This week's Book of the Week also happens to be the January selection for the Chick Lit Book Club. I have to admit that I've had this book sitting on my To-Be-Read shelf at home for some time now. As it usually happens, I find that I should have read this book sooner because it was quite good. It's called A Room On Lorelei Street and it's by Mary E. Pearson (who also wrote The Adoration of Jenna Fox).
Zoe is sixteen going on forty-six. She has all the responsibilities and troubles of a woman two or three times her age. She takes care of her alcoholic mother, works all kinds of hours per week to make ends meet, tries to get good grades in school, and is a member of the tennis team. All she wants is a space of her own and for someone to care about her. But, it seems that that won't happen unless she makes it happen. When life at home gets to be too much for her, Zoe sets out on her own and, for the first time, she has a room that's all hers.
This story is gripping and pretty realistic. I found myself rooting for Zoe, but not know what she should do to "fix" her life. It made me think of my own life, my first apartment, and me realize that sometimes getting a place of your own can be more empowering than one would think.
Our next Chick Lit Book Club meeting will be held in the MBHS library at 2:15 on January 11th. Feel free to join us even if you haven't read the book. If you'd like to read this title, I have an extra copy that I'll dust off and bring in for free reading. Don't put off reading this title like I did!
