Chick+Lit

= Chick Lit =

Chelsea Landau, Elizabeth Ratzloff, Tanya Baker, and Alyce Bonnar
===Chick Lit is a genre of fiction that comically targets issues relating to women. Various issues that arise in Chick Lit are: materialism, identity, physical beauty, friendship, sexuality, work, and, most importantly, romance. "Chick Lit is a pure incarnation of past popular romances; it is a contemporary and ironic critique of romance tropes" (118). This genre is aimed at single, professional, women, by following a strong, yet troubled, female protagonist. This heroine is usually white, young, middle-class, and heterosexual. "She falls short of the cultural ideal in looks and is especially unhappy with the current state of her uncoupled life, but the author...sets her on a course to happiness with the help of a close group of friends, intensive shopping, a variety of passing sexual experiences, and a frequently ironic view of the self" (118). To coincide with the female protagonist and the versatile complications that arise for her, most Chick Lit novels conclude with a promising relationship.===

Coleman, Linda. "[Review of] Chick Lit: The New Woman's Fiction." Journal of American and Culture, 30.1. (2007): p. 118-119.  18 Feb 2010.

For more information, please visit: http://chicklitbooks.com

=// The Devil Wears Prada//= ===**Lauren Weisberger Lauren Weisberger, //The Devil Wears Prada//, tells the story of Andrea Sachs, a recent graduate from Brown University with a degree in English, who finds herself the junior assistant of Miranda Priestly, editor of the magazine //Runway//. Although Andrea was looking for a job in the magazine publishing industry, she accepts the position of Miranda’s junior assistant after being told that if she is able to work for Miranda for one year, it will open up doors allowing Andrea to work anywhere in the magazine industry. Initially an outcast in the magazine’s office, Andrea begins to appreciate the perks of the job- free designer clothes, parties with celebrities, and a budding relationship with Christian Collinsworth, whose popularity as a new writer is growing fast. Andrea is working long hours that eventually begin to put a heavy strain on her relationships with her boyfriend, Alex, her best friend and roommate, Lily, and her family. During a trip in Paris, Andrea must decide if her yearlong commitment working for Miranda is worth losing everything.The //Devil Wears Prada// was sprent six months on the //New York Times bestseller list// and was the basis for a motion picture film //T[|he Devil Wears Prada (2006)]// starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Emily Blunt. **===

// Good in Bed // Jennifer Weiner[[image:Good_in_Bed-119187608032020.jpg width="157" height="250" align="right"]]
Cannie Shapiro is a successful, 28-year-old, plus-sized pop culture reporter. When reading a women's magazine, Cannie finds that her ex-boyfriend, Bruce, wrote an article about her entitled, "Loving a Larger Woman." In this piece, Bruce reveals that loving a plus-sized woman, obviously meaning Cannie, was actually an act of courage. Absolutely mortified from the article, Cannie embarks on a humorous and disastrous journey, with her terrier, Nifkin, by her side. These adventures range from confronting Bruce, traveling to glamorous cities, and dealing with her mother's difficult life-partner. But most importantly, these events allow Cannie to discover her true identity and begin to love herself. [|Good in Bed] can be located for a limited preview on [|Google Books]. [|Jennifer Weiner] additionally wrote [|In Her Shoes], featuring Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette.

=
H elen Fielding’s 1996 novel, [|Bridget Jones’s Diary] is the personal diary of the single, working, and thirty-something Bridget Jones. Even as a titleholder of the best-seller list, Bridget still harbors some major insecurities. Constantly troubled by the thought of dying alone and being eaten by dogs, Bridget fears never being discovered. She details her diary with comical accounts of her career, family, friends, self-image and romantic relationships. Her obsession and worry over her love life is one that mirrors the Bridget Jones in every woman. It becomes clear however, that Bridget is struggling with much more than just her love life. As we read her diary we discover her battle with weight, cigarettes and alcohol, and her career. Yet, Bridget manages to enter into two relationships, where readers learn the men are connected by more than just their relationships with Bridget. As Helen Fielding describes, “Bridget’s battling with two different ideas. One is the image of the Cosmo Girl, that she should be living this great, independent life full of friends and glamour dinner parties. The second is the old fashioned idea of failure: that if you’re not married by thirty, you’ll die alone and be found three weeks later half-eaten by an Alsatian.” ======

This novel evolved from Helen Fielding's //The Diary of Bridget Jones //  columns in //[|The Independent] //  and //[|The Daily Telegraph] // . The novel won the 1998 [|British Book of the Year] , and [|Tracie Bennett]  won the 2000 [|Audie]  Award for "Solo Female Narration" for her <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.7px; line-height: 19px;">[|audio book] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> narration.

Emily Giffin
New York Times Bestseller, //[|Something Borrowed] ,// is the story of 30-year-old Rachel White, a single lawyer living in Manhattan. Rachel is to be her best friend Darcy's maid of honor in Darcy's marriage to Rachel's law school friend, Dex. Unbeknownst to Darcy though, after a few too many drinks on Rachel's 30th birthday, Rachel and Dex spend a night together in bed. Thus marks the beginning of an unrequited love. Rachel and Dex agree to keep their act a secret, but Rachel is afflicted with feelings of guilt. She struggles to justify her actions by recalling all the mistreatment she has faced from Darcy. Darcy has a long history of stealing men from Rachel, but Rachel knows even Darcy's wrongdoings do not excuse her own. Her feelings for Dex leave her eager to tell Darcy her dark truth. After many months, as the wedding nears, she decides to give Dex an ultimatum: either call of the wedding, or their affair is over.

[| It's Complicated] //,// a 2009 film, is based off of Giffin's novel.

**//Confessions of a Shopaholic//**

 * Sophie Kinsella**

In the ever popular book turned movie, [|Confessions of a Shopaholic] , Rebecca Bloomwood has never had problems dishing out financial advice, she just can't apply her advice to her own life. In fact, Rebecca gives this financial advice on a daily basis- she writes for a magazine titled //Successful Saving.// But, once Rebecca leaves her place of business, she has no problem leaving her job-life behind her and heading straight for the stores. Rebecca fears no price tag, or no high end store; there is always a plethora of credit cards readily available in her wallet. Unfortunately for Rebecca, real life responsibilities such as credit card bills begin catching up with her, and she scrambles to find different strategies to avoid confrontations with collectors. Even after multiple attempts to consolidate and manage her excessive shopping habits, her true passion for Prada and Chanel cannot be contained. [|Sophie Kinsella] keeps Rebecca's shopping issues fun and entertaining, and even manages to throw in an unexpected life changing event caused by Rebecca's superfluous shopping habits.

Kinsella has 7 additional books that follow the Shopaholic series, and the movie [|Confessions of a Shopaholic] (2009) was based off of her novel.

O ur group learned that Chick Lit is very cut-and-dry. Books from this genre usually centralize a female protagonist dealing with issues that relate to purely to women. Whether they are romantic or familial, relationships of all kinds are very important to this genre. Chick Lit is also usually humorous. This genre often has some very good reads, especially since several of these books have become box office sensations. But Chick Lit novels can give negative representations of womanhood. For example, more often than not, Chick Lit novel outlines consumerism and materialism. This is evident in __The Devil Wears Prada__. Chick Lit also focuses on beauty and weight standards that may be unhealthy. Lastly, the ultimate goal for protagonists in this genre is to wind up with a man. This idea of shopping, beauty, and men may be concerning for readers.
 * What our group learned during this research:**