[.ca] Then She Found Me (ISBN 0671686151)

From Amazon.com:
Meet April Epner, the serious, scholarly, adopted daughter of two equally staid parents. They die, but April finds that she's far from orphaned when her birth mother, Bernice Graverman, comes to claim April's heart and improve her wardrobe and love life, too. April is a Latin teacher, given to wearing flannel jumpers. Bernice is hostess of a third-rate daytime talk show and wears designer labels and toad-sized earrings. She descends upon April's quiet life with the tact of a size-six locust, and the delightful and surprising results of this unlikely reunion will keep you turning pages long after bedtime.

the book that changed my life...no, really!:
I was a young mom when I discovered this book at the local library. Although I'd always been a voracious reader, it had been a few years since I'd found anything that engrossed me. With rambunctious toddlers to tend, I found myself reading Parents magazine instead of the sharp, insightful, quirky fiction that I'd always loved. And then I found Elinor Lipman. I think the description on the back of the book pulled me in: toad-sized earrings? Should be an interesting character, I thought. I read the book in one sitting and then flipped to the first page and read it over again. I was starved for fiction and Elinor Lipman served up a delicious entree in a completely unique way. She doesn't get the credit she deserves for being one of the first (and best) of the witty-women-fiction-writers who are now so common. Lipman's gift for dialogue, her light touch and her original, imperfect but charming characters make her a modern-day Jane Austen. She can write a comedy of manners better than anyone who's currently publishing. The romance between April and her unlikely Prince Charming is a touching surprise, and the tension between the laid-back, no-frills April and her overbearing birth mother is perfectly depicted through Lipman's well-chosen descriptions and naturally witty dialogue. She makes it look easy. When I worked at a bookstore, I recommended this book to anyone who was looking for a well-written light love story with a bit of an edge. I'll always have a special place in my heart for this book: it was the first novel I read after a few years of reading nothing but baby-related stuff, and it reminded me again how fiction can really touch your heart. I'm glad I made time for this book, and I'm glad I bought my own copy and have reread it several times since that first day (my kids are teenagers now and this remains on my all-time favorites list!) Although some of her subsequent books haven't been as engaging, Elinor Lipman remains a master at what she does, creating memorable heroines and surprising love interests, dialogue that crackles with wit, and plot lines that are a wonderful escape from the harsh realities of most of today's good fiction. A new book from Lipman is always a cause for celebration and a reason to shell out the extra bucks for a hardcover.

Quirky, funny, and delightful:
I'd recommend this book to anyone yet to read this wonderful author. Lipman's books are quirky and funny and very atypical. THEN SHE FOUND ME will leave you giggling and smiling. The story's central theme of an adopted girl who is reunited with her birth mother is a delightful read and full of great characters. The author is excerpt at giving the reader a colorful picture of all scenes and players. You'll picture them while reading about them, and think of them fondly afterward. From the author of The Difference Now, A New Dish, and At the Coffee Shop.

Quirky but endearing characters make for an appealing read:
April, a lonely teacher with a quiet life, grew up happily in an adoptive family. Shortly after the death of her adoptive parents, however, she is contacted by Bernice, a flashy talk show host who claims to be her real mother. April is not the type of daughter Bernice expected to find, and Bernice is not exactly the birth mother who April dreamed about for years. Their reunion is sometimes stormy but ultimately heartwarming; the additional plotline of April's romance only contributes to making the novel both humorous and touching.

Interesting, quirky read:
Then She Found Me is a fun, unusual read about a girl whose exotic, outrageous birth mother finds her as an adult. The main character grew up happily with an adoptive family. When both of her adoptive parents die Bernice, her birth mother, tracks her down. She proves, however, to be not as easily molded as Bernice would like, which provides interesting tension throughout the book. In addition to interesting character development, both with family and romantic relationships, the book sparkles with witty, realistic dialogue and funny turns of events. The plot, like Bernice, tends toward outrageous, but it is easy to be drawn in none-the-less, and to believe everything that happens. An enjoyable, thought-provoking read.

Glad I Found This Book:
A great read. Might particularly resonate with adoptees, but should be enjoyed by all gentle readers. To give you a good feel for the book, I'm going to quote one-half of my very favorite passage. If it doesn't make you want to read this book IMMEDIATELY, then this book isn't for you. Here goes: "He held me and let me cry into his neck for what felt like hours. He produced a bubble bath somehow when I didn't even own the stuff. He found a tray and a bud vase and the makings of cinnamon toast. I told him I loved him, and not because I was vulnerable and hysterical and orphaned or because he was acting like a paid companion from the Visiting Nurses Association, but because he left school for me and never mentioned the leaving or getting back. 'You'd do it for me,' he said." I liked Lipman's second book, "The Way Men Act," but not as much as this one. Her short story collection, "Into Love and Out Again" was pleasant, but her third novel, "Isabel's Bed," was a tedious bore. Because of how disappointed I was by "Isabel," I gave up on Lipman, and have not read her most recent couple of novels. But I'll ALWAYS remember how glad I was that I found "Then She Found Me."