A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out: A Novel by Sally Franson 5/10

This book had so, oh so much potential to be a great book, but ultimately lacked the ability to keep the audience on their toes. It was, I will say, predictable. The story is about a 28-year-old fictional character named Casey Pendergast, what a name! She essentially “sells out” because she went into advertising rather than writing after receiving an English BD like her best friend Susan. She does some terrible things, things that to a normal person would seem ridiculous. Casey is extremely shallow, always complaining about how hard she’s has it, yet still “acknowledges” that she in fact doesn’t have it hard. A contradiction within itself. A point in this book that really bothered me like nails on a chalk board was when the writer wrote about a Duende. For those who don’t know duendes are evil spirits in the Latin community. She used the idea of a duende as something good? As something spiritual which it is not. It was an appropriation of something that for one is a cultural thing and two is spooky. My mother would have a heart attack. You don’t mess with these spirits, even in writing. Another part of the book that bothered me was her relationship with her mother. She hates her? Don’t get me wrong I think it’s safe to say that many, if not most women have difficult relationships with their mother, but Casey was just a brat. The book doesn’t entirely explain why she dislikes her mother so following along was difficult. I still don’t know why after reading the entire book. If you have ever seen the TV show Private Practice, this book reminds of the main character, Addison Montgomery. Like Casey, she was terrible, yet she still got everything she wanted. It bothered me that this book’s climax and resolution (if we can call it that) was extremely short. Casey didn’t learn anything in my opinion, she just had a “rough patch.” Although, I will mention that the (spoiler alert) sexual assault is not to be taking lightly as it happens to most, to many women, daily! (If it has happened to you, I love you always!) Finally, throughout the book Casey talked about selling out (the title of the book) and continues to “wish” she would be strong enough or brave enough to write, to do something with her English major, yet throughout the book she lacks in trying. In the end Casey still sells out because she ends up having a talk show about a book club, yet she is still not working on her own writing. What was even the point of this book then? Why wrtie an entire book complaining if nothing changes? Ultimately, I give this book a 5/10 as it lacks creativity and reason.