Down and Out in Bugtussle: The Mad Fat Road to Happiness
Graciela “Ace” Jones is back from Florida, her art gallery closed and her engagement broken. Despite her lowly job as a substitute teacher, she is not one to settle for less. She decides to get her old art teacher position back, even if it means taking out the voluptuous, incompetent Cameron Becker. Meanwhile, her best friends, Chloe and Lilly, are dealing with relationship troubles, and coach Logan Hatter might want to be more than a friend-with-benefits to Ace. Then Ace finds her beloved grandmother’s gardening book, with a letter inside from a mysterious “M.” This is the third Ace Jones outing, and again she starts the book vowing to be quieter, better mannered, and more together. Fortunately for the reader, she fails. While not as madcap as Diary of a Mad Fat Girl (2012) and Happily Ever Madder (2012), Down and out in Bugtussle includes some wonderful, uncensored Ace-isms, especially in a memorable honky-tonk scene. Grandma’s big secret is not particularly shocking, but fans will be glad to visit with their favorite residents of Bugtussle, Mississippi, including the chiweenie, Buster Loo. --Susan Maguire