Items related to Miss Harper Can Do It: A Novel
Synopsis
Twenty-four-year-old elementary school-teacher Annie Harper is left behind in Tacoma, Washington, when her boyfriend, David, is shipped overseas. Wrestling with the complex emotions tied to his absence, She begins writing a confessional memoir, imagining it as a moving account of "the woman at home." But instead of writing a touching account of life on the home front, a tale of integrity and patience peppered with earnest love letters and fat, juicy tears, Annie lives life without David in ways she didn't anticipate.
She spends more time with her best friend, Gus, begins volunteering at a local retirement center, and adopts a pet chicken. Even as she misses David enormously between his sparse e-mails and choppy phone calls, she struggles with conflicted feelings about their long-distance relationship, her own identity and family history, and the ideological underpinnings of a war that's exerting such a force on her life.
Told through raw, rough draft chapters of Annie's memoir-in-progress, Miss Harper Can Do It is a funny and poignant story of what it means to be loyal versus what it means to be in love. In Annie, Jane Berentson has rendered a quirky young woman who copes with loss and stress in unexpected ways, only wavering briefly on the brink of self-pity and never losing her sense of humor.
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Reviews
Starred Review. When elementary school teacher Annie Harper's boyfriend David is deployed to Iraq in 2003, she begins keeping a journal, envisioning a blockbuster memoir. Instead of a sappy romantic tell-all, however, Annie ends up using the journal to vent, fantasize, clear her head, and figure out what she wants from her relationship. She alternates between missing David deeply and being angry with him for leaving; she has plenty of arguments (on paper) with George W. Bush as well. To quell her loneliness, Annie adopts a pet chicken and volunteers at a nursing home, becoming friends with a woman whose husband may have been a World War II hero. Meanwhile, her best friend, Gus, becomes more and more attractive to her, and Annie must determine whether or not this is a symptom of missing David. Berentson peppers her realistic tale with funny situations and dialog (be aware that there is some foul language). Although Annie is decidedly antiwar, readers of any political persuasion can sympathize with her complex emotions, and her story rings true. This debut novel is warmly recommended for all public libraries, particularly where women's fiction is popular.—Rebecca Vnuk, Glyn Ellyn P.L., IL
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Third-grade teacher Annie Harper pines for boyfriend David Paterson, who's been deployed to Iraq, while she tends the home fires in Tacoma, Wash., in Berentson's cutesy debut. Annie's got plenty to keep her busy: a precious memoir-in-progress, a best friend whose relationship takes a surprising turn, a few pals in a nursing home, a long-lost brother and a growing uncertainty about where her 24-year-old heart might be settling. Sweet and manic Annie chronicles her ever-changing points of view of life, love and loyalty, and while the occasional interesting aside sneaks in, Berentson breaks no new ground on the battleground of modern love: a smart and sassy gal who needs more than safe and sane to make her heart sing discovers the love of her life right in front of her nose. Annie's yearlong slog through loneliness and self-doubt all comes down to a rather underwhelming conclusion. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Third-grade teacher Annie Harper knew that boyfriend David would likely be deployed to Iraq. After all, he was in the military when they met in college. During the year he is gone, she decides, she will write a noble, uplifting, bestselling, Oprah-worthy memoir of sacrifice and long-distance love. As happens, life and literature do not live up to expectations. Annie pretty much goes on as before. Students and friends occupy her. She and David have an active email correspondence and far more phone calls than one would think possible. She volunteers at a senior center. She adopts a pet chicken, and Gus, her childhood best friend, plays a large role in her life. She has fun; she learns and grows. There is some real terror from the warfront, but their correspondence dwindles to the petty and humdrum, leading the reader to anticipate the outcome. With its irresistible protagonist, wacky footnote asides, and spot-on language, Berentson’s involving novel is funny, heartrending, and outstanding. --Danise Hoover
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Miss Harper Can Do It: A Novel
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Miss Harper Can Do It: A Novel
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Miss Harper Can Do It
Published by
Viking, New York, 2009
ISBN 10: 067002077X
ISBN 13: 9780670020775
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Signed
Seller: Bookmarc's, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. CM1 - A first edition (First published 2009 stated with complete numberline) hardcover book SIGNED by author on the title page in very good condition in very good dust jacket that is mylar protected. Dust jacket has some wrinkling and crease on the edges and corners, tiny scuff on the lower front, light discoloration and shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, remainder marks with some light stains on the page edges, some light discoloration and shelf wear. A winning debut novel about what happens when a young woman's boyfriend leaves her to her own devices. 9.5"x6.5", 324 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Twenty-four-year-old elementary school-teacher Annie Harper is left behind in Tacoma, Washington, when her boyfriend, David, is shipped overseas. Wrestling with the complex emotions tied to his absence, she begins writing a confessional memoir, imagining it as a moving account of "the woman at home." But instead of writing a touching account of life on the home front, a tale of integrity and patience peppered with earnest love letters and fat, juicy tears, Annie lives life without David in ways she didn't anticipate. She spends more time with her best friend, Gus, begins volunteering at a local retirement center, and adopts a pet chicken. Even as she misses David enormously between his sparse e-mails and choppy phone calls, she struggles with conflicted feelings about their long-distance relationship, her own identity and family history, and the ideological underpinnings of a war that's exerting such a force on her life. Told through raw, rough draft chapters of Annie's memoir-in-progress, Miss Harper Can Do It is a funny and poignant story of what it means to be loyal versus what it means to be in love. In Annie, Jane Berentson has rendered a quirky young woman who copes with loss and stress in unexpected ways, only wavering briefly on the brink of self-pity and never losing her sense of humor. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Signed by Author. Remainder. Seller Inventory # EC40382BB
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