A good book IF you are the demographic it was written for -- which obviously I am not. This is the story of a young woman who had chosen a nice safe career at her parents' behest, was shy to the point that she only had one friend, and feared doing anything the least bit risky. But talked into quitting her job by her best friend -- ho was also to quit her job but backed out at the last minute -- Katrina moves from California to New York for a two-month stay. Of course, she comes out of her shell, makes some very unwise decisions, and gets on with her life. The writing was generally ok, the plot was interesting though there were several times when it was a tough sell, and the characters were mostly believable. All in all, just ok. A light, quick read (otherwise I wouldn't have stuck with it till the end!), a good choice for young women in their late teens/early twenties. If that's not you, pass it by. Excuse me. Can I have everyone's attention please? Hey guys - Katrina is SHY. Got it? It's okay if you don't because you'll be beaten over the head with this kind of stuff over and over throughout the book. Not only is she shy, but super reserved and meticulous. She never does anything impulsive and doesn't like to try new things. Until one day... (Dun dun dunnnn)Katrina is an accountant at an advertising agency in California and always does everything expected of her, at work and otherwise. What drove me crazy was that, especially for the first chunk of the book, she apologizes for everything to everyone; basically she isn't happy with who she is...so she apologizes to everyone for who she is. While her confidence and self-respect did grow exponentially by the end of the book, it was very annoying for the first chunk of the book to have a lead character that didn't have ANY self-respect. The book begins with Katrina quitting her job because she and her friend Deb have made a pact to go to New York for 2 months. Unfortunately, Kat quits her job and Deb fails to follow through. Even though it's extremely out of the ordinary for her (as we are explicitly and implicitly told over and over), Kat decides to go to New York on her own for the extended vay-kay. This book was a fast read, but it wasn't my favorite. I've read every other book that Maria Murnane has written, so I was anxiously awaiting the release of this one. Ultimately, it wasn't my cup of tea. I enjoyed all of her other books because they're cute, fun, and fast reads. While this book was also a fast read, it was just too cheesy and unrealistic for me (and that's saying something, because I LOVE romcoms and chicklit, even when it's pretty far fetched). I didn't find the main character very likable, and I didn't think there was much of a plot. If there had been more action or SOMETHING had happened, I would have enjoyed it more, but to me, it seemed like most of the book just dictated what Kat did this day or the next day. Then there's one scene where she's basically a complete jerk to someone for absolutely no reason and I got my hopes up that SOMETHING would happen, but even that piddled out into nothing.The book is definitely cheesy and a bit unrealistic, in my opinion. There's never any real drama or dilemma. I don't know how she pays for everything without a job, and that's never really addressed. She seems to have no issue going out for coffee every day, taking yoga classes, eating and drinking out, buying supplies to paint all sorts of pictures, plus doing all sorts of sightseeing and shopping. This frustrated me, along with the fact that she seemed to find super friendly and abnormally chatty people everywhere she went. Also, it seemed to generalize her in a way that was unappealing to me. Just because she's shy and likes numbers and is dependable doesn't mean that she has to be boring and stuffy and overly practical. She doesn't even drink because she never goes out (because of the shyness) and she needs to apologize because she's so uncool, shy and awkward. Kat was just such a pushover and wet noodle for most of the book, and she was WAY too naive. She didn't even have a nickname and they made it SUCH a big deal out of the fact that she gets the nickname Kat. Old Katrina was boring and a loser and declined any invites to hang out but New Kat is fun and friendly and, GASP, goes out on weeknights! I felt like this book was trying to be more profound and deep than it actually was, and that the moral of the story is that she learned she was strong all along and all that jazz. But let's call it like it is - she quits her job and avoids all responsibility to go on a vacation to New York for 2 months. It's not like she joined the Peace Corps or went to visit the Dalai Lama. So this book, like my review is becoming, is long-winded. I don't mean to bash on it completely, because I've found Murnane's other books cute and likable. It's not like this book is poorly written or anything. I just didn't care for the character and thought the book was way too cheesy without much of a plot. However, it is a fast read, and if you're going to visit New York, it could be worth reading it to get some ideas of where to visit. Or if can relate to Katrina and look past the cheesiness, you could take away a message of empowerment. Otherwise, I would suggest trying a different Murnane book first.
What do You think about Katwalk (2014)?
Another wonderful book by Ms. Murnane. Katrina is a great character and easy to root for.
—lillyvip
Ok. A 30-something girl moves to New York city to find a new life.
—yola143twilight
another great book by Maria Murnane, read it in a day!
—sivaram
