ARE YOU LISTENING? THE SMART ONE: A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

WELCOME TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S" 
ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY"
I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY'S
AUDIO BOOK CHOICE....

  GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE SMART ONE

BY JENNIFER CLOSE

Read by Rebecca Lowman

ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK:

Weezy Coffey’s parents had always told her she was the smart one, while her sister was the pretty one. “Maureen will marry well,” their mother said, but instead it was Weezy who married well, to a kind man and good father. Weezy often wonders if she did this on purpose—thwarting expectations just to prove her parents wrong.

But now that Weezy’s own children are adults, they haven’t exactly been meeting her expectations either. Her oldest child, Martha, is thirty and living in her childhood bedroom after a spectacular career flameout. Martha now works at J.Crew, folding pants with whales embroidered on them and complaining bitterly about it. Weezy’s middle child, Claire, has broken up with her fiancé, canceled her wedding, and locked herself in her New York apartment—leaving Weezy to deal with the caterer and florist. And her youngest, Max, is dating a college classmate named Cleo, a girl so beautiful and confident she wears her swimsuit to family dinner, leaving other members of the Coffey household blushing and stammering into their plates.

As the Coffey children’s various missteps drive them back to their childhood home, Weezy suddenly finds her empty nest crowded and her children in full-scale regression. Martha is moping like a teenager, Claire is stumbling home drunk in the wee hours, and Max and Cleo are skulking around the basement, guarding a secret of their own. With radiant style and a generous spirit, The Smart One is a story about the ways in which we never really grow up, and the place where we return when things go drastically awry: home. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jennifer Close was born and raised on the North Shore of Chicago. She is a graduate of Boston College and received her MFA in Fiction Writing from The New School in 2005. She worked in New York in magazines for many years and then in Washington, D.C., as a bookseller.

PRAISE FOR THE SMART ONE:

“I want to be friends with all of the narrators of Jennifer Close’s addictive novel.” —Megan Angelo, Glamour

“If you’re looking for the literary equivalent of HBO’s Girls, then check out Jennifer Close’s debut novel, Girls in White Dresses, which charts the travails of flailing twentysomethings. Her follow-up, The Smart One, feels the way Girls could circa season 6, when ‘almost getting it kind of together’ ceases to be cute. . . . This bighearted novel examines a generation of nonstarters with a mix of empathy and Close’s signature deadpan, pathos-driven humor.” —Stephan Lee, Entertainment Weekly
 
“While Claire, older sister Martha, younger brother Max, and the rest of the Coffey family try to navigate the logistics of having adult children return to the previously empty next, they realize that no right answers can be found in any parenting manual. The Smart One focuses on the intersections of self-discovery, independence, and reliance in the modern family, all enlivened by Close’s signature wit and warmth. Close does an admirable job of equally voicing the Coffey children, straining to reevaluate their priorities under a shared roof, and the Coffey parents, aching to provide guidance without wanting to seem heavy-handed. A touchingly tender, emotionally honest novel about shifting priorities and the nontraditional career paths so many find themselves on.” —Stephanie Turza, Booklist

“Close, whose first novel (Girls in White Dresses, 2011) romped with recent college grads newly on their own, focuses here on two sisters on the cusp of 30, both torn between independent womanhood and lingering dependence on parents. . . . Martha, who has always been needy and socially off-kilter, steals the novel . . . The friction between the sisters is palpable and real. . . . The novel sings in the small moments when its women express uncomfortable truths, undercurrents of sibling resentment and parental disappointment, which usually remain unspoken. . . . Perfect for the beach or a long plane trip.” —Kirkus

“The Smart One is emotionally engaging and thoughtful; like Anne Tyler, Close goes straight into the heart of a group of people to show all its flawed, complicated members clearly and deftly and totally without judgment. There is not one dull moment—Close is a subtle and incisive writer who gets better with each new book.” —Kate Christensen, author of The Astral 

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW: 
Jennifer Close's GIRLS IN WHITE DRESSES introduced readers to a delightful, new talent with that very popular book. Those same readers will now surely follow Close with her new novel, THE SMART ONE. I wonder how they will feel after finishing this one? I found it to be an enjoyable story for perhaps a light beach read but not really up to par with her first book. I did like that the female characters told the story in alternating chapters from their own viewpoints, and this sincere and direct approach is what saved THE SMART ONE for me.  Close gives us characters we can relate to in some ways but also there were some parts where the situations made me question their probability and authenticity.

The Coffey family who no longer have an empty nest is what THE SMART ONE is about. With three children, the parents, Will and Weezy, find themselves, as many parents are doing these days, with grown children still living, or returning to live, at home. Each “child” comes with their own baggage and although mostly believable, they aren’t so interesting that they are memorable, at least for me.

Martha, at 31, the eldest, is dubbed the “smart one” (note: not the pretty one) and STILL lives at home after not being able to cope with her chosen career as a nurse…at least at first. Next is Claire, who returns home after she breaks her engagement and her bank account so needs a place to live and recoup. Lastly, moving into the basement with his girlfriend, and soon to be mother of his child, is the youngest, Max. He was my favorite of the three as his situation seemed the most real to me.  

There were some endearing and humorous parts and it was a quick and easy read so for that, THE SMART ONE is worth your time. Sometimes we just need a book for fun and not one we have to “work at” to enjoy it. This was especially true as an audio book that I could enjoy driving, working and just relaxing. I'd be interested in seeing which character YOU think is "the smart one" in the book. THE SMART ONE by Jennifer Close is a pleasant introduction to the upcoming “summer beach reading” season. 

 GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO RICHARD AND THE GOOD PEOPLE

AT RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO BOOKS, I HAVE ONE

COPY OF THIS JENNIFER CLOSE AUDIO BOOK

  THE SMART ONE, TO GIVE AWAY

  TO ONE OF MY LUCKY FOLLOWERS
  

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE IN 
ORDER TO COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY
 

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THE SMART ONE THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS AUDIO BOOK 

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU CAN COMMENT ON EACH ON SEPARATELY AND GAIN MORE ENTRIES THAT WAY

 +1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY

 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
 6 PM, EST, APRIL 24

 

 GOOD LUCK!