COPY OF

DIARY OF A MAD FAT GIRL,
TO GIVE AWAY TO A LUCKY READER

 
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GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, JANUARY 27

 GOOD LUCK!