The Rock Star in Seat 3A

May 1, 2012
At Hazel's thirtieth birthday dinner, conversation turns to which celebrity each guest would choose to sleep with if given a free pass. For Hazel, without question it's moody rock star Finn Schiller. Even though she has an adoring boyfriend, Wylie, a personal chef, and a dream job at a video-game company, Hazel feels dissatisfied with her life. When she ends up seated next to Finn on a flight to L.A., they share an instant connection. Making good on her free pass, she decides to take a break from Wylie and a leave of absence from work to accompany Finn on his European tour. Yet even as she lives out her wildest fantasy, she can't help but wonder whether she's given up love and security to be a glorified groupie. The premise is a popular device in pop culture, but Kargman (The ExMrs. Hedgefund, 2010) gives it a witty, extremely readable jolt.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)