The Espressologist

by Nancy Springer

Contemporary YA

Release Date: October 2009

Synopsis (Amazon.com):

What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology.

So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right?

My Thoughts:

What a cute little story! Jane, who works at a Starbucks-esque cafe, is bored one day and decides to start writing down her observations of what customers are like based on the kinds of drinks they order. Out of the blue, she gets the idea that maybe certain types of people (based on their drink orders) would be perfect matches for other people, and starts playing cupid with her customers. In an interesting turn of events, suddenly Jane is matchmaking by the hundreds, while doing her best to juggle school, her own crushes, and her best friend’s unexpected happiness over a new boyfriend.

The premise is simple, the plot predictable, and the characters not as entirely well-rounded as one might find in a longer contemporary YA. But that doesn’t make it any less sweet, fun, or delightful to read. You can see the twists coming a mile away, but because this is a simple romantic comedy of sorts, we know exactly who to root for, and exactly who needs their comeuppance–and it’s still worth it when it happens!

It’s certainly an HEA type of story, but one that provides plenty of smiles and "feel-good" moments along the way. A quick read, but worth it.

About the Author

Kristina Springer is the author of THE ESPRESSOLOGIST, MY FAKE BOYFRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS, and the forthcoming JUST YOUR AVERAGE PRINCESS (fall 2011). She has a Masters in Writing from DePaul University and she resides in a suburb of Chicago with her husband and children.

“Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock, is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives.”

– Sir William Throsby Bridges

Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges

…just something to think about.

Anyone taking any interesting writing courses this spring / summer?

It’s been awhile since I’ve taken one, but I took the plunge and signed up for “Intensive Creative Writing” with Brian Henry (his website is also linked on the sidebar of this blog). Brian Henry had a big influence on author Kelly Armstrong’s development, and from what I’ve seen she speaks very highly of his courses and ability to help writers think critically about their work.

I’m hoping this course is what I need to re-jumpstart my stalled writing. I did so well for 3/4ths of last year, but then the stress and other commitments kicked into high gear, and writing hit the backburner.

That’s got to change!

So, here’s hoping.

If you’re in Southern Ontario and free on Friday afternoons, come join me!!!

For the past few years, I’ve been piling books in various locations around the house. There are shelves in the basement, but they’ve been double and triple stacked, with more books on the top, and piles on top of those.

Upstairs, there have been books on the coffee table, under the coffee table, inside the hutch (which we bought for appliance storage… oops!), on the kitchen table, in the office, on two different desks, on the floor of the office, in the bedroom, in the bathroom, under the couch… books everywhere!!! I spent my life in fear that one of these days, I’d wake up being smothered under a pile of fallen books, trapped, with no one to hear my screams because I’d probably just read whatever book was closest until I ran out of oxygen… heh…

Anyway, a few weeks ago, El Husbando finally said “ENOUGH!” and we went out and bought five new bookcases from Ikea. FIVE. Those big Billy ones.

And, umm, you know what?

They’re all full.

Oh, crap.

There’s a tiny bit of space on one shelf that we took a few books off of, that’ll fit about… oh, I don’t know… thirty to forty more books. That’s counting the twenty or so I have out on loan to various friends and family members. Plus the five next to me at the kitchen table. And the two that came from the Scholastic book order. And the three I got with a coupon last week.

There is literally nowhere else we can put bookshelves. The house is full. And, uh, I have another gift certificate I need to use…

…solution?

Clearly, I need a bigger house.

Please, share your book storage woes (and solutions) with me!!! I can’t be the only one with this kind of, uh, “issue’”…

I used to hate April 1st. I still do, in some ways.

The problem is that people tend to take “April Fool’s Day” seriously in a way that benefits only the person pulling the prank—not in a way that makes the pranker and the prankee laugh together over the joke, and move on with their day in good spirits.

Mean-spirited pranks often seem “harmless” to the one pulling the prank, because they think their idea is so awesome that if the person being pranked gets upset, they have no sense of humor, or they’re the mean ones, etc..

I’ll be honest, I can’t remember ever being pranked in this way… probably because I made such angry faces at everyone when they mentioned April Fool’s Day, that they feared I might punch them in the nose if they tried anything.

But here’s the kicker: April 1st is the anniversary of the first date I went on with (now) El Husbando (for first-timers to the blog—yes, that’s my husband, it’s just a million times more fun to say it with a terrible Spanish accent… that’s right, a MILLION… I did the math).

Yeah, I wondered that night whether the whole thing was a joke at my expense. Even while on the date, I think I mentioned my hatred of April 1st and threatened bodily harm, should he attempt any stupid jokes only by virtue of the calendar date.

And, aside from giving away the ending to two sci-fi series that I had yet to finish watching (I’m not still bitter, noooo, *ahem*), no pranks were involved and the evening went remarkably well (obviously, I mean, we’re married now… ).

I guess my point is that even crappy days and stupid traditions can be redeemed. If you hate a particular day of the year, it’s never too late to do something FANTASTIC on that day—even if everyone else thinks you’re a little weird for it—because then, from that year forward, it’ll be the anniversary of something happy instead of being a day of anger / disappointment / bitterness.

Yes, that applies to Valentine’s Day, Christmas, birthdays, and whatever other day you just might happen to hate.

Get out there, and make it your own! You never know what random happiness might be around the corner.

In the meantime, anyone have any good April Fool’s Day memories to share?