Coupon Girl (ISBN 0843956933)

Diamonds in A LOT of rough (spoiler alert!):
I love chick lit, and I was excited to pick up this book because of the good review from Johanna Edwards (author of one of my fave chick lit books, The Next Big Thing). Unfortunately, the book was a big dissapointment. I expect a good novel to have certain elements: an intriguing and definite plot, characters who change throughout the story and an ending that shows the impact made on the character throughout the book. Coupon Girl lacked all these elements. The main goals of Jeannie are a) getting it on with Burton, the director of her community theater group, b) winning the contest to sign up the most new customers for LotsaCoups, her company and c) getting a promotion to sales manager. Her relationship with the director fizzles...I felt very little excitement for Jeannie, and Burton is a loser. She figures this out, but then no new and better love interest is introduced (a chick lit standard). Regarding the coupon sales contest, we get a lot of anecdotes about signing up customers, but in the end she doesn't win...and doesn't seem to care!..after this has "driven" her throught the novel! And she turns down the promotion that she "really" wanted because she figures that she doesn't really want the responsibility. So what does she accomplish? Um, nothing. She is at the same place at the beginning of the book that she is at the end, except she has now starred in a bit role in a crappy community theater production. I kept expecting something to happen, but nothing ever really does. I gave this book three stars instead of one because there are a bunch of laugh out loud moments. Motew has a great talent for conjuring up hysterical images, and I laughed more than I have from any book in a long time. Too bad her talent doesn't translate to plot and character development in addition to comedy.

BORING!:
Don't waste your time or money. This was a very boring read. I kept wondering when the real story would begin, and got nothing but page after page of meaningless drivel!

Quick, Funny Read:
Becky Motew writes up a comic storm. Laugh out loud with some of the funniest characters I've ever met. Phillis Diller meets Mark Twain.

It's Got Style, It's Got Laughter ... It's Got It All:
This book kept me laughing, yet also provided enough tension (as well as a bit of a mystery) to keep me turning the pages to find out how it all panned out for the often beset, often bewildered, but always oh so believable main character, Jeanie. I love Becky Motew's style. There are some genuine laugh out loud moments in this book, and Jeanie is thoroughly likeable. Okay I admit it - I am a sucker for down to earth, slightly cynical main characters I can relate to - especially if they can make me laugh - that's why I really, really recommend this book. I loved it.

A must-read:
Coupon Girl is laugh-out-loud funny and a page turner to boot. The author deftly weaves many plot threads into a wonderful comic tapestry that pulls together beautifully in a hilarious finale. I can't wait for Ms. Motew's next book.