2007 book 121

Jonathan Tropper's How to Talk to a Widower
I'm not really sure how to describe the writing of this book, except to say that it's already been optioned for a movie (I liked it anyway). It's about a 29-year-old widower, his fucked-up teenage stepson, and the rest of his crazy family as he tries to come to terms with his wife's death. The characters are all really likable; I could have done without the protagonist's columns (the character is a magazine writer), which aren't as good as all the other characters say they are. Things do get overly dramatic and exciting at times--which is no doubt why this will be a movie, and reminded of chick lit at times (though maybe I just have chick lit on the brain). Still, when I finished it, I actually said, "I liked this book!" and decided to give it an A/A-.