Queen of Babble in the Big City

- Meg Cabot -

Ugh, I really want to like this because overall Meg Cabot's writing style is so fun to read, but seriously: I am not even 20 pages in and Lizzie - 22 year old, barely graduated from college Lizzie who just dumped one boyfriend and got together with Luke less than two months ago, is already obsessed and obsessing about marrying him. SERIOUSLY!

I get that there needs to be a complication and clearly one them is going to be Lizzie's wedding obsession and Luke's "commitment" issues or something (not really a commitment issue if a 24 year old doesn't want to get married after two months, as far as I am concerned) but come on...they couldn't have come later, after Lizzie and Luke just got to be together (and adorable) for a while? There couldn't be enough conflict coming from the fact that Lizzie is clearly going to have issues finding work and feeling at home in NYC, while Luke presumably will thrive at med school? Or from Lizzie feeling uncomfortable with her lack of income and his wealth? It's not like this stuff isn't there.

- Ok, so I finished it. And while I still find it completely irritating that Lizzie was so completely and nonsensically obsessed with getting married, I do like the growth she experiences in realizing they might want different things, that she can stand up for herself both in her personal and professional worlds and that she should be herself always, and not "woodland creature" the relationship.

That being said - I am a little bit on Luke's side too, in that I think it is ludicrous for her to be so hell bent on marriage after six months (at the age of 23), and it is not at all unrealistic for Luke - who has just started dating this girl and is at the start of med school and therefor looking at five or so years of all study/work, all the time - to not be thinking in the long term yet.

Adorable and sweet as Luke is, I think ultimately Lizzie has to end up with Chaz - he knows exactly how nuts she is and still seems to love her.

I hope that's how it turns out in book 3, though I also hope that Luke's character doesn't get destroyed in the process and turned into the bad guy.