This book took me by surprise. I thought it would be a light and fun chick lit-style story, but it proved to be deeper and even more enjoyable. I found the growth and struggle of Michaela (Mike) believable and moving. As the reader you sort of see her growth before she does. And the fact that she slips back into old patterns came across as very human. The inclusion of two strong older woman characters was really fabulous. I both laughed and cried with this book and would highly recommend it. Mike Edwards may look like a girl (and like a girl everyone wants to sleep with) but she was raised by her widowed father, a surgeon, to be a tough, no nonsense guy. Actually, it seems a bit like she was raised by wolves--she's intelligent and a highly talented advertising professional but she avoids social niceties such as tact and kindness like the plague.However, karma bites when Mike loses her job and after many months of unsuccessful job searching (where her past lack of social skills has pretty much blacklisted her), she is forced to move back home to live with her dad and his newly acquired fiance, Deja. Through Deja, Mike stumbles onto a job teaching "life skills" to junior high girls at a private school--a job that challenges her in ways she didn't think possible.Through it all, Mike's best friend, Gunther, an Aussie journalist who works for the Australian version of the Associated Press, buys her drinks, cheers her on, and waits patiently to see if she will ever stop taking him for granted.Though this novel had all the trappings of chick lit, it managed to twist things around in such a way that it felt fresh and fun. Also, Shanman's writing is witty and sharp; I found myself laughing out loud and sharing paragraphs with people around me as I read.
What do You think about Everything Nice (2008)?
Totally cliche. I loved that it was about a teacher... but that was about it.
—nancy
I am Bantam Discovery's target demographic. Enjoyed this book.
—Super Human
