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239th out of 306 books
—
218 voters
Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys
by
Eric Garcia
Cassandra French is a twenty-nine-year-old business affairs lawyer for a movie studio in Los Angeles. She has a creepy, platitudinous mother who is under house arrest for telemarketing fraud; and two best friends: studio exec Claire, who's sleeping with her shrink, and Lexi, a blond man-magnet of a yoga instructor. Oh, and she also has three handsome young men chained to c...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
June 28th 2005
by William Morrow & Company
(first published June 1st 2004)
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The book itself isn't exactly great literature, but the concept is hilarious. Cassandra French is your typical "chick-lit" heroine: she has a high-powered job working in the media, a dickish boss, and a clingy, annoying mother. But Cassandra is unlike Bridget Jones and Becky Bloomwood in that she also has three men chained in her basement who have been forcibly "enrolled" in her de facto finishing school. Yes, Cassandra keeps a container of chloroform in the trunk of her car and whenever she goe...more
This book was enough to give me ideas about locking Eric Garcia in my basement and chaining him to a word processor so he’ll write more books. A writer with his immense talent should surely have written more than five by now. I’m a huge fan of his Rex series, and I absolutely loved this book. Not too many men can write a female character this well, that alone earning him some respect. But the story was great, too.
Cassandra French is a lawyer in business affairs at a studio. Her best friend Clair...more
Cassandra French is a lawyer in business affairs at a studio. Her best friend Clair...more
From the start all I kept thinking was "WTF?!?!", lol. While reading I also kept thinking how similar this is to "Dexter", minus the killing but adding the character of Cassandra French being a complete sociopath.
The premise of this book is the title character, Cassandra French (I don't think I could have come up with a better S&M mistress name) being fed up with men treat women (mostly herself) like dirt and sets about training men (or boys as she refers to them in the school) to be better...more
The premise of this book is the title character, Cassandra French (I don't think I could have come up with a better S&M mistress name) being fed up with men treat women (mostly herself) like dirt and sets about training men (or boys as she refers to them in the school) to be better...more
Laugh out loud funny! The fact that this man created this woman and did so with such a wit is fantastic. Of course it makes you think about his past dating life a little bit, what has he experienced to create these boys and the need to fix them. I hope he's working on a sequel.
Definitely not literature, but not chick-lit either (from the cover I assumed it was chick lit when I bought it at a sale for less than $5 and thought, What the heck, light reading!).
Surprised to find that the author is actually a man - he seems to understand the frustrations of the single woman too well! This book has a very funny premise: Cassandra, your typical alpha-type successful, beautiful woman but unlucky in love, gets frustrated with the dearth of 'quality' men in her dating scene. So...more
Surprised to find that the author is actually a man - he seems to understand the frustrations of the single woman too well! This book has a very funny premise: Cassandra, your typical alpha-type successful, beautiful woman but unlucky in love, gets frustrated with the dearth of 'quality' men in her dating scene. So...more
When I was given this book as a gift, I thought "Oh my God, there is nothing like picking up the cheapest book in the discount rack and assuming 'the reader' will be happy to see it. Nice. This person doesn't know me at all."
She does, however, know me. Despite my concerns (with the cover and the synopsis), I loved this book. It was amazingly funny and I found myself genuinely connecting to the main character who I had labeled as "completely crazy" before I even started reading it.
I will read th...more
She does, however, know me. Despite my concerns (with the cover and the synopsis), I loved this book. It was amazingly funny and I found myself genuinely connecting to the main character who I had labeled as "completely crazy" before I even started reading it.
I will read th...more
3.0 out of 5 stars Had some bad experiences on dates lately? Take a tip....., August 25, 2008
This review is from: Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys: A Novel (Paperback)
I rated this 3.5 stars
This book was light and amusing and I enjoyed it - pretty far fetched and totally unrealistic so you can safely say it is total escapist chick lit with a twist. This is what happens when a smart woman gets a bad idea to take care of the conditions she faces when dating in our world today. It's all...more
This review is from: Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys: A Novel (Paperback)
I rated this 3.5 stars
This book was light and amusing and I enjoyed it - pretty far fetched and totally unrealistic so you can safely say it is total escapist chick lit with a twist. This is what happens when a smart woman gets a bad idea to take care of the conditions she faces when dating in our world today. It's all...more
My friend made me read this book since she wanted someone else to suffer and have someone to discuss the absolute whacked stuff that happens in this book. I will admit that the book is well written, but I did not like any characters in the book and was completely unsatisfied with the ending. Cassandra French isn't an anti-chick heroine but a freaking nut case who deserves to be put away for life. She hears her freaking dead dad in her head and doesn't think it's weird at all. Come on! Cassandra...more
Quite funny premise - they should make a movie! I enjoyed it til the end with laughs throughout.
This was a fun book, a little crazy with lots of offbeat humor.
Another book I read for my stint at the used bookstore. Chick-lit is also not one of my preferred literary niches, but this story? I liked it enough that I read it twice.
It wasn't at all what I thought I was getting myself in for. This is a strangely comical story about a psychotic woman who kidnaps and brainwashes men. It's funny and a bit disturbing and obviously written by a man. And I thank him for so openly professing that sometimes girls can go a little overboard in their want to make men...more
It wasn't at all what I thought I was getting myself in for. This is a strangely comical story about a psychotic woman who kidnaps and brainwashes men. It's funny and a bit disturbing and obviously written by a man. And I thank him for so openly professing that sometimes girls can go a little overboard in their want to make men...more
Jul 18, 2012
Katy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
folks who enjoy a twisted story and a good laugh
Please note: This review written and posted 9/11/07 on Amazon; this is my review and I am able to cross-post it as I choose.
My Synopsis: Cassandra French - Cassie Bear to her mother - works as a counsel in business affairs in a movie studio in LA. Her best friends - Claire and Lexi - often go with her out on the town where they try to find the perfect boy for the evening. Oh, and by the way, Cassie has three young men chained up in her basement while she puts them through her Finishing School to...more
My Synopsis: Cassandra French - Cassie Bear to her mother - works as a counsel in business affairs in a movie studio in LA. Her best friends - Claire and Lexi - often go with her out on the town where they try to find the perfect boy for the evening. Oh, and by the way, Cassie has three young men chained up in her basement while she puts them through her Finishing School to...more
Technically I didn't finish reading this one. The characters where unlikable, the series of events far fetched and without consequence for horrible actions. I just now realized a man wrote this... no wonder I found the female narrator so unrealistic.
I read this book for the first time when it first came out - back in 2004. I have to admit that re-reading it was not as much as fun as I remembered it being the first time around. I think largely it is because I knew what to expect - when I read it the first time, Cassandra’s actions were so shocking that it really added to the overall fun of the book.
Still, even as I recalled the plot’s twists and turns, I still did enjoy reading the book. It definitely has a cinematic quality to it that would...more
Still, even as I recalled the plot’s twists and turns, I still did enjoy reading the book. It definitely has a cinematic quality to it that would...more
This was spectacularly awful - the best comparison I can make is if one of Sophie Kinsella's heroines (y'know, the Shopaholic series author) snapped and decided to start chaining people in her basement.
With lots of chat about lunches and 'do these boots make my ass look fat?'
With lots of chat about lunches and 'do these boots make my ass look fat?'
My penance... Or I guess punishment...
Mitch says, "If you're gonna go psycho over Opal, might as well take it to its logical conclusion."
Mitch says, "If you're gonna go psycho over Opal, might as well take it to its logical conclusion."
3 likes · like · see review
Cassie decides to take matters into her own hands and create the perfect man. In her basement. What can go wrong? Fairly humourous!
I read this one because of the title. Sometimes that's what grabs you, or maybe the cover can do that. Although I found myself laughing or chuckling at some line, in general I didn't like the characters and found the premise of the story unbeleivable. Keeping guys in your basement, in chains, for a year or more and nobody knows? They don't try to escape? And for the reasons she did it? You do read about things like that (the chaining, and locking away) in newspapers sometimes. But this was too u...more
Shirley recommends this very highly. I'm just glad we don't have a basement...Jim
Hilarious! : ) Wickedly funny. Twisted. VERY entertaining.
If you like dark humor, then you will absolutely LOVE this book!
May 10, 2011
Desiree Langley
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Belinda Brass
Recommended to Desiree by:
Zivana Anderson
The funniest book I've ever read for a long long time.
Absolutely hilarious take on the male/female fight.
I regret buying this book. It wasn't worth my $1.99.
My book club loved this one
Eh, it was alright. I mean subversive yes, but still sorta chick lit-ish. It was recommended to me by a guy at the Christopher Moore book signing as "oh so wicked." yeah. not so much.
But over all not a bad read, and funny enough.
I rate it a Meh+
But over all not a bad read, and funny enough.
I rate it a Meh+
Funny
thanks Jen, it got me laughing a few times!
CASsANDRA FRENCH'S FINISHING SCHOOL FOR BOYS by Eric Garcia
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Fiction/2004/295 pgs
TIME/PLACE: Early 2000's, Los Angeles, CA
CHARACTErS: Cassandra French/lawyer in the film industry
COMMENTS: Very amusing book. Cassandra is tired of all the bad dates & decides to kidnap one to train/mold into a man she deems datable & ideal.
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Fiction/2004/295 pgs
TIME/PLACE: Early 2000's, Los Angeles, CA
CHARACTErS: Cassandra French/lawyer in the film industry
COMMENTS: Very amusing book. Cassandra is tired of all the bad dates & decides to kidnap one to train/mold into a man she deems datable & ideal.
This was hilarious- a woman really takes control of men. Enough said. If you want to laugh about how men and women interact, try it.
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Eric Garcia grew up in Miami, Florida, and attended Cornell University and the University of Southern California, where he majored in creative writing and film. He lives outside Los Angeles with his wife, daughter, and dachshund. He is also developing a series for the Sci Fi channel based on the Rex novels.
More about Eric Garcia...
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“That tried and true aphorism:
Each day is precious. Each day is a gift. If we don't open the wrapping carefully, we might break it and have to return it to the store. And then they're going to ask for a receipt and throw a total shit fit if we've left it at home, and we'll have to call the manager over and give him a good talking-to, and of course eventually he'll relent and tell the clerk to give us full credit, but by then we'll be so upset that we've wasted an hour of our time that we'll end up with a migraine and having to spend the rest of the day in bed, completely defeating the whole idea that each day is supposed to be precious and so forth. ”
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More quotes…
Each day is precious. Each day is a gift. If we don't open the wrapping carefully, we might break it and have to return it to the store. And then they're going to ask for a receipt and throw a total shit fit if we've left it at home, and we'll have to call the manager over and give him a good talking-to, and of course eventually he'll relent and tell the clerk to give us full credit, but by then we'll be so upset that we've wasted an hour of our time that we'll end up with a migraine and having to spend the rest of the day in bed, completely defeating the whole idea that each day is supposed to be precious and so forth. ”
Jul 18, 2012 11:09am