Summary:Zadie is of the mind that love and marriage are as evil as Satan himself. After she’s stood up at the alter by her soap opera star fiancé Jack all she has left is her job as an English teacher at a posh LA private school and her best friend Grey. The biggest problem with that? Well, not only is she spending the majority of her time lusting after her Abercrombie and Fitch model [slash:] student Trevor but now Grey has moved to the dark side. Her best friend has gone and gotten engaged to be married ….even worse, his new fiancé is her Stepford sized cousin Helen.Helen is as prim and proper as they come, so when Grey asks Zadie to make sure his fiancé loosens up at her bachelorette party she reluctantly accepts the mission. Immediately thrown into dealing with Helen’s uptight (or are they?) friends as she tries to convince them to go from a day of tea parties and yoga to drunkenness and debauchery Zadie navigates a wild night that punctuate a series of situations that further affirm her “no love, no marriage” mantra.In the end Zadie learns several valuable lessons that relate to family, friendship, professionalism and most importantly opening her life up to the possibility of sharing it with that special someone.Opinion:I adored this book!From the first page McCullah Lutz’s witty and sarcastic humor jumped off the page. Zadie is as saavy as she is amusing while her best friend Grey tempers her cynicism with a more pragmatic outlook. More than that the author does a wonderful job developing the myriad of supporting players. Helen as the perfect cousin, Trevor as the lusted after student, all the ladies in attendance at the bachelorette party; each of them were well characterized and highly entertaining in their own right.The simple plot – showing how Zadie navigates her perception of love and marriage through her experiences at the bachelorette party – was easy to follow and enjoyable in all respects. There were even a few unexpected twists and turns that caught me off guard — twists that ultimately alter the course and resolution of the story.I strongly encourage anyone who enjoys a good laugh to pick up this book. You won’t put it down again until you’re finished.
This was an enjoyable, funny, raunchy, and quick read. It was clearly written not only to be a funny chick lit book, but to eventually be made into a movie. With the quick pace and numerous back to back events in a short period of time, this will be a hilarious comedy I'm sure!Zadie is an English teacher at a private school in L.A. who finds herself unlucky in love. She was dumped at the altar by her soap-star fiance, who didn't show up for the wedding and "forgot" to tell her. After the wedding that wasn't, Zadie turns to her best friend Grey, a hotshot industry lawyer, who helps her through her pain with many beers and potato skins. At the wedding of her cousin Denise, Grey meets Zadie's cousin Helen and falls madly in love. They become engaged after only 6 months of dating, and Zadie is mad, not because she loves Grey as anything more than a friend, but because her cousin Helen is the model of perfection. She never does anything wrong, never drinks, is beautiful, and is a virgin. This makes Zadie feel inferior and sad about her own pitiful love life.Of course Zadie is asked to be in the wedding and attend the bachelorette party. This is where the fun begins. Although the itinerary for the day involves such exciting things as high tea, yoga, and a dinner, the day quickly evolves into a drinking, dancing, partying, and club hopping kind of night. The events that happen when Helen reveals that when she drinks, she is less than perfect cause Zadie to like her more and helps all of the girls to have a hilariously fun, slutty, and sometimes dirty time. Although you might expect the "typical" story to have Zadie and Grey fall in love, that is thankfully not the case. I liked this about the book, and some of the discoveries that the characters made along the way. There are the typical twists and turns and problems to overcome, but again, the happy ending after the craziness is great.
Do You like book The Bachelorette Party (2006)?
This was a really fun, lighthearted novel full of colorful characters. Zadie, with her biting comments, was a zesty, but rather normal character. I read this book because I heard it was going to be made into a movie (a ladies version of the Hangover), and I was excited to see how the story would unfold in written form first. In fact, I wonder if the author had it in mind to make this into a movie while writing the story because many of the scenes will play out better on screen than in the novel. (Also, the author is a screenwriter of such movies like "Legally Blonde" and "10 Things I Hate About You" so maybe she always had plans to make this novel into a movie). Don't let this deter you from reading though - the novel doesn't read like a screenplay. The downside is that the story is predictable, and some of the situations are very cliche, but this novel was definitely enjoyable. I even laughed out loud at some of the ludicrous, but charming moments.
—Sheela
Zadie's fiancé never showed up to her wedding day, so she is kind of disillusioned by love. Then her best guy friend get's engaged to Zadie's least favorite cousin. Helen, Zadie's cousin, has presented herself as the perfect person. She always remembers to send birthday presents, doesn't drink, is a virgin, and works hard on her public image. Grey is Zadie's best friend and the one who has gotten her through her break up. Zadie has to stand up in their wedding party now and at the Bachelorette party the gloves come off on it all. Things start to happen in Zadie's love life, everyone has told her to get back out their and the position that she needs to get her confidence in that department just might present it's self. But, when it comes around will Zadie be able to follow through. Helen loosens up a little, but with that secrets come out and secretes that people may not have wanted to know and now they have to decide what to do with that information. Especially since what happens at a Bachelorette Party stays at the party right. This is a hilarious book. Girls getting close to going out of control, with free flowing booze and amusement resumes. Karen really has a way with words and is great in her descriptions. She is a screen writer on some great chick flicks and I just really recommend this book, but be prepared for walking the line on some issues, it doesn't shy away from sex that is for sure.
—Emily
Review - At first I wasn't sure about The Bachelorette Party but as I got into it, I couldn't put it down! Overall, one of the best Little Black Dress books I've read to date. I'll admit that at first I really hated Helen, but as the secrets came out I realised I actually quite liked her. At first I thought she is far too perfect, but when you find out she isn't, it makes the whole story a lot more believable. I also really loved Zadie and Grey, but I do think they would have been perfect together - opposites attract and all that.Genre? - Chic LitCharacters? - Helen / Zadie Roberts / Grey / Denise / TrevorSetting? - Los Angeles (U.S.A.)Series? - N/ARecommend? - MaybeRating - 15/20
—Helene Harrison
