5. Roll With the Punches by Amy Gettinger
A rollicking, funny chick lit mystery/adventure, full of fun and light romance.
Falling is extra hard on tall people, like Rhonda Hamilton: the bone breakage, the bruises, the ignominy of it all. And Rhonda’s falling, hard. First, how in the heck can the latest novel published by a nationally bestselling author be a close twin to the manuscript Rhonda has just finished writing and has barely started marketing to agents? Plus, why is Dad suddenly acting so odd: storing milk in the garage and throwing away Rhonda’s clothes?
Some goofy roller derby girls add a bludgeon of crazy to Rhonda’s hunt for the book thief, and two drool-worthy guys offer to help with Dad—guys Rhonda would gladly fall for, if her life weren’t careening madly between Dad’s bizarre antics, some treacherous derby bouts, a wild burlesque fundraiser, and the odd mudslide and house demolition. Only one thing is sure: if she wants to nail the wily plagiarist and keep Dad safe, Rhonda had better stay up on her skates to avoid a very big fall.
My Review:
Roll With the Punches is the first book I read this year that I just didn't care for. What drawn me to this book was that Rhonda belonged to a writing critique group. She also gets involved with a roller derby league after she gets noticed roller skating around town. I thought that was different because there's not a lot of books or media out there about the roller derby sport. While I am not a fan of it, I do have a cousin who was on a roller derby league for a couple of years.
The majority of this book revolves around Rhonda trying to figure out who stole her manuscript and made a bestseller out of it. The only people she knows that could have done it was a member of her writing group and she goes on a mission to narrow it down one by one. In the midst of solving that mystery, Rhonda goes through some crazy adventures in not only the search for the person responsible, but also dealing with the antics of roller derby and her dad's odd behaviors. The story is filled with an eclectic bunch of characters, some good, some not so quite.
Roll With the Punches is based heavily on comedy, but it fell short in the overall department. One of the big things that bothered me is the way that Rhonda and her family dealt with her dad's obvious Alzheimer's disease. They acted oblivious and in denial even though it was laid out crystal clear several times, especially when it came to Rhonda. When everything in her life was not going well, Rhonda coped with it the way she normally would any hard situation - with laughter and satire - but it went over the top. There were some good moments, but the concept and plot just didn't work for me.
I'm ending this review with a quote from one of the characters. It's actually said by the doctor who diagnoses the Alzheimer's.
"If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, we roast it with orange sauce."
Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!
~Meg~
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