Beyond the Book: The Joke's On Me

Blurb:

Stand-up comic Frankie Goldberg’s Hollywood life falls apart with an exclamation point when a mudslide destroys her hopes, her home, and her entire collection of impractical footwear. She returns to her mother’s B&B in Woodstock, New York, expecting the comfort that home once provided, but continually finds that the joke’s on her. In Frankie’s absence, some things have changed—and some, to her dismay, are exactly as she’d left them. A lighthearted-but-serious romantic comedy about love, trust, second chances, squabbling sisters, and baseball.

My Review:

Can you really go home again? Frankie Goldberg thinks she can. She’s been in Hollywood for a long time, and in her mind home is just as she left it. Some things are, but a great deal isn’t, including that her mother is in a nursing home and doesn’t recognize her, and her big sister is turning the B&B into an aging hippie, tree lover paradise complete with incense sticks and nude workshops. Her teenage crush is still there too after he lost his job in major league baseball.

So not only is her career in Hollywood over, she has to cope with memories of her parents and sister whom she doesn’t get along with, deal with the resurgence of old feelings for her teen crush, and deal with secrets that come to light.

I liked the characters, and I liked the story as well. You might recognize both in people you’ve known. The book is charming, entertaining, and sometimes true to life. It’s a first novel for the author, and I have to say I think she did a great job.