Queen of Babble

Lizzie Nichols seems to have just a slight problem, well maybe it's not so slight. She has a problem 1)keeping secrets and 2)knowing when to keep her mouth shut. She has just graduated from college with a BA in the history of fashion and can't wait to visit her British boyfriend Andrew :) Her graduation party is going on without a hitch. Everyone is congratulating her on her weight-loss and her graduation. When Lizzie is greeted by her teacher she is thrilled to see her there! But when Lizzie is pulled aside and told that she actually didn't graduate - Lizzie is shocked! How could this happen?

Well it happened quite easily - Lizzie didn't read each and every line of graduation requirements - she just skimmed it. What's preventing her from graduating you ask? - just a simply thesis on her major. You get snippets of it throughout the book, and it's quite charming!

The only problem is Lizzie is going to London the day after the party to visit with her boyfriend of only a couple of months. How can she possibly write a thesis while galavanting throughout England?! Maybe Andrew can take her to Jane Austen's home as well as the famous Top Shop store!

When Lizzie arrives at Heathrow Airport she sees a man in the most hideous jacket in her life - and he can't stop looking at her! She begins to think that he is a killer going to take tourist women and kill them. Yes, I too thought that that was a bit far fetched, still one can never be too cautious. She goes to a kiosk that allows for people just landing to find their party - and when she tells the man to page Andrew she is shocked to find that the man in the ugly jacket is him!!

Andrew takes her out and introduces her to his dad - and Lizzie thinks how odd that is! I mean who takes their dad with them to meet their girlfriend? Soon Lizzie finds out that they will be staying at Andy's parent's house! She starts to realize that Andy isn't quite the prince charming she made him out to be. She realizes that Andy has turned out to be a totally jerk and can't be with him anymore and breaks up with him. Her only recourse is to go to France and be with her best friend Sheri at the Chateau Mirac and help cater the wedding.

When she jumps the train to France, she has a hard time finding a seat, it seems all the French people hate her because she's American. She finally finds a seat (in the 1st class non-smoking section) next to a complete and total hottie! She asks if the seat is taken and when she finds that its not she gladly sits down. She begins to cry and apologizes to the man - and then the word vomit begins. She tells the complete stranger about how she broke up with Andrew and her reasons why! He smiles throughout it and adds encouraging words here and there.

When the train finally lands both her and the stranger get out. She is bewildered, why is he getting out too? He introduces him self as Luke - Chaz's friend. Lizzie becomes instantly mortified! She makes Luke swear not to tell a living soul about what she had told him. Things get interesting when Lizzie can't help but start to fall in love with him. She's told him the one secret she hasn't even told her best friend Sheri! When Sheri storms in one night demanding to know why she hasn't graduated yet - Lizzie can only think that Luke has spilled the beans! It doesn't help that Andy shows up at the wedding to talk to her.

This was actually a really really good book! (and I do say that about most of them :P) Lizzie was at times a little too obnoxious for me. She claimed to be a feminist, yet you wouldn't know of it. Andy completely walks over her (and even in asking for $$ to repay his debuts) in fact as I was reading this passage and it really irritated me

"I know this is all my fault, Andy. I'm really am sorry. I hope I didn't get you into trouble with Mr. Williams.

"Well, I won't lie to you, Liz," Andy says. "It was a close. Very close." (p130)

You see Andy was trying to cheat the government by getting un-employment checks (and he has a job!) She came across as a weak, blubbering, woman - not the feminist she portrayed to be! It was a good thing too she came to her sense otherwise I would have jumped into the story and smacked her and told her to wake up! I am looking forward to reading the other books in this series :)

Books In this series:

1) Queen of Babble

2) Queen of Babble in the Big City

3) Queen of Babble Gets Hitched

Queen of Babble by Meg Cabbot. New York (c) 2006