LIFE, LOVE, AND THE PURSUIT OF HOTTIES

Author: Katie Maxwell ISBN: 084395549X 6/2005 YOUNG ADULT Publisher: DORCHESTER/Smooch

Subject: Reasons Why My Life Sucks Right Now From: Emster@seattlegrrl.com To: Hollyberry@britsahoy.co.uk 1. The end of high school. You'd think that's good, right? Remember that episode of Buffy where the demon snake eats everyone at her graduation? That would be an improvement over mine. 2. Dorm life. Thumbs way up on moving away from home, but down, down, down on the Geek Dorm where I'll spend the next four years. It's going to take forever to hipify all those science and techno geeks. 3. Dru's fantasy wedding. She may be one of my best friends, but if she thinks I'm going to wear a pink-and-yellow plaid bridesmaid's dress, she's completely wacked out of her gourd. 4. Romantic graduation present cruise...without the nummiest boyfriend on the face of the earth? One word: Waaaaaaaaah!

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

In LIFE, LOVE, AND THE PURSUIT OF HOTTIES, Emily Williams is back at her zaniest. She's returned home to Seattle after her year in England and is looking forward to her graduation from high school. In a series of emails and instant messages, Emily tells about her experiences on her graduation trip, the graduation ceremony, her university visit, and a cruise she won in a contest. Of course, normal isn't in Emily's vocabulary as she flits from one near-disaster to another.

While the story starts off a bit slow, it did improve and gave way to some very hilarious scenes. I was worried at first that maybe Emily had lost her spontaneity and originality, thus making the story dull and repetitive, but that was only for the first 30 pages or so. Once things sped up, the reader is firmly entrenched in Emily's world, only coming up for air at the end of the book.

Emily seems to have matured a bit. (I know, that seems hard to believe with some of the things she does.) I was touched by the depth of feelings in Emily's relationship with her father, Brother. Also, when Emily's friend, Holly, is diagnosed as clinically depressed, Emily expresses apprehension, and anxiety, as well as deep compassion in several insightful emails.

I was a bit dissatisfied with the ending, as I found the conclusion abrupt. I'm hoping that by leaving the reader curious about what will happen with Emily and Fang's relationship and Holly's health, Ms. Maxwell is laying ground for yet another book about Emily. LIFE, LOVE, AND THE PURSUIT OF HOTTIES boasts all the elements one comes to expect from an Emily book—madcap adventures, side-splitting antics, and of course, Emily's charm. Devoted fans of the series will find this book irresistible.

Kendra Patterson