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asurges's review
2.0
Honestly, I love crazy people as much as anyone, but...Sandra Tsing Loh got on my nerves after a while. Stream of consciousness! Overuse of exclamation marks! High drama for low-stakes situations!! ANNOYING!
However, she gets two stars because she's, well, she's pretty funny a lot of the time. She just needs a far less indulgent editor.
However, she gets two stars because she's, well, she's pretty funny a lot of the time. She just needs a far less indulgent editor.
zilfworks's review
5.0
I do have to qualify my 5-star rating just a bit: if you live in Los Angeles, are a 40-something married female, and/or have been through the insane experience of looking for a school for your child in LA (or a similar big-city, upper income, artsy/intelligentsia environment), then this book is 5 stars all the way. (And if you happen to know me, don't be surprised to find me plopping a copy in your hands.) If you don't live in LA, are much younger than 40 and/or don't have children, however, there's a good chance you won't get it...so unless you're already a big STL fan, you can probably skip it.
That said, however, I can't remember when I've laughed so hard (out loud!) reading something...and the climactic chapter in which she tells off her therapist is nothing less than triumphant. A true manifesto for many of us who have found ourselves in similar circumstances and come to the same life-altering conclusions.
That said, however, I can't remember when I've laughed so hard (out loud!) reading something...and the climactic chapter in which she tells off her therapist is nothing less than triumphant. A true manifesto for many of us who have found ourselves in similar circumstances and come to the same life-altering conclusions.
kristennd's review
4.0
This is the third Loh collection I've read, and I get the Atlantic Monthly, so I already knew I loved her writing and sense of humor. There was much less repetition than I expected -- there would periodically be a paragraph that I recognized from a magazine article, but then it would go somewhere new. Yes, it's self-indulgent and not everyone likes that. But observations can be at their zingiest (or most poignant) when you have plenty of personal context. So weird (but neat) to see the same therapist from her early-90s books. Her career experiences do make me glad I never attempted a creative field and thus haven't had the major emotional highs and lows. And it's looking very possible that, like her, I'll end up with two tiny children in my 40s and in the LA area (despite being currently single and in North Dakota) so that connection was neat. All the descriptions of the different parts of town (like on the map) went over my head but my from-there boyfriend found them hilarious.
worldsnoop's review
2.0
I seem to be on this "streak" of Meh books. Add this one.
Some funny parts. Especially liked Wonder Canyon -- the rest of it? Just not very compelling.
Some funny parts. Especially liked Wonder Canyon -- the rest of it? Just not very compelling.
pepper1133's review
4.0
So I love love love everything Sandra Tsing Loh does. I started reading her stuff when I was a teenager, because the guy I was taking guitar lessons from was in a band with her husband and since all of her stuff was about the San Fernando Valley, it seemed like a natural fit.
Anyway. It was awesome to read this right after becoming a mother myself. It actually inspired to write a performance piece of my own that I performed at school. It brought up the issue for me--what happens if our kids aren't as brilliant as we hoped for them to be? Did we do something wrong by not getting them in to the right school or by not putting them in "intellectually stimulating" activities from the moment they came out of the womb? It opened up my mind to the things I can do as a mother without forcing Summer to be someone she's not.
It's not as completely laugh-out-loud funny as her other books, but for mothers, a must-read.
Anyway. It was awesome to read this right after becoming a mother myself. It actually inspired to write a performance piece of my own that I performed at school. It brought up the issue for me--what happens if our kids aren't as brilliant as we hoped for them to be? Did we do something wrong by not getting them in to the right school or by not putting them in "intellectually stimulating" activities from the moment they came out of the womb? It opened up my mind to the things I can do as a mother without forcing Summer to be someone she's not.
It's not as completely laugh-out-loud funny as her other books, but for mothers, a must-read.
teachermaryreads's review
1.0
Our 19th book. Rachel picked it. Kirsten, Mary, Ginny, Elizabeth, Rachel and Darcie met at Kirsten's house on 11/12/08.
amysbrittain's review
3.0
New York Times Book Review review made it sound funny...
I did like it, and there were moments (but not tons) where I laughed out loud. But reading her detailed account of a year spent obsessing over where her daughter would go to kindergarten became about as tedious and nervewracking as you might expect.
Still, some funny moments, and a few spot-on, hilarious observations of yuppie parenting, Matthew McConaughey, and letting kids run wild. Good perspective at the end.
I'd read something else by her--she can be truly funny.
I did like it, and there were moments (but not tons) where I laughed out loud. But reading her detailed account of a year spent obsessing over where her daughter would go to kindergarten became about as tedious and nervewracking as you might expect.
Still, some funny moments, and a few spot-on, hilarious observations of yuppie parenting, Matthew McConaughey, and letting kids run wild. Good perspective at the end.
I'd read something else by her--she can be truly funny.
ida_ree's review
4.0
Recommended for any parent who has been or is going through the getting your kid in school process. Also those who have noticed the epidemic of scary giftedness. I won't spoil readers by revealing where Loh's daughter ends up in kindergarten, but by the time the decision is made you'll have side-splitting descriptions of everything from the public elementary down the street (94% free or reduced-price lunch) to the $22,000/year "socialist" idyll. It's worth picking this book up, if only to read the formula Loh figures determines the price of a private school.
pamelas's review
3.0
As a mom of young children, I really enjoyed reading about the cut-throat world of . . . choosing a kindergarten! There were some laugh-out-loud moments and some characters could have been drawn from my own life. Sandra Tsing Loh is bitingly funny. I was, however, very glad when she found a soulmate who recognized her cultural references, because I did not recognize too many of them. Still, a witty romp of a book.