The Mad Fat Road to Happiness
Author: Stephanie McAfee
Publisher: NAL (Penguin)
Publication Date: July 2, 2013
Book Description:
New York Times bestselling author Stephanie McAfee delivers another irreverent, laugh-out-loud page-turner about the (mis)adventures of plus-size spitfire Graciela “Ace” Jones.
With her fiancĂ© now her ex-fiancĂ©, Ace has hightailed it back to Bugtussle, Mississippi, and back to her Gramma Jones’s house. Her best friends, Lilly and Chloe, are delighted she’s back, but Ace still has some challenges ahead of her.
For one thing, her replacement as Bugtussle High School’s art teacher, Cameron Becker, refuses to vacate the position. So Ace is stuck working as a substitute teacher while harboring fantasies of running Miss Becker out of town. On top of that, Lilly and Chloe are obsessed with setting her up on less-than-romantic blind dates—even though all she wants is a break from her pitiful love life.
To ease her troubled mind, Ace resolves to restore her grandmother’s gardens to their former glory. But in the well-worn gardening book she’s dug out of her grandmother’s attic there are a series of suspicious notes that indicate her grandmother may have had a special someone in her past. Now, with her faithful chiweenie, Buster Loo, by her side, Ace is determined to get to the bottom of her grandmother’s secret life, all the while hoping her own life isn’t about to implode....
Idgie Says:
This is the third book in a series about Graciela Jones. I would say you could relate to it as an American Bridget Jones. (The publisher agrees). It's the continuation of a story of an everyday girl, little on the plump side, very nice, looking for love, experiencing hilarious blind dates along the way and struggling to find a place in the working world.
No really deep plot or horrible angsty feelings to overcome, so repressed emotions to break free of. Just an ordinary woman getting along with her friends, working, recovering from a break-up and hunting the "perfect man" at bars after hours.
She's sweet and kind and you keep your fingers crossed that she finds what she's looking for, while enjoying the occasional escapade that occurs.
A nice escapism read.