Such a Girl
March 2004
Nine years ago, Kendall Stark ended a relationship with the love of her life. As her college friends never tired of telling her, Jack was going nowhere fast. Now, Kendall is thirty-one, working as an operator at a prestigious New York hotel and listening in on the personal calls of celebrity guests, while she carries on a doomed affair with a married colleague. And while deep down she knows she should be leading a more fulfilling life, Kendall believes she is content with the choices she has made.
Until the morning Jack reappears. Only now, Jack is the wealthy owner of a New England brewery, and he's staying in the hotel where Kendall works. His unexpected return leads her to rethink all the assumptions she ever made about success, love, and happiness -- and forces Jack to decide if he can ever forgive the woman who broke his heart so many years ago.
If you have ever had an infuriating neighbour, a crazy boss, or simply an ex love, you are sure to enjoy this book... This Chick lit book comes highly recommended by Beauty and Lace.
Siplin has created characters that are refreshingly real and awkward, yet delightfully lovable.
Between [Kendall's] long-lost romance and the hotel-office politics, Such a Girl is an entertaining read that I think most readers will enjoy.
In Siplin's talented hands, Kendall's dull work and mundane conflicts with co-workers become potent, tense events.
In Such a Girl, Siplin builds on one of Austen's lesser-known works, Persuasion, but adds her own touch by thoroughly modernizing and urbanizing the story.
Ms. Siplin has taken a basic premise, that of love, forgiveness, redemption, and self-inspection, and turned it into a story that you can't fit into one simple niche.
Part chick-lit, part comedy, part drama, Such a Girl is a coming-of-age story for women of all ages. I highly recommend it, not just for its ability to make you think, but for the pleasure of reading about someone who is, more than anything, a woman living and loving in today's modern world.
Solidly grounded in the backstairs culture at posh New York hotels, Such a Girl gives a hilariously eye-opening account of how these celebrity-crazed hotel workers eavesdrop on famous guests and treat themselves to four-hour stays in unbooked luxury suites.
...a sly urban update of Persuasion, Jane Austen's classic romantic novel...
Such a Girl is a story about life's ironies, first loves, social hierarchies, and people trying to find their way. It's also a lesson about judging others. Second chances don't always come along, so we should try to get it right the first time.
Such a Girl by Karen Siplin will keep you reading until the end. It causes Kendall and the reader to rethink success, love, and the importance of true happiness.
This novel is a love story imbued with comedy. The hotel itself is filled with quirky guests, and even quirkier workers, still a breeding ground for the perpetuation of distinct social classes. Witty and honest writing shows great maturity and talent in its author. In this wonderful follow-up to her first novel, His Insignificant Other, Ms. Siplin has given her readers another satisfying story.
As CLUELESS did to Jane Austen's EMMA, Such A Girl provides the same delightful treatment to the author's PERSUASION with Ken being Anne Elliot and Sullivan is retired naval officer Frederick Wentworth. The enjoyable second chance at love story line reflects a realistic social order that though the plot takes place in the twenty-first century could have easily been in the early 1800s. Sullivan is a wonderful protagonist as he wants his Ken back in his life, but doubts he can trust her with his heart. Ken regrets the error that shaped her life, but shows courage as she decides to prove she is his significant other forever. Together they make an intelligent and witty tale.
Karen Siplin's latest novel will undoubtedly have you looking at the last page, wondering why oh why did the story come to an end.
Such a Girl drops us into the triple-hip world of Manhattan's boutique hotels, where celebrities routinely wear out their welcome. How much fun is operator Kendall Stark... Can't wait to read Karen Siplin's next book.
Siplin has done it again. Such a Girl is a witty, fast-paced novel about lost love and the possibilities of what can happen further down the road. The main character is adorable, humorous, and heart-warming. The supporting characters are memorable. Readers will surely be delighted.