I’m still looking for a good, humorous book. This Tamara Leigh offering definitely was charmingly amusing, yet somehow I couldn’t bring myself to like the main character. As a Christian chick lit work of fiction, it was hard to truly enjoy it without that connection to the main character.
Maizy Grace Stewart (uh, yeah) desperately needed a job, so she applied for an opening at a Christian publishing company. Since she had been “saved” as a child but had never really pursued God since then, Maizy picked up a book called The Dumb Blonde’s Guide to Christianity to polish up her Christian-eze in order to fit in and make the proper Christian-girl impression. Her trouble started right away when good-looking Brit and soon-to-be-co-worker, Jake, sees that her “Jesus is my Co-Pilot” bumper sticker is obviously attached only temporarily with scotch tape.
The characters aren’t bad– some of them are rather engaging– and the Christian message is there. I liked the point the author was making that all the outward cues don’t count for much in the Christian life. Maizy’s friend Tessie was surprised that Maizy called herself a Christian:
‘I’m still shocked to learn you’re a Christian.’… Feigning offense, I click my tongue. ‘Shocked that I’m a Christian? Hey!’ I tug a cross earring and tap the matching necklace. ‘What do you call these?’
Maizy has a lot to learn, and she learns it all the hard way. I have to admit that I skipped a full 150 pages in the middle of the book because I just got bogged down. But, I was interested enough that I wanted to see how things turned out in the end. Admittedly, the ending was predictable and a bit too facile for me.
My personal book-rating system ranges from “couldn’t even finish it” to “eh” to “pretty good” to “incredible.” This one was definitely “eh” on my scale. I’ll keep looking for an “incredible” humorous work of fiction. Let me know if you have one to recommend!
Savored Phrases 