Running Head: A REVIEW OF SELECTED GENRE
A Review of Selected Genre:
Genre 2, Chick Lit – Annotation with Genre, Comment, Reviews, and Resources
Deborah Bluestein
Southern Connecticut State University
ILS 593 (S70) Readers’ Advisory Services
Elsie Okobi, Ph.D.
Department of Information and Library Science
March 1, 2014 (Genre 2)
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A REVIEW OF SELECTED GENRE
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A Review of Selected Genre: Annotation – Genre 2, Chick Lit*
AUTHOR: Lauren Graham
DATE READ: February 15, 2014
TITLE: Someday, Someday, Maybe
PUB DATE: 2013
GENRE: Chick Lit
PAGES: 352
APPEAL CHARACTERISTICS:
PACING: Easy, steady pace.
CHARACTERIZATIONS: Familiar, detailed, quirky, single point of view
STORY LINE: Character centered, career oriented, resolved ending.
Geographical Settings: Brooklyn, Manhattan, Connecticut, Los Angeles.
Time Period: 1995.
FRAME AND TONE: Contemporary, urban, breezy, humorous, psychological, upbeat.
PLOT SUMMARY: Struggling actress Franny Banks is unwilling to give up her dream, but has
trouble mastering basic steps that will help her succeed - such as getting out of bed, and
preparing for auditions. Worries are piling up for this young woman in her mid-twenties, and
most pressing is the self-imposed three year deadline she set for launching a career, which is due
to expire soon after her scheduled performance before New York agents and critics at an acting
class showcase. Then, there are those calls from her anxious Dad and her own memories of a
former life that are gently tugging her back to a more conventional path. But Fanny is resisting
the urge to abandon her Brooklyn apartment and roommates, the equally unsuccessful
screenwriter Dan, and her best friend, Jane, an assistant producer. As she waivers, Fanny
reaches out to a more experienced classmate, James. But is he really interested in Franny as she
is, or just living out scenes from his acting roles? With humorous self-analysis and ever hopeful
of getting her big break, Franny puts her heart into deciphering and developing those traits of her
persona that attract the decision makers in her business and the men in her life, and finds that
success in both acting and love begins with understanding herself.
SIMILAR AUTHORS:
Jennifer Close
Lauren Weisberger
Robyn Sisman
Laurie Graff
Sophie Kinsella
Leslie Carroll
SUBJECT HEADINGS:
Actresses -- New York (State)
-- New York -- Fiction
Self-realization in women -- Fiction
Humor - Fiction
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Genre and Comment
As a genre, Chick Lit is not only a relatively recent addition, but also youthful and
vibrant in its outlook, characters, and audience. It has the contemporary and realistic aspect of
another genre considered to be “emerging”, women’s fiction (Herald, 2005), and some of the
literature treats Chick Lit as a subgenre within that category (Maatta, 2010; Saricks, 2009). Both
genres have careers and relationships vying for the heroine’s focus. But Chick Lit also has witty,
gossipy dialog and unconventional approaches to daily travails carried out by the genre’s often
twenty-something female lead characters (Herald, 2005).
Although primary sources such as Herald, Maatta, and Saricks do not list Chick Lit
subgenre, there are some online resources which show the following categories (Chick Lit
Books, 2013): Jewish Chick Lit, Christian Chick Lit, Glamor Lit (entertainers, rich), Hen Lit
(women over thirty), Mom Lit (young mothers or wanna-be’s), Single City Girl Lit (city-specific
singles), Wedding Lit, Working Girl Lit (revolving mostly around careers), and anthologies. In
accepting this breakdown, Someday, Someday, Maybe would likely be Single City Girl Lit.
First person narrative is often a key mechanism of Chick Lit, a genre that is “all about
attitude and relationships” (Herald, 2005, p. 499). Through a stream of consciousness writing
style, the main character, Franny, stands fully revealed in her difficulties with focusing on the
moment, and her uncertainties about how others perceive and react to her. In confidential and
witty exchanges with a much wiser Jane, the two women discuss Fanny’s often muddled and
chaotic search for the right choices in hair and clothes, her agents, auditions, and lovers. This
gentle, sometimes a bit sexy story proceeds at an easy but steady pace. Characters are familiar, if
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a little quirky; and there are often amusing, yet insightful details about the difficulties of finding
and keeping acting gigs in the entertainment business.
Reviews
The reception by reviewers was generally enthusiastic, and focused on the humor and
authenticity of the novel’s “backstage” look at the entertainment business:
“Descriptions of the indignities suffered by struggling actresses feel
hilariously, and poignantly, authentic.” J. Kaufman in The Wall Street Journal
“Franny's struggles are so real, so relatable, and at times so familiar that
one wonders just how much of this first novel is autobiographical. Recommended
for all aspiring actors and for any reader who has ever wondered about the life of
an actor before she becomes a star.” Jennifer Beach in Library Journal
“…a funny and charming debut about finding yourself, finding love, and,
most difficult of all, finding an acting job.” Goodreads
Resources
For additional information about this author, genre, or other Chick Lit titles, the
following resources provide interesting insight (see references for publisher information).
Interviews:
Lauren Graham On Writing, Procrastinating, and Her
Favorite Authors, by Emma Chastain (2013). This is a brief interview, but the
author gives some serious responses and insight into her academic background,
interest in literature, and approach to writing.
Chick Lit: The New Woman’s Fiction, by Suzanne Ferriss (2005). This
genre guide in fourteen essays provides chapters on the early background
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(beginning with Jane Austin) and seminal works of Chick Lit, the various
subgenres, and its role within women’s literature in a world of postfeminism.
Chick Lit and Postfeminism (Cultural Frames, Framing Culture series), by
Stephanie Harzewski (2011). The book includes the author’s exploration of the
historical framework and social conditions surrounding the development of Chick
Lit; how the genre and its reception by fans and critics illuminate a consumer
culture, gender relations and the struggles between the women’s movement and
postfeminism; and how it fits into the traditions of fiction and narrative.
Chloe's Chick Lit Reviews.
This website carries reviews, author
interviews, and booklists. This site also has a special version for mobile.
URL: http://chicklitchloe.blogspot.com/?m=0
The Best Chick Lit. In addition to reviews and booklists, this blog site
includes guest blogs, author interviews, and author tour information.
URL: http://bestchicklit.com/
* Note: The annotation format on page 2 is adapted as assigned from J. Saricks, (2009),
Readers Advisory Service in the Public Library, (p. 110), Figure 5.3 Book Notes Format.
The format beginning on page 3 contains additional information of genre description and
reviews required in addition to the annotation and is also included in the Part II phase of
the three book in-depth Genre Assignment.
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References
Beach, J. (2013, April 15). Reviews: Someday, someday, maybe. Library Journal, 138(7).
Best Chick Lit .com. (2014). Retrieved from The Best Chick Lit: http://bestchicklit.com/
Chastain, E. (2013, April 17). IInterviews: Lauren Graham on writing, procrastinating, and her
favorite authors. Retrieved from The Barnes and Noble Book Blog:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/lauren-graham-on-writing-procrastinating-and-herfavorite-authors/
Chloe. (2014). Retrieved from Chloe's Chick Lit Reviews (blog):
http://chicklitchloe.blogspot.com/?m=0
Close, J. (2011). Girls in white dresses. New York, NY: Knopf.
Ferriss, S., & Young, M. (Eds.). (2005). Chick Lit: The new woman's fiction. New York, NY:
Routledge.
Goodreads, Inc. (n.d.). Review: Someday, someday, maybe. Retrieved from Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16071745-someday-someday-maybe
Graham, L. (2013). Someday, someday, maybe. New York, NY: Ballantine Books .
Harzewski, S. (2011). Chick Lit and postfeminism (cultural frames, framing culture).
Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press.
Herald, D. T. (2005). Genreflecting: A guide to popular reading interests (6th ed.). (W. A.
Wiegand, Ed.) Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Kaufman , J. (2013, May 3). Bookshelf: Screen Dreams. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324235304578438840278004334
Maatta, S. L. (2010). A few good books. New York, NY : Neal-Schuman.
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Montgomery, R. (2006). What is Chick Lit. Retrieved from Chick Lit Books:
http://chicklitbooks.com/what-is-chick-lit/
Saricks, J. G. (2009). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL:
American Library Association (ALA).
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