To Conscientious Food Product Executives:

I can’t hold it in any longer–I have to ask: Why is it that all the inventive new flavors dreamed up by your Flavor Imagineers are diet?? Don’t I, as a boycotter of artificial sweeteners, deserve a little variety, a little change of pace? Is it because I’m indulging in the sugar that you believe I don’t need the extra flavor boost? Sugar is not a flavor on its own–it needs a little boost, be it black cherry or banana. Please consider that I speak for many a disgruntled consumer.

Thank you for your attention,
A Fan of Real Sugar

and…

To Conscientious Food Retail Executives:

I can’t hold it in any longer–I have to ask: Why is it that you tend to reserve (what seems to me to be) more and more shelf space for the products made with artificial sweeteners? Why aren’t you stocking an equal balance of soda and pudding flavors in both the sugared and sugar-free varieties? I implore you…make the space, set out your sugared products, and we will come (and buy).

Thank you for your attention,
A Fan of Real Sugar

Seeing as today is the first Wednesday of the month, you will not be surprised to see another installment of the Book Review Club, lovingly dreamed up by the woman who makes us all want to live in San Diego,Barrie Summy.

My book this month? Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway.

Let me just say that that I LOVED this book. Love, love, loved it! The minute I finished it probably two weeks ago, I knew that this was going to be the book that got the spotlight at the Book Review Club.

So, first things first, a short summary. (And if you know me, you know this will be very brief). In a nutshell:

High-schooler Audrey Cuttler (Honestly, I had to check the website for her last name.) just broke up with her boyfriend, a singer/musician in a wannabe rock band. What she doesn’t know, until she hears it on the radio, is that he wrote a song about those last awkward moments, and with the help of a ‘guy who knows a guy’, got it on a local radio station. The story follows what happens as the song goes big (Billboard charts big), turning Audrey into an media sensation, wreaking havoc on her new love life, her relationship with her best friend, and her sanity.

Now granted, the premise of this book is great, and I think it would make for a great movie, but it wasn’t the reason I loved this book. I LOVED this book for the characterization, for the friendship between Audrey and Victoria, her best friend. This book had a lot of dialogue–a whole lot–and seriously, it was the best dialogue I have read in a long time. It was so real and so funny and so very clear that these two characters were perfectly developed, likeable, totally cool chicks.

And that’s to say nothing of the dialogue between the other characters. I loved the mom and dad, and the new boyfriend material (no spoilers…) I read this book as a library book, but I plan on buying it as a writing textbook of sorts…a lesson in great dialogue.

So…if you’re interested in a fresh, funny, crazy-wild ride of a story from an awesome new voice in YA fiction, I urge you to check out Robin Benway’s debut, Audrey, Wait! For more fun, check out the Audrey, Wait! website to see the winners of the video contest that let readers recreate the theme song from the book. Or get the soundtrack.

Watching: My husband made me watch Blades of Glory last night, and it was almost too painful to watch–hilarious, but painful. The Wonderfalls is on hold for me at the library.

Reading: Just finished The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig, starting Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

Eating: Had a package of cream cheese about to expire so I decided that was reason enough to whip up some carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. The carrot cake recipe is from Mimi’s Cafe and de-licious! My experimental recipe for this week is Corn and Salsa Tortilla Soup, a vegetarian version of the classic.

Listening To: She & Him. I just got this CD, and it’s my new favorite. There’s just something about the music that’s familiar and yet not. It reminds me vaguely of some unspecific 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s music with some hints of Hawaiian and The Carpenters in the mix. I can’t think why it makes me think of the Beach Boys, but it does.

What about you?