The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
An adorable, completely original YA voice.
Lotus Lowenstein's life is merde. She dreams of moving to Paris and becoming an existentialist. Yet here she is trapped in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with a New-Agey mom, an out-of-work dad, and a chess champion brother who dreams of being a rock star. Merci à Dieu for Lotus’s best friend, Joni, who loves French culture enough to cofound their high school’s first French Club with Lotus. At the first meeting, the cutest boy in the world walks in. His name is Sean, and he too loves French culture and worships Jean-Paul Sartre.
At first, Lotus thinks Sean is the best thing to happen to her in years. He’s smart, cultured, and adorable. Unfortunately, though, Joni feels the same way. And having an existentialist view of love, Sean sees nothing wrong with enjoying both girls’ affections. Things come to a head when all three depart for Montreal with their teacher, Ms. G, on the French Club’s first official field trip. Will Sean choose Joni over Lotus? And will Lotus and Joni’s friendship ever recover?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fifteen-year-old Brooklynite Lotus Lowenstein is obsessed with all things French. She aligns herself with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir ("Like Simone, I will never marry and never have children. I will live a life of freedom, not one of oppression by some man"), swears by French Women Don't Get Fat, and calls herself an existentialist without really grasping what it means. She and her best friend form a French club, but trouble ensues when the only other club member a cute classmate drives a wedge between them by expressing romantic interest in both of them. After the girls discover the truth, they spend most of the club's trip to Montreal squabbling. Adult author Schmais's (The Essential Charlotte) YA debut is written in the form of Lotus's often whiny and superficial journal entries, placing this squarely in the realm of fluffy beach or perhaps cafe reading. With French words peppered throughout and frequent complaints about her parents' adversarial relationship and the general banality of life in bourgeois Park Slope, the novel feels more like a series of blog rants. Ages 12 up.
