2.5 stars. Tempted to put this on my chick lit shelf: it had that kind of light-weight writing, but wasn't as much fun. I didn't find it particularly humourous & the main character's relentless attempts at being witty got tiresome. Also I found the whole premise kind of irritating, feministly speaking. However, the plot kept me going enough to finish the book. ( )

2.5 stars. Tempted to put this on my chick lit shelf: it had that kind of light-weight writing, but wasn't as much fun. I didn't find it particularly humourous & the main character's relentless attempts at being witty got tiresome. Also I found the whole premise kind of irritating, feministly speaking. However, the plot kept me going enough to finish the book. ( )

Amusing diversion, but only a couple of laugh-out-loud moments on my part. ( )

Freelance writer Everett Kane has been sent to Florida to supervise his dad's rehab from a recent stroke. His mum, a CEO of a major real estate corporation, is bankrolling the trip, which softens the blow a bit -- Dad is not the easiest of people to get along with. At the rehab facility, Everett meets a feminist hero of his, Beverley Tanner, and is inspired to create an anonymous blog about feminist issues. Anonymous, because he feels that being a man writing about women's issues would detract from his message. Then the blog becomes wildly popular, and the race is on to unmask the (wo)man behind the writing.

This was an enjoyably fast-paced and light book. I found some of the parents' dialogue a bit unrealistic, or at least sounding too similar to Everett's, and I was able to predict a couple of plot points, but this was not supposed to be a mystery novel so I don't necessarily hold predictability against it. One thing I especially liked was the fact that the blog's posts were never reproduced in the book. The essence and objective were described, giving the reader an opportunity to imagine what they would be like rather than showing them a post and having them possibly think "Ugh, THAT's what the Internet in the book is freaking out about?" This technique of describing writing without showing it reminds me of Walter Blythe's poem "The Piper" in the later Anne of Green Gables novels.

The book ends with some facts about women in the world and women in Canada, showing where we can do better to promote gender equality. We have a long way to go, and I think a blog like Everett's would certainly not go amiss. ( )

yep. this book was just okay.

i have now read four of fallis' five books. and while i have been entertained at times, there are some things about his style that just don't work for me - which were more evident to me in this book and 2014's No Relation.

generally, his books are great if you are in the mood for something light and fun. but when you get into specifics for each book, you might hit some problems. some of the issues i struggle with in fallis' books are: repetition; product placement (naming brand names); simplistic; predictability; way too much 'telling'.

in poles apart i wasn't quite as taken with the characters as i have been in his previous books, though i quite liked the secondary character of beverly tanner and would have loved more from her. the characters seemed a bit flat, and things felt a bit too flip.

so, overall, i didn't like this one too much - though beverly tanner salvaged things for me somewhat. ( )