I loved Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer and thank goodness for that because otherwise I would've looked at the cover of this book and thought 'meh' and probably passed it by... Contrary to the jaunty cartoon image, A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents is a gutsy story of a young woman reconnecting with her family over her estranged father's deathbed.
Yes, it's very funny. Yes, it is packed with quirky characters and witty dialogue. Yes, it is immensely readable. But it's also utterly convincing, emotionally honest, and says many wise things about the nature of family, relationships and loss.
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I absolutely love Hester Browne's Little Lady Agency series, so despite being a little disappointed not to be catching up with the Little Lady Agency's Melissa/Honey, I was excited to read about a completely new character in The Finishing Touches.
As a baby, Betsy was found in a Cooper's Marmalade box outside the Tallimore Academy, a venerable London finishing school. Despite being adopted and raised by Frances and Pelham Tallimore, Betsy didn't attend the academy herself and, at 18, moved to Scotland to attend university. Back in London following Frances's death, Betsy is shocked to find the academy close to closure and vows to do everything she can to bring it into the 21st Century. But that's not all. She also wants to finally find out who her real parents were.
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