Review: Laugh Out Loud Chick Lit for any age!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 11, 2012
Riley Ford has done it again, creating a fantastic cast of characters in her first comedy chick lit "Carpe DiEmily". Ever since I've read her debut young adult paranormal novel (Into You) I've been eagerly awaiting getting my hands on her next offering. Carpe DiEmily did not disappoint!Carpe DiEmily is hugely character based, focusing mostly on Emily Keane, a consistently entertaining woman who wants to have her life perfectly planned out but soon realizes some things are out of her control, and life isn't always fair. Her worst enemy steals Emily's job promotion and her boyfriend leaves her instead of proposing. Things are just spiraling out of control for poor Emily, but in a way, you kind of hope that they will! From the moment you meet her, you can tell she needs her life shaken up a bit!Emily is a complex character but I think intelligent readers will appreciate this. For example, she tries to be sensible, but really she is sheltered. However, she's intelligent enough to learn from her mistakes and open-minded and sweet enough to admit when she is wrong. And that's what I love about her. She has flaws, yes, but she is a strong enough women to admit when she was wrong. She misjudges a few people along the way, but as she learns more about the world she has sheltered herself from, you will never find a character who is more open-minding and accepting of others than Emily. She really is willing to love and have compassion for anyone. Even a kooky dog named Ass-Wipe, who will have you in tears from laughing so hard with his crazy antics.Riley Ford nails Emily Keane's personality so acutely, it's like splitting the arrow that's already hit the bullseye. I felt like Emily Keane was a real person, someone I had known for years. "Carpe DiEmily" addresses themes such as how assumptions can affect our relationships in life, how perception can affect how we see the world versus what the world really is, and how important it is to LIVE your life, versus surviving it. This novel is an exciting, hilarious, action-packed adventure, from Emily Keane running for her life from a black market organ collector to her crush on her hottie hairstylist to her budding friendship with a firecracker of an ex-enemy.Also worth noting is the clear voice and clean writing style. This story is impeccably edited, allowing you to enjoy the read without tripping over different errors and mistakes in the writing. This is a "Don't Miss" and a book that I will definitely be re-reading again. Emily is such a complex, multi-faceted character with so much to learn and such a willingness to learn it (after she lets go of her need to control everything in her life) that anyone who loved character-driven fiction is sure to enjoy this. However, if you prefer cliched, cardboard-cutout characters that are simplistic and one-dimensional, then this novel is not for you. After years of studying psychology before becoming a writer myself, however, I have to say that I appreciate and envy the accuracy of human-nature portrayed through Emily and the honesty in which Riley J. Ford depicts this unusual, quirky character. This is a novel that will not soon leave my memory. A fast, fun read, riddled with depth of character and depth of meaning, Carpe Di Emily is appropriate for readers of all ages and sure to entertain!