Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
This is the story of a mother, her nine or ten year old son, and an adult companion. Mimi, the mother is an author who locks herself in her bedroom to write. Frank, her son, is extremely intelligent, and possible on the autism spectrum, although the author never shares this. Alice, the adult companion has been hired by the mother to care for Frank while she's writing. All of this makes for an interesting story. I listened to the audio book. Tavia Gilbert does an excellent job narrating the book. She's able to bring life to all the characters as she speaks for them.
Charming and quirky. Didn't want this story to end. I still want to know what happens to Frank, Mimi, Xander and Alice. Dear Julia Claiborne Johnson....please write a sequel!
Ahh. What a refreshing change from virtually everything I've read in the last year or so. This is lighthearted and fun yet flirts with some serious themes. The character of Frank jumps off the page. Loved him. Put this on your beach read list.
Amusing story about a 10 year old boy who endears himself to the grown ups (though not fellow 10 year olds). I loved listening to the story, though not so sure Frank's voice would have come through reading it. The ending was a mild let down, but it was worth the read.
Alice Whitley, an ambitious publishing assistant, has just been tasked with her hardest job yet: helping the reclusive best-selling one-hit-wonder M. M. Banning publish the follow-up novel she has been putting-off for decades. Her job description is intense: she must be part housekeeper, part secretary, part babysitter, part chef, and part chauffeur. What that translates to in reality is keeping Frank happy and sane.
Frank is an eccentric child who dresses in costume every day, watches classic films on repeat, is full of random facts, and is prone to fits. He is definitely autistic, though it is not expressly stated, and I think Johnson does a good job describing the condition to those who may not be very familiar with it. M. M. Banning herself is not the simplest person to get along with, as Alice soon realizes. From refusing to remember Alice’s name to being a distant, disinterested parent, to her own furious fits, Banning is a hard woman for Alice to work with. Alice has her work cut out for her.
This book reminded me of the quirky writing style of Maria Semple a-la Where’d You Go, Bernadette. The characters were interesting and made me want to read more about them. The story line was simple, but as a character-driven novel, it was still intriguing. While I enjoyed the book for the most part, I found it excessively cheesy at times and wasn’t a big fan of the characters at different parts of my read. It would probably make a great book club choice, though, and all-in-all, I’m left with mostly positive feelings about my read.
Frank is an eccentric child who dresses in costume every day, watches classic films on repeat, is full of random facts, and is prone to fits. He is definitely autistic, though it is not expressly stated, and I think Johnson does a good job describing the condition to those who may not be very familiar with it. M. M. Banning herself is not the simplest person to get along with, as Alice soon realizes. From refusing to remember Alice’s name to being a distant, disinterested parent, to her own furious fits, Banning is a hard woman for Alice to work with. Alice has her work cut out for her.
This book reminded me of the quirky writing style of Maria Semple a-la Where’d You Go, Bernadette. The characters were interesting and made me want to read more about them. The story line was simple, but as a character-driven novel, it was still intriguing. While I enjoyed the book for the most part, I found it excessively cheesy at times and wasn’t a big fan of the characters at different parts of my read. It would probably make a great book club choice, though, and all-in-all, I’m left with mostly positive feelings about my read.
I don't know that I would have kept going on this book, but I was in the car and didn't have a lot of options, and it turned out to be quite delightful.
Cool book, cool kid, cool "sitter," cool story. Frank is different, though it is never actually specified in exact medical terms. You will fall in love with him, and with the young woman who goes to be girl Friday for his mother who must write her book. You'll be continuously entertained with the things Frank comes up with, and how girl Friday responds so perfectly to him, as you wonder how in the world it is all going to end up ok. Personally, I think the ended is perfect, but no spoilers here.
This really seemed like something I would like, but I didn't like it even a little bit. Feels very contrived and formulaic and I hated the narrator. It's not bad enough for a one star but I'm hard pressed to come up with anything I liked about it. Well, there were a couple times Mimi called out the annoying narrator so I guess I liked those parts.