Chick Flick

by Deryn Warren

The funniest book about heartbreak you will ever read. Sometimes a single sentence can change your life. "There's been an accident." "We need to talk." Or, in the case of Sara, a mother of four getting ready for a dinner party she's hosting for her husband's boss, the almost offhand admission from her husband that he's having an affair. Sara is a film director (when she can get the work), and when her life becomes overwhelming, she slips into a cinematic world in her head. The novel becomes a script with Sara its star - an action hero drop kicking the other woman, or crawling across a table at a dinner party to slash her husband's cheek. It's her mental escape when life runs off the rails. But soon her awkward, awful and often hilarious attempts to patch up the marriage make her real life feel something like a movie - one with a private detective, cold revenge, and eventually . . . handsome new leading men. Each chapter is named after one of the old films from the 40's and 50's - the ones where the villains are punished and everyone lives happily ever after. Soon Sara learns that Woody Allen's line, "life is - complicated" is more apt. As she is challenged by life, her taste in film becomes more contempory. This look behind the scenes of a Hollywood marriage will make you cringe, laugh out loud and sometimes stop you on the page when you read about those horrible moments we know all too well - the first time you realize it's really over, the jealousy, the gut-crushing pain, and finally, the freedom that comes from knowing you can make it on your own.

Genres: Chick Lit

296 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2012

Reviews

[Kully Stiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written but emotionally tough to read. Daryn has a way of writing that feels so real. This book gave me a deeper appreciation for what women go through and the sacrifices they make for their families. Also, it's very funny throughout. Be prepared to laugh and cry.

[Jenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

GOODREADS SUMMARY

The funniest book about heartbreak you will ever read. Sometimes a single sentence can change your life. "There's been an accident." "We need to talk." Or, in the case of Sara, a mother of four getting ready for a dinner party she's hosting for her husband's boss, the almost offhand admission from her husband that he's having an affair. Sara is a film director (when she can get the work), and when her life becomes overwhelming, she slips into a cinematic world in her head.

The novel becomes a script with Sara its star - an action hero drop kicking the other woman, or crawling across a table at a dinner party to slash her husband's cheek. It's her mental escape when life runs off the rails. But soon her awkward, awful and often hilarious attempts to patch up the marriage make her real life feel something like a movie - one with a private detective, cold revenge, and eventually . . . handsome new leading men.

Each chapter is named after one of the old films from the 40's and 50's - the ones where the villains are punished and everyone lives happily ever after. Soon Sara learns that Woody Allen's line, "life is - complicated" is more apt. As she is challenged by life, her taste in film becomes more contempory.

I wasn’t sure how much I would like this novel. Cover and the title was what grabbed my attention first, more cover then the title. By looking at the cover, I had a feeling that it would be something with humor in it. Summary on the other end, didn’t seem to grab my interest that much, so I didn’t think I would like it that much. The book did start out bit slow for me, and it took couple chapters till I got interested, it seemed like it dragged on at start. Once it picked up, it was pretty entraitaining and i wanted keep on reading it, to see what happens next. I was glad that I gave it a chance; it was different from other books I read. I know that this book is supposed be about heartbreak, but what made it unique was the humor that was added to it.

Sara: I loved her from the start, I mostly liked her sense of humor, though I knew that she was hurting. I enjoyed the scripts she came up with, despite the difficult situation that she was going through at time. To me, she seemed strong even if at times it didn’t look like it. If I were in her situation, I wouldn’t be able to handle it and with four kids to raise. I didn’t understand why she wanted to stay with him, she should walked away from him when she found out. I guessed that maybe she stayed with him because of kids, or because she refused to believe the situation. I didn’t think she ever get over him, she was pretty heartbroken when he moved out. In a way it was a good thing that he did, because eventually she did start moving on, while comforting her kids at the same time. Considering her situation, she handled it well. Most of time.

I loved her friends; they reminded me of my best friends. They were supportive, and there for her each step of the way. That’s a real friendship right there. I don’t think she would handle it as well, if it wasn’t for them. I loved the descriptions in this book, they were so vivid, it made everything seemed so real, realistic. It’s one of things that kept me on reading.

Chick Flick Is funny, heartbreaking and worth checking out.

[Leanna H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was truly humbling. It told from the perspective of someone who thought her life was a well glued together puzzle, but turned out to have a few pieces in the wrong places. What I enjoyed of the novel came much later into it, but the beginning was so rough to get through emotionally. It was like watching someone just fall the pieces, pretty sad and pathetic. I didn't understand how she could have invested so much of herself into her husband and then felt that she loved him enough to take him back even after what he did, just to keep her illusion of perfection going. I just felt awful for her codependency until I realized that what's you do in a real marriage. You need that other person to balance you out and you give them half of you otherwise it won't work, but sometimes even that is not enough. It was hard watching her learn to pick up the pieces and hustle up for her kids, but overall the amazing journey she took to get to the end and it was truly inspiring and gave me great insight on how marriage and all the cog and piece work or fall apart. Great novel!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

really really enjoyed. read in 2 days. found myself hating Joe so much, it literally felt like everything was happening to me. I only took off a star because there were some distracting typos, formatting mistakes, and content errors (for example, the MC describes her kids as being with her ex for a weekend, but then later that same night the ex calls asking to come over and wants to see the kids while they are sleeping).

Right from the start, this book just knew "who" it was. It was confident without being pompous, emotional without holding the reader hostage. Loved the use of screenplay scripting throughout - added the perfect whimsy to an otherwise serious story about a woman falling apart (or rather being torn down) and putting herself back together.

[Michelle Packard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself in tears more than once reading this book. My heart broke for Sara and I wanted to punch her husband! What a tool. I thought Deryn did a great job writing the emotions Sara was going through and how heartbreaking it is when your family is ripped apart in an instant. She had amazing friends to help her through and I loved how it ended. Life is not always wrapped up in a neat little HEA and this book left it that way. You never know what the future holds and Sara is taking one day at a time.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was definitely not what I expected. It was hard to read and sometimes depressing, but I really liked the ending. I loved the message the main character shared - life is messy, but enjoy it and live. There were a few non-descriptive sex scenes in it and one kind of "shocking" scene, so I think it is only appropriate for adults, but it was a heartfelt and true-to-life book with all the harsh realities that life sometimes throws in our way.

The only thing I didn't like was all the "film scenes". I finally just skipped over all of them and read the regular font story.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is about a freelance director and her husband. He decides to have an affair with his boss and bungles that thoroughly.

I gave this a “4” because the main character was so uneven. Mostly she gave in to her husband’s wayward behavior. But periodically she gave him what he deserved like dumping hot Mexican food in his lap of twisting that appendage between his legs. In those moments I cheered her on. But the rest of the time she was pretty much a doormat with four kids. But the story sustains the reader. It’s bright and entertaining.

[Catherine Clinch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deryn Warren is a national treasure. She tells a story of love and loss in a cinematic context through the eyes of a character that finds herself in the midst of a life crisis. Sara maneuvers through the mess that has become her life until she is ultimately able to find the hope of her own future. This is a must read!

[Devorah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I mostly skimmed through the protagonist's annoying penchant for visualizing childish movie scenes in her head anytime something happened, it was a somewhat enjoyable book. A little too much like the type of "zany hijinks" that chick lit authors tend to employ.

[Chris Mclean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable novel about how the protagonist survives her husband's betrayal, with great friends and support from her family. I just never understood why she wanted to be with that jerk :)