April 25, 2011
TV news veteran Graham makes her fiction debut with an amusing if needlessly busy story of a young woman trying to make it in the big city. Eve leaves Ohio for a life of excitement in Manhattan, settling into an apartment in Greenwich Village with a (relatively) cheap rent because nobody wants to deal with the resident ghost, Donald Bellows, the "beatnik from hell" who insists on dictating a novel to Eve, who complies just to keep the peace. She falls into a job writing for a morning talk show, stumbling at first and then settling in after a successful interview with prickly and legendary designer, Matthias Klieg. The challenge is keeping her job while juggling Donald's demands, a sadistic co-host, the elegant Mr. Klieg, and a rescued puppy. Graham draws a cute and sometimes horrifying picture of life backstage at a morning talk show, but the novel is so overplotted and densely populated that readers may well have trouble keeping things straight.
April 15, 2011
A young woman who flees the Midwest to begin a new life in New York discovers that her cool little apartment already has a long-term tenant.
Manhattan can be a lonely place for fresh-faced arrivals, and Ohio-born Eve Weldon does struggle to make new friends after moving to the big city, but at least her new roommate (of sorts) is a lively conversationalist. He just happens to be dead. Donald is a sardonic Beat-era writer who passed suddenly, well before his time. Donald may not have known the success of his contemporaries, but he proves, to Eve, to be an invaluable source of literary lore. With her collection of vintage outfits and love of mid-century writers, Eve is fascinated by the era. It turns out that Eve's mother Penelope, who also died young, lived for a time in the Village in the 1960s, before settling for a safe, dull life with Eve's father Gin. In a way, Eve seems bent on living the free-spirited life her mother never had. She lucks into a full-time job writing scripts for Smell the Coffee, a Good Morning America–style morning show hosted by affable ex-jock Hap McCutcheon and ice queen Bliss Jones. The gig is far from glamorous, though, and her position in the staff pecking order is precarious. But during one of her pre-interviews, she manages to charm Matthias Klieg, a legendary and reclusive German fashion designer. The much older man takes what appears to be a paternal interest in Eve, and she discovers that he and Donald were close friends who fell in love with the same woman. Donald remains unaware of Eve's connection with Klieg and cajoles her into helping him finish his work by dictating his experimental stories to her in the hopes that she can finally get him published. Donald further complicates Eve's life by making it impossible for her to bring any friends or lovers back to her place, setting both of them up for an inevitable confrontation. With its light, matter-of-fact depiction of a supernatural relationship, Graham's debut is lots of fun to read, even during those moments when Eve's wide-eyed innocence borders on cloying.
Delightful coming-of-age story with a sweet reverence for the art and romance of old Gotham.
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
March 15, 2011
Eve Weldon moves to Manhattan to discover the mystery of her mother's past. Alas, the apartment she rents (in Greenwich Village, of course) is haunted by the ghost of Donald Bellows, a writer on the fringes of the Beat movement. As Eve wrestles to find her place in the world and discover her mother's secret, the irritable and demanding Donald pesters her to make a literary place for him by transcribing his collection of short stories and finding a publisher for them. Eve gets plenty of experience in the school of hard knocks but eventually launches her career as a writer on a morning news show, Smell the Coffee. She also acquires a circle of friends and a measure of fame, persisting in her quest until she finds fulfillment for herself and for Donald. VERDICT This debut novel exudes charm and insider knowledge; Graham has written for several top television network anchors. The characters are quirky and realistic, and the story rings true despite its reliance on a ghostly presence. Highly recommended for all fiction readers.--Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Lib., Providence
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2011
Graham's animated debut follows Eve Weldon after she decides to move from her comfortable enclave in the Midwest to the vibrant Greenwich Village. New York City holds inevitable peculiarities for Eve, most notably an apartment haunted by the pesky ghost of Donald Bellows, a failed author obsessed by delusions of his literary grandeur. Eve generously helps the shade transcribe his avant-garde stories as she carves out a new life. She fortuitously lands a job writing for an early-morning television show, in which she struggles to deal with the hard-nosed personalities of her varied coworkers and the frenetic nature of her new workplace. Eve's interview with famed fashion designer Matthias Klieg sparks an unexpected friendship that leads to her uncovering the facts of Donald's life, including his connection to Klieg. Compounding matters are Eve's efforts to learn more about her mother, who died when Eve was a child. Though Eve's adventures skew to certain extremes, such as capturing a city predator, Graham has crafted a charming, lively tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)
April 15, 2011
A young woman who flees the Midwest to begin a new life in New York discovers that her cool little apartment already has a long-term tenant.
Manhattan can be a lonely place for fresh-faced arrivals, and Ohio-born Eve Weldon does struggle to make new friends after moving to the big city, but at least her new roommate (of sorts) is a lively conversationalist. He just happens to be dead. Donald is a sardonic Beat-era writer who passed suddenly, well before his time. Donald may not have known the success of his contemporaries, but he proves, to Eve, to be an invaluable source of literary lore. With her collection of vintage outfits and love of mid-century writers, Eve is fascinated by the era. It turns out that Eve's mother Penelope, who also died young, lived for a time in the Village in the 1960s, before settling for a safe, dull life with Eve's father Gin. In a way, Eve seems bent on living the free-spirited life her mother never had. She lucks into a full-time job writing scripts for Smell the Coffee, a Good Morning America-style morning show hosted by affable ex-jock Hap McCutcheon and ice queen Bliss Jones. The gig is far from glamorous, though, and her position in the staff pecking order is precarious. But during one of her pre-interviews, she manages to charm Matthias Klieg, a legendary and reclusive German fashion designer. The much older man takes what appears to be a paternal interest in Eve, and she discovers that he and Donald were close friends who fell in love with the same woman. Donald remains unaware of Eve's connection with Klieg and cajoles her into helping him finish his work by dictating his experimental stories to her in the hopes that she can finally get him published. Donald further complicates Eve's life by making it impossible for her to bring any friends or lovers back to her place, setting both of them up for an inevitable confrontation. With its light, matter-of-fact depiction of a supernatural relationship, Graham's debut is lots of fun to read, even during those moments when Eve's wide-eyed innocence borders on cloying.
Delightful coming-of-age story with a sweet reverence for the art and romance of old Gotham.
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)