Mating Rituals of the North American WASP - Book Review and Giveaway

"You told us you were engaged. You were skipping around with that WASPy guy, calling him 'my future husband.' The two of you were all over each other. We couldn't figure out what had gotten into you, Peggy." - Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton

I learn something every day. Take the word WASP for instance. I see the word WASP and think of a flying insect that stings. Apparently, it has another meaning, one I may have learned in school but didn't remember -- White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, i.e. a member of the dominant and the most privileged class of people in the United States. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary) Where have I been, you ask? Trying to remove wasp's nests from my children's playcenter, that's where, unconcerned with the ways of the elite. But, I enjoyed reading about some fictional WASP antics in Mating Rituals of the North American WASP, a new adult fiction book written by Lauren Lipton.

Disgruntled because Brock, her boyfriend of seven years hasn't proposed, Peggy throws caution to the wind and gets a little wild during a girls' weekend in Vegas. Back home in New York, she learns just how wild. In her drunken bliss she married a complete stranger, Luke Sedgwick, a WASP from New Nineveh, Connecticut. She leaves her ACME cleaning supply business for a day and drives to New Nineveh seeking an annulment. But then she meets Luke's great-aunt Abigail and receives an unusual offer...if she remains married to Luke for an entire year, she will inherit half of the Sedgwick mansion. Desperate to save her own floundering business, she accepts and, as part of the deal, spends each weekend in New Nineveh where she learns the ways of the WASPs.

A romance, a fairy tale, small town niceties and big city glitz. This is the perfect women's fiction fare! Every so often, especially during the summer, it is nice to pick up a chick lit book. I read Mating Rituals of the North American WASP from cover to cover in one sitting and enjoyed escaping into its fantasy. For those that may be concerned about such things, the romantic parts don't get very steamy at all. I particularly liked the proud and head-strong 90-year-old Great-aunt Abigail. Her character made me laugh with her meddling ways. I also loved the sonnets and verse by Lee Slonimsky sprinkled through-out the book, especially the "Widow in the Woods." Lipton raises social concerns in her book by writing about the effects of big-box retailers on America’s small towns and businesses. The exact same thing is happening in our area so I can completely identify with this part of the plot. A delightful, light read.

Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton. 5 Spot (May 2009); 368 pages; ISBN 9780446197977

Related Links:
Lauren Lipton - Author Website
New York Times profile on Lauren Lipton
Book Excerpt
Win a copy! This review is part of a book blog tour, and Hachette Book Group has kindly offered to giveaway (3) copies of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP to 3 Brimful Curiosities readers. Perfect for summer reading. 3 COPIES!

To enter, leave a WASPy sounding comment. Or any comment relevant to this post. Thanks!

• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section.
• Contest is open to US only
• Contest ends on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winner will be chosen at random

Three ways to gain extra entries (Maximum total entries is 4):
1st extra entry: Follow Me! or subscribe by email or RSS reader
2nd extra entry: Blog about this contest then post your link in the comment section.
3rd extra entry: Follow me on twitter (iambrimful) and tweet about the contest.