I See Life Through Rosé-Colored Glasses

April 16, 2018
Novelist Scottoline (After Anna, etc.) and daughter Serritella team up for the eighth in a series of entertaining mother-daughter humor books, combining entries in their “Chick Wit” column for the Philadelphia Inquirer and new material. The authors volley between Scottoline’s amusing outlook on aging and Serritella’s dating ups and downs. Scottoline’s style is characteristically clipped and peppered with hilarious one-liners (e.g., on Brawny paper towels, “I’ve never relied on a paper towel to give me strength. I have chocolate for that”; “Yes, I have multiples. Not orgasms. Pets.” Meanwhile, Serritella digs into topics including breaking up with boyfriends, the benefits of enjoying family Christmas without a date, and getting her first Brazilian bikini wax. This close mother-daughter team leaves no stone unturned, and their slew of animals (six dogs and a couple of cats altogether) and their beloved and outspoken deceased mother/grandmother (aka Mother Mary) are frequently referenced. This summer beach read—which is indeed “like a glass of rosé, between two covers”—is sure to cheer readers spanning the generations but will be of particular appeal to mothers and daughters.

June 1, 2018
The mother-daughter duo is at it again, fast on the heels of their most recent collaboration, I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool (2017). Light and fun loving, but never silly, their short essays will be welcomed by fans and appreciated by new readers, too. Scottoline is conscious of time's all-too-swift passage but grateful that she can be annoyed by it; this means she's still alive. Her mother's influence is still evident, and all readers with their own Mother Mary may feel wistful. Serritella is busy learning new skills, like grooming her dog and painting with watercolors, and she can turn any new-experience-gone-awry (waterfall massage, Brazilian bikini wax) into essay gold. Her 10 points for dumping someone promise to be widely shared. As in their previous book, Scottoline's essays outnumber Serritella's, and Scottoline does have a certain joke-telling rhythm?but she can still turn a phrase, with warmth and wisdom. Especially satisfying is how the authors frequently reference the same experience in adjoining essays, making the book best read straight through.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2018

This best-selling pair return with the next in the long-running warm and funny series, so grab your ros'-colored glasses and start reading.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.