Thousand and One Nights

Elle.com described this debut novel as "e;an alternately hilarious and poignant look at the unsettled state of one woman trying to make it outside the socially sanctioned college-office-marriage trajectory."e; Karla, 22, is thrilled to be hired as an entertainer on the Sound of Music cruise ship-where the rum punch is 80 percent Kool-Aid, the ice sculptures are plastic, and her "e;fake it till you make it"e; M.O. seems adventuresome. Karla is less thrilled when new beau Jack suggests they form a singing duo on land, but by now false enthusiasm has become second nature. They embark on a not-as-glamorous-as-it-should-be career performing in the luxury hotel bars of the Middle East and China. After a thousand and one nights on the road, Karla and Jack find themselves struggling to keep their act-both personal and professional-together. "e;Both an off-kilter take on the conventional coming-of-age tale and a sly commentary on the underbelly of celebrity culture, this truly original book is basically uncategorizable-blissfully so."e; - Elle.com