Last Call

Lots of good old-fashioned fun here with a good cry or two mixed in. Sweet original story with the city of Brooklyn as its own wonderful character. If you like humor and intelligent dialogue and a bittersweet big love story, small coming of age tale, dealing with aging parents dilemma, meditation on life and death, you can't go wrong. Oddly enough, my 13-year old son enjoyed this book while we were on vacation. I did not think it would hold his attention past the first chapter...

Hadn't heard of Laura Pedersen until the Virginia Book Festival. She did a wonderful and hilarious presentation and so I read BEGINNER'S LUCK and LAST CALL. They were very different novels, though both humorous, uplifting, and with enjoyable characters. The storylines were creative and engaging. The LAST CALL ending is a blockbuster -- won't give it away. Pedersen is young and writing a book a year -- the sequels to BEGINNER'S LUCK are coming out soon. I rarely write in reviews but I think this author is bound to become a classic in women's fiction, of the feel-good variety (rather than doom and gloom), and will continue to be enjoyed by young and old readers for years to come. I guess she will always be classified as an author of women's fiction and pitched to reading groups, but there are some great guys in the books -- Bernard in BEGINNER'S LUCK and Hayden in LAST CALL, so I think men would enjoy the stories as well but doubt they'll ever pick them up based on the wonderful but somewhat feminine covers. I especially like it that she gives older female characters brainy, sexy parts, and doesn't relegate them to the backseat of the family car. Hollywood will no doubt be calling soon if they haven't already. Looking forward to more.

I enjoyed BEGINNER'S LUCK and was surprised that LAST CALL was such a different book. However, I thought it was a terrific meditation on life and death and very funny at times. The author continued to surprise, rather than repeat the previous novel just because it was a success. I thought the part about Hayden musing on people just wanting to live their lives without having to worry about madmen with guns said a lot about the current political situation. Same with Rosamond being Catholic and Hayden being Agnostic. Pedersen was obviously trying to show how we must make greater efforts at dealing with and understanding different faiths in order to survive. To me, Hayden's grandson represented the future, and all of our children and grandchildren, living in a better world, created by people like the characters in the book -- willing to question and think, but also slaves to human emotion and the desire to have meaningful relationships. The book also explored patients' rights, and what sort of control individuals should have over their care. I'm in the healthcare profession and agree with Hayden in that the patient can become sidelined in the rush to try new treatments, create new drugs, and overbill.

Terrific characters, great dialogue, original story. I read this book in two days and didn't want it to end, though the last few chapters were excellent. It's rare that you come across a new plotline in fiction, but this definitely succeeds in originality. Could it happen in real life? Maybe, but probably not. However that's why I read fiction and go to movies. My guess is that this book will remain on the favorites shelf at the bookstore for a long time. If you're a staunch Catholic then some of it may seem offensive, but by the time you reach the end you realize it's not at all, just questioning our faith the way most people do in real life.

It will only take two or three days to read LAST CALL. The chapters are short and it moves very fast. However almost every page contains something humorous, the characters are terrific, and the storyline is engaging. If you're getting bored with chick lit by now then this is the answer. Well-written and highly original. Somehow it contains a great love story, a coming of age story, and a few spirited (and funny) debates on religion and euthanasia. If you've ever dealt with being a single mother or taken care of aging parents you'll find a lot to identify with.