Goes Well With: A buffet of your favorite potluck dishes
All her life, Liz Matthews has lived in the tiny town of Everett, Indiana—a place where everybody knows your name…and your life story. But that was never really a problem for Liz until now, just months after breaking off her engagement to her high school sweetheart. Tired of the disapproving stares, she promises herself that she’ll never date another townie.
During her lunch break one day, Liz stops by the town optician’s office to get her glasses fixed. She’s surprised to find that it’s under new ownership—and the part owner is David Sherwood, her secret high school crush. It’s been years since David moved to Florida with his parents, and seeing him again brings back a flood of old memories.
Once the two old friends reconnect, it feels just like they’re back in high school math class, laughing and joking like they always did. Though she still has feelings for David, she doubts that he feels the same. And, even if he did, it doesn’t really matter—because he’s just another townie.
Specs Appeal is a super-short and sweet little story, set in an idyllic little Midwestern town. If you’ve ever lived in a place like Breton’s Everett, Indiana, you’ll understand the town’s (and, consequently, the story’s) old-fashioned innocence—but city dwellers might find it a bit too simple. At times, in fact, it feels like it came right out of an episode of The Donna Reed Show.
The characters are naïve and even folksy—especially David, whose constant jokes and bad puns make him a goofball of a romantic lead. I love a bad pun as much as the next English geek—but David had me rolling my eyes and groaning as I read. Handsome or not, his jokes might very well make you think of Steve Urkel from the ‘90s sitcom Family Matters—that skinny, geeky kid with suspenders and glasses too big for his face.
Of course, if you have a thing for puny guys and small-town romance, Specs Appeal makes a decent read. Small-town girls will be able to relate to Liz’s life in a fishbowl—and her need for change. And although the style is a bit awkward at first, it eventually evens out in later pages.
If you do choose to spend your lunch break reading Specs Appeal, though, I recommend loading your lunch with salty foods and extra carbs. You’ll need it to balance out this sugary sweet story.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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