GIRLS IN TRUCKS by Katie Crouch and BAR FLOWER by Lea Jacobson

I am catching up on some issues of Entertainment Weekly (aka my Bible). I found these two books in the April 18th issue.

The first is called Girls in Trucks, a debut novel from Katie Crouch. Here’s the review:

Sometimes, looking back on things that have happened to me, I can pin down exact moments when certain situations began to unravel,” reflects Sarah, the insightful protagonist of Katie Crouch’s captivating novel Girls in Trucks. ”That’s when I should have said something about Charlotte’s drinking. That’s when I should have stopped talking to my friend’s husband.” Sarah, a reluctant Southern debutante, moves to NYC postcollege in search of love and success — but she finds mostly failure and heartache. A tad somber, perhaps. But given all the predictable tales about young women, Sarah’s genuine imperfection seems refreshing. A-

Here is an article about Katie Crouch from Creative Loafing Atlanta, who compares the book to Melissa Bank’s The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing in that each chapter read like a short story. The article also says, "The combination of Crouch’s personal experiences with universal themes such heartache and grief, makes Sarah’s story, and her pain, feel real. Although the book’s constant cycle of love and loss and the seemingly unending search for fulfillment can get tiring, it’s encouraging to have a heroine brave enough to keep at it."

Here is another review of Girls in Trucks from Literature Chick.

The second review appealed to me because of my fascination with Japan. The book is a memoir called Bar Flower, by Lea Jacobson. Here’s the review:

Not long after graduating college, American Lea Jacobson moved to Japan to teach English. Unable to accept strict Japanese norms — hiding her underwear at the bottom of a laundry hamper, for example — she left her host home, got fired, and began working as a nightclub hostess. While flirting with businessmen and persuading them to purchase alcohol, she jump-started an addiction to booze and spiraled into depression. Jacobson’s memoir, Bar Flower, is deeply personal — she doesn’t shy away from her struggles with cutting and eating disorders — but it’s also a thorough, fascinating guide to modern Japanese culture. A-