"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." — Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

Monday, July 12, 2010

How Not to Make a Wish by Mindy Klasky

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Summary: An under-employed single woman is granted three wishes by a genie.

Be careful what you wish for... you just might get it.

Kyra Franklin rubs a prop lamp and an actual genie appears. Kyra first asks for a better job, and gets one as stage manager for Landmark Theatre, a groundbreaking theatre in Minneapolis. I love reading about local places, even if the Landmark is not an actual theatre here.

Director Bill Pomeroy is producing a "gender-shifted, iron-bound, water-stained, flashlight-lit, hip-hop-supertitled, heartbreaking production of Shakespeare's classic love story," - Romeo and Juliet. The set designer becomes Kyra's ally, and Kyra and John deal with the crazy director's ever-changing and more outlandish plans. Kyra is run ragged keeping up with the plans but is enthralled with Bill's vision and creativity.

When Kyra encounters her ex, a guy she refers to a TEWSBU (The Ex Who Should Be Unnamed), Kyra uses another one of her wishes to drop thirty pounds. The genie generously and spontaneously adds a cup size too. Kyra's new body alarms her roommates and her father, who stage an intervention because they believe she's anorexic.

And finally Kyra wishes that leading man Drew, who's playing Juliet (gender-bending play, remember?) is in love with her. Kyra couldn't look past his pretty face to his personality. After Drew is bitten by the love bug (or love genie), Kyra thinks she has it all. Hot sex with a hunk who worships her new body? Sign me up. But Kyra becomes annoyed at Drew's puppy-dog eyes, constant hovering, and his frequent use of the word, "Dude!"

Kyra will likely never be hired again if this play is launched, she can't get any work done with dumb-but-gorgeous Drew hanging around, and writing in her mandatory food diary is getting old.

How will Kyra solve this? It's a fun read, even in its implausibility.

What would you wish for?

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