Pretty in Plaid

July 27, 2009
In this memoir of a fashion-conscious life, Lancaster revisits her misadventures—and outfits over the years (from Girl Scout sash to Gucci purse)—with characteristic snarky humor. You have to hand it to Lancaster: you could find her younger self utterly insufferable, if it weren't for the fact that her present-day self is so clear-eyed about and obviously amused by her past behavior. Jamie Heinlein reads with just the right amount of confident, bubbly obliviousness inflected with a dash of wry knowingness. As is typical in the best professionally read audio memoirs, Heinlein recreates Lancaster so perspicaciously, it's easy to become convinced that Heinlein is
Lancaster. An NAL hardcover.

May 4, 2009
Funny girl Lancaster has crafted a successful career by honing the breezy, bloggy style she first exhibited in Bitter is the New Black; her latest, in part a backhand to the resurgent 80s fashion trends, is sure hit resonant, hysterical notes for anyone who came of age in the era of the Preppy Handbook. Authorial voice is at the heart of Lancaster's charm, and she chronicles her early 20s-blunders from fashion and finances to academics and retail jobs-with a candor that few will be able to resist. Lancaster confesses to a fascination with plastic (the material, not the credit card), gloating over her impressive new Liz Claiborne bags, and difficulty finding faithful friends, even (especially) in her Greek affiliations ("Even though I read Seventeen and Glamour every month, I'm already thought of as the Jean Jacket Jackass in my rush group"). Falling somewhere between David Sedaris and Laurie Notaro, Lancaster's goofy charm will no doubt continue to win fans, as well as influence the next generation of sardonic, winning, self-effacing memoirists.