Pug Hill

May 1, 2006
Art restorer Hope McNeill doesn -t have a dog, but she spends her free time at Central Park -s -Pug Hill, - where the playful dogs give her all the unconditional love and freedom she feels is otherwise lacking in her life. Shy and reserved, Hope signs up for a public speaking class after her parents ask her to make a speech at their anniversary party. Compared to her odd assortment of classmates, including a failed gay poet and an angry novelist, Hope begins to feel much better about her life -really, what -s so bad about a lackluster relationship, a tiny apartment, and a job in which she never sees the sun? Gaining some courage from the class helps her make some new choices in her life. Pace -s ("If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend") second novel has some smart and witty moments. Recommended for larger fiction collections or where chick lit is popular." -Rebecca Vnuk, River Forest P.L., IL"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2006
Hope McNeil is an art restorer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. At 31, she thinks she should be getting married and having kids, but she doesn't like the guy she met via online dating, she has a crush on a coworker, and her parents have asked her to make a speech at their fortieth wedding anniversary celebration despite her terror of public speaking. Her favorite place is Pug Hill in Central Park, where pug fanciers bring their dogs to frolic. Hope doesn't have her own pug but always feels revitalized just by watching the dogs at play. Signing up for a class on overcoming presentation anxiety, Hope meets quirky people with unusual problems who she wouldn't have encountered elsewhere and is motivated to try to figure out what she wants in life. Pace's very leisurely chick-lit novel is at its best when Hope is surrounded by dogs, and its neatly wrapped-up conclusion does promise love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)