Francesca Serritella

While I was listening to this audiobook I couldn't help flashing back to the movie The Paper Chase which is about law students at Harvard University. That movie would have come out almost 50 years ago as I remember watching it when I was in law school (1974 to 1977). Obviously pressure on students to achieve at Harvard continues.

Cadence (Cady) Archer was determined to follow her genius brother (Eric) into Harvard University even though her brother committed suicide the year before. Cady's mother highly disapproved of this academic path and wouldn't even join her husband when he dropped Cady off at school. Eric had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was known to go off his meds so his killing himself was blamed on that. Cady wasn't so sure and one of her reasons for going to Harvard was to find out as much as she could about her brother's last months. Shortly after Cady gets to Harvard she starts hearing voices and worries that she also has schizophrenia. One of the voices she hears belongs to a black woman called Bilhah. When Cady sees a plaque naming Bilhah as a slave in the Harvard president's house in the 18th century she realizes that the voices she hears belong to people who actually lived. The other two voices belong to men from the 20th century, one called just Bob for most of the book and the other, Whit, longs to work on dirigibles in the Navy. Each of these ghosts seem to require something from Cady which just adds to her stress level due to class load, an almost rape at a frat party, finding clues to her brother's actions and a professor who seems to hate her. And, of course, like any other first year university student she is not sleeping enough, drinking too much and eating badly. The one thing that seems to be going well is the attention of her brother's friend, handsome Brit physics student Nikos. Or is it? Nikos is now working with Eric's advisor, the beautiful Mikaela Prokop, and Cady begins to suspect that Prokop was and probably still is selling secrets to the Russians. Does Nikos know? Is this why at the beginning of the book it appears that Cady is likely to commit suicide as her brother did? You'll have to read it to find out.

The author is the daughter of well-known writer Lisa Scottoline. I've read a few of Scottoline's books but don't remember much about them. I might have to see if she is as good a writer as her daughter.… (más)

Half memoir, half a collection of essays, this was heart-warming and comedic.

I hadn't read the books that come before this so I wasn't sure what I was expecting at all, but this is a fabulous book to pick up whimsically--the only context you need to know is that Lisa is Francesca's mother, so you don't figure that out a third of the way through and feel like an idiot as I did.

Though this is marketed more towards mother, I enjoyed it though I'm in my early twenties with no intention of ever having kids. There were still a lot of relatable experiences about growing old, about friendship, and about maintaining relationships with various people in your life.

I did enjoy Francesca's dating scenes the most of the book, but it would be quite easy to pick and choose any sections that appeal. From dealing with the aftermath of assault to making butternut squash soup, there's a bit of everything in here.

Though I normally prefer straight up memoirs when going for non-fiction, this essay collection was delightful and I recommend picking it up to anyone looking for something light, funny, and touching.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (más)

Apparently it takes a lot for a book to make me actually laugh out loud. I’ve met Lisa & Francesca half a dozen times (Lisa literally lives 20 minutes from the store) and in person, they’re quite funny. Their essays make me smile when I read them, but lately it seems, a book just can’t pull a laugh out of me.

I enjoyed reading Lisa & Francesca’s essays, I could relate to just about all of Francesca’s and Lisa’s reminded me a great deal of my mom. But something was nagging at me – maybe it’s the fact that I feel like it’s time to diversify our reading and, well, Lisa & Francesca are affluent white women. While I agree that women as a group tend to encounter sexism and other challenges, I felt like I kept wanting to scream “suburban white people problems!” while reading. Which doesn’t make for the greatest reading experience.

I wasn’t angry, per se, just disappointed. I feel like I’ve transitioned and grown as a reader in that, when I read nonfiction, I want to learn something. I don’t want to reinforce my own established beliefs. But I also live in the suburbs, grew up in a similar manner to Francesca, and find her writing so unbelievably relatable that it’s a bit absurd. So, long story short, if you live in an affluent area and your greatest concerns are about your dog’s bowel movements or being a writer in NYC, this is totally the book for you. If not, well, you probably want to look for something else.… (más)