Look no further for a perfect ten book! Alli Frank and Asha Youmans teamed up to pen Tiny Imperfections and it is a freaking JOY! Private school admissions, raising a teenager, dipping back into dating waters. This is a smart, witty, sassy protagonist and I am a forever fan girl of this author duo now!
Cast of Characters
Josie Bordelon – almost 40, Director of Admissions for a private school in San Francisco; never married; lives with Aunt Viv and daughter Etta. Hasn’t dated in years since an epic breakup. Plus, no time, so there’s that.
Etta – 17 and ready to spread her wings. Mom (Josie) wants her to go to a top-notch school (Cornell sounds good) so she can have the financially stable future Josie and Aunt Viv wish they had. Etta has her sights on Julliard as a stepping stone to becoming a dance pro. Current high school senior at the same private school where Mom works.
Aunt Viv – approaching 70, never married, but raised Josie when Josie’s mom showed up on Viv’s doorstep with 4 year old Josie and bolted. Cook for the same school Etta attends and Josie works at.
Too legit
If you think you’re going to read about a prissy, poor-me admissions director with her nose up in the air, you’re super wrong. Josie is good people and keeps her circle tight. The world of private school admissions is cutthroat in a way that will wear this girl down to the sidewalk. The parents are relentless. The need to be ‘on’ all the time. The head of school who is so high and mighty and keeps those beneath her for pure power.
Josie’s admissions assistant, Roan, brings so many fun one-liners to the table I promise you will legit laugh out loud!
Josie’s bestie, Lola, is the kind of friend every girl wishes she had. On point! “Every woman needs a girlfriend who speaks the truth. At almost forty it’s as necessary as a pair of Spanx.”
Golden Boy
Things get real interesting when Aunt Viv has a health scare. And Etta puts a power play in the mix to skip the traditional post-high school education path (she doubled-down and got Aunt Viv on her side on this one).
But life gets extra when a same-sex couple enters the admissions cycle for their incoming kindergartener and one of the dads, Ty Golden, starts communicating with Josie on the side. Almost flirting. Definitely flirting. None of this adds up.
For now…
Refreshing
I cannot say it enough. I love when books are set in cities that aren’t New York or London. And Tiny Imperfections showcases San Francisco and the Bay Area. Amen to that! It is so darn refreshing to read (or listen to) a book where you hear about a locale that isn’t the concrete jungle and posh-y nightclubs and every b-roll clip from Sex and the City.
“If a house were painted hot pink with lime green and white trim in Seattle or Chicago the neighbors would talk in hushed tones about the tackiness. In San Francisco, passing a turquoise and cranberry two-unit building makes you feel right at home.”
LOVE!
Audio Gold
One of my very favorite narrators read this book and lemme tell you, Bahni Turpin is a perfect ten in my mind. If you haven’t tagged alllll of her narrated books yet, take a minute and do so now. Now. Here’s a good line-up as of today.