REVIEW for Notes from the Backseat and BOOK CONTEST

PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL BE GIVING THIS BOOK AS A BOOK GIVEAWAY. To enter just leave a comment on this blog entry (make sure I have a way of reaching you). Contest open to all and will end on August 29th at 6:00 p.m.

TITLE: Notes from the Backseat

AUTHOR: Jody Gehrman

GENRE: Chick Lit (A Red Dress Ink)

DATE: 2008

RATING: 4 stars

I received this book from Red Dress Ink! Thank you Adam!

I love chick lit. I am proud of it and Red Dress Ink has always been a favorite of mine - they cater to my addiction :)

I had never read anything by Jody Gehrman, but I was thrilled to get the opportunity to read the book Notes from the Backseat. I was not disappointed.

Gwen has always had it all together - even at that ackward period in high school. Gwen and Marla met in school and have been best friends ever since, being there for each other through the ups and downs of their lives. Although both are now adults and leading different lives, they are still the best of friends and rely heavily on each other for support.

Gwen has finally met a wonderful man and she is crazy about him. He appears to be feel the same way about her - except that Gwen has this abnormal fear of being abandoned (which is why she has always ended every of her previous relationships) and now is convinced that Coop will leave her for his best female friend - Dannika. I mean, why wouldn't he? Dannika is blonde and gorgeous and seems to have her sights on Coop. Gwen is going into hyper mode - not knowing how to deal with this - after all, this is the man she loves and wants to marry. Should she bail first?

Marla, on her side, is heading for Paris and is now torn between helping her friend throught this and living her own life. So Gwen and Marla decide on a diary that Gwen will write while on a weekend (from hell?) road trip with Coop and the horrid Dannika.

I have to say that the premise of this book made my blood boil. I knew exactly how Gwen must have felt and I was immediately rooting for her. Why was Coop totally incapable of seeing how difficult it must have been for Gwen to be anywhere near Dannika - and of course Dannika was not helping the situation!!!!

I could not stop reading once I started. I loved the diary entries Gwen wrote. It was interesting to me that the girl who looked like she had it all together on the outside could write such insecure and sad words on paper.

I also liked the two dimensional view of the same diary entry - that is Marla's view upon reading the entry and Gwen's view when she wrote it. It clearly showed how insecure Gwen was and that maybe when you are in that type of situation - you are not the best judge of what the actualy reality is.

This book is extremely well written, you can feel the friendship of both girls intensely - even throughout the miles.

Yes, this is a book about "finding the one" but I thought there were deeper messages of friendship and of believing in yourself no matter what.

I loved this book - another Red Dress Ink winner.