Rate this book

Declaring Spinsterhood (2000)

by Jamie Lynn Braziel(Favorite Author)

3.13 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

review 1: Johanna Parker is a fantastic narrator and has narrated several exceptional books. She must not have read this book before narrating it. No one could read this twice.The plot hinges on a declaration of spinsterhood by the main character. Thus the title. And she does "declare" it at lunch one Sunday. Then the book continues on exactly as before. Besides providing a few lines of dialog, the book totally ignores what was supposed to be the primary hook of the plot line. The mother is emotionally abusive to the daughter. The father is one of those characters we are supposed to see as an upstanding moral Christian. Instead he is a mysogonist who thinks if his daughter would only carry a gun and find a man to guide her, no matter how big a tool the guy is, she would ... morebe worthy of his love. No one could be raised by these parents and emerge undamaged. And while the daughter gets angry at them, we are still suppose to believe they are good people worthy of the daughter's love. After all they are Christian, go to church every Sunday and the dad is a preacher. That must mean they are "good." Two words. Jim Jones.On a blind date her loving mother made for her, her drunk date makes a sloppy attempt to grope and kiss her in a public place. Even though her dad was also a cop, she is totally helpless against the drunk groper. Her family response? Not -- take a self defense class. No. It is get a conceal and carry license so the next time your mother sets you up on a date with a drunk lech, you can blow his head off. This alone makes this book a great argument for gun control.I could not finish the book. There could be no acceptable happy ending. And I was pretty sure the only satisfying ending, her parents getting killed in a violent shoot out, wasn't in the cards.
review 2: I noticed that the author gave thanks for NaNoWrimo, which is an annual challenge to write 50,000 words in the month of November. I think it's great that she took on this challenge and that it turned into this book.Emma Bailey is 30 and single, despite her family's best efforts to get her paired up so that she can be barefoot and pregnant. She owns a children's bookstore and has a lifelong love of Nancy Drew mysteries.Her ex-boyfriend has come back around, but he broke her heart when she learned that he had been cheating on her. Her family is unaware of this and keeps trying to get her to take him back. At the same time, they set her up with every heterosexual man in the vicinity, hoping that one will take. Luckily, her best friend, Brian, is there to help fend off this unwanted attention.This book is definitely a beach read, as it can be read in one day and the plot does not break new ground. Within a few pages, you know which guy Emma is going to end up with, no matter what obstacles are thrown in their way. As I was reading it, I kept thinking that I had read something similar before - and I was right. The book Easily Amused, by Karen McQuestion, has a parallel storyline. Indeed, if you've read that book, even more of the storyline in Declaring Spinsterhood is easy to figure out.I have to say, if this were my family, I would have hired someone to take them out. I couldn't imagine such intrusion and open interference in my life. I think that they treat Emma horribly and she deserves better.There is a scene at the end of the book, very Mystery Woman-like (the movie series on the Hallmark Channel), that seems to be out of place in this book. It could have been done well with more of a Nancy Drew-type peril, in which the protagonist is never in any real danger. But this book takes it a bit farther and it doesn't flow with the fluffiness of the rest of the story.Finally, I find it a bit hard to believe that a woman dated a man for two years without any sexual contact. Don't get me wrong - I loved the idea of waiting for the man you would marry. But once you hit your late 20s/early 30s, all bets are off.All that being said, Ms. Braziel clearly has promise as an author. I hope that she will continue to develop her craft. less

Download links for: Declaring Spinsterhood

Advertising