Mad Girls in Love

by Michael Lee West

Michael Lee West's indomitable G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised in the South) are back -- enduring rough times with all the grace and outrageous flair expected of true Southern heroines.

Bitsy Wentworth -- fleeing yet another relationship nightmare in a “borrowed” red Corvette, with her baby daughter and a recently acquired “demon child” -- has an APB out on her for attempted murder (she broke her ex-husband's nose with a frozen slab of ribs that she purchased at the Piggly Wiggly). Her mama, Dorothy, is writing letters to First Ladies from inside the Central State Asylum, while Aunt Clancy Jane has completed her inevitable progression from hippie to local Crazy Cat Lady. Three generations of unforgettable Crystal Falls, Tennessee, women -- and the men they attract, enrage, and confound -- are courageously plowing through tumultuous lives of compound disaster . . . and hoping the chaos the next wrong step leads to won't be insurmountable.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Southern, Contemporary, Romance, Adult, Novels

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Michael Lee West grew up on the Gulf Coast with a wild tribe of Southern cooks. She lives on a farm near Nashville with her family. Michael is the author of Crazy Ladies, Mad Girls in Love, She Flew the Coop, American Pie, Mad Girls in Love, Mermaids in the Basement, Consuming Passions, and Gone With a Handsomer Man. Her new novel, A Teeny Bit of Trouble, is the second installment in the Teeny Templeton series and will be published on April 10, 2012.

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book to read. It draws you in with just the first chapter. It is very entertaining and crazy. You never know what could happen. A nice escape from your life into one that is much more dysfunctional. I would recommend this book to anyone who remembers what it is like to be young, occasionally crazy and in love. The same author also wrote "Crazy Ladies" which is equally a fun book to read, however, I thought that "Mad Girls in Love" is better. In a way, Crazy Ladies is suppose to come before "Mad Girls in Love" but it isn't necessary to read it first (I didn't, I read it second, not knowing). All in all, both are fun reads.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious! This book is fun and enjoyable, in part because of the crazy, yet very "human" and likeable nature of the characters.

When Bitsy breaks her husband’s nose and knocks him unconscious with a frozen rack of ribs, she flees with her daughter from her unhappy marriage and tries to keep her daughter away from her calculating, unfriendly in-laws. This story hilariously narrates decades of Bitsy’s and her family’s lives in the South, including Bitsy’s mother Dorothy who regularly corresponds with all the First Ladies in the White House, offering advice, recipes, and sometimes criticism. Mother-daughter relationships, marriage, etc.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. I really loved every chapter. It is completely entertaining. Fast moving and laugh out loud funny!!! Full of quick witted scarcastic humor -- which I love. Very touching with the closeness of a crazy family with all it's extreme issues of ups and downs of love, heartbreaks, sisterhood, and motherhood. Great read.

For the local ladies on my list: I have it if you want to borrow it before I put it on paperbackswap.com

[Joan Eisenstodt]

And I just want more of her work - more and more. These are rich with characters and dialog. Each and every one of hers that I've read so far.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a wonderful follow-up to Crazy Ladies. It allowed me to find out what happened to characters that I'd grown to love.

[Brandie]

I wasn't thrilled with this book.
I picked it up at the library, the little library in town where I live, where they have a small collection of audio books on CD, as opposed to the city library which has tons.
This was one of the few audio books the town library had in stock, and so I took a chance. I'm still trying to decide if the book was worth the five or so hours it took to listen to.
Mainly, I felt depressed when I finished it. I don't want to ruin it for people who might actually venture to read it, but I just felt really depressed when it was all over - finally. all. over.
The book is about several generations of women, mothers, daughters, granddaughters and in-laws who all have their squabbles with one another. Mothers, daughters, etc. squabbling with eachother isn't exactly original (and for those flighty types who enjoy going to happy ending movies just to escape reality, this part of the book might be too close to reality to be enjoyable.) Really, the squabbling wasn't what got me. It was all the cheating men in the women's lives who they get mixed up that makes their stories annoying and almost unbearable.
I would say this is close to the type of book most people would consider good beach reading, because it's super fiction-ish (at least I hope it's all fiction - if any of it is based on truth, I can only imagine the therapy the people involved went through)and very girlish, drama-ish too.
Some parts of the book were witty, and there were a few brief moments where the verses were actually clever, but even these moments aren't really appealing because I was so caught off guard that the otherwise unintelligent banter of the characters took an intellectual turn for the better that I was scratching my head - having a "what-the?" moment as opposed to an "ah-ha" moment.
Take a gander at the book yourself and let me know what you think. Maybe I missed the bigger picture, but I don't think this book is one I want to revisit any time soon.

[Tracie Benites · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just a great girlie'girl book. I really liked it. I cried when it was over because I got to know the characters so well and I was sad that it ended.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love, loved it!!!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I FREAKING LOVEEE THIS BOOK<33333
Seriously. READ. IT. Not kidding. It's kind of REALLY hilarious, and completely entertaining. You won't regret it!!

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bitsy had been in love with Claude Wentworth IV since first grade. While the match seemed unlikely, (the Wentoworths are prominent, wealth people in Crystal falls, TN and Bitsy's family is, to say it politely, not prominent or wealthy), the couple married and Bitsy had her baby daughter at the age of 18. When the story begins, Bitsy and Claude had just renewed their wedding vows, but it has come to Bitsy's attention that Claude is not exactly truthful or faithful. A show-down takes place, Bitsy grabs a slab of frozen baby-back ribs in self-defense and promptly places an emergency call when her husband goes down for the count. He is either dead or his nose is broken, but Bitsy wastes no time grabbing her 8 month old daughter and fleeing the scene.

For a month Bitsy is on the lam, doing the best she can to stay ahead of the law, but it comes to an end when the police stop her to tell her that her baby in the baby carrier is on top of the car she is driving while trying to escape a woman on the loose with a gun who mistakenly think Bitsy is fooling around with her man. Bitsy ends up being charged with kidnapping, forgery, fraud, grand theft auto, and reckless endangerment of a child.

Because of the Wentworth's influence back in Crystal Falls, the court is not interested in her side of the story. Instead, Bitsy has no choice but to give up rights to her darling baby daughter whom she loves with all her heart.

Sound like a fun story? I thought this was going to be a laugh-a-minute, implausible story, all fluff and light. I mean, once you meet the other characters, you can't help but think that. Bitsy's father committed Bitsy's mother to a psychiatric asylum for attempting to jump off a store roof and while she does get released at some point, she keeps her habit of writing the First Ladies of the current era to give and ask advice and to plead Bitsy's case.

Then there is Bitsy's brother, the favored child. Mack is a Vietnam Veteran, an amputee with a liking for alcohol, weed, and sexy women.

Clancy Jane is Bitsy's aunt. Clancy Jane was the favored child as well and Bitsy's mother has, let's say, issues with her sister. Clancy Jane is "finding" herself through various stages of her life.

At some point, this book became more than the hilarious romp I thought it would be. It turned into a very poignant and wistful story about love and relationships and family. The reader watches Bitsy go from a young, naïve, 18 year old to a mature and sophisticated woman of 40. She takes each curve that life throws her and somehow survives, still loving those who mean so much to her; but knowing when to walk away or at the very least, back off until her love can be recognized as real and pure and worthy of being returned.

I laughed at the antics of the bigger than life characters and I nearly cried at the revelations that were slowly revealed in this story. I loved all the characters, well, I really didn't like some of the characters (the Wentworths were simply awful and Jennifer was obnoxious!), but I loved the way all the characters came to life, drew me into the story, and made me take a side either for or against them.

The ending of the story was perfect and was well worth waiting for. This was not a typical "southern belle story" designed to bring laughter. Look deep into this one. There is a beautiful message here.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Michael Lee West's writing. Love, LOVE it. These women are a train wreck...but you love them, all the same. I took this book with me, everywhere, because I couldn't wait to see what Bitsy, Violet, Clancy Jane, and dear Dorothy would do next. The characters have their faults, are fully aware of their faults (mostly), and deal with their faults, and their family members' faults with grace (mostly) and humor (mostly). Nothing is tied up in neat little packages, but the novel ends on a wonderful note of "life goes on." I love the setting and the Southern characters...quirky, as they often are in novels, but classy, in their own way, and loveable. I can't wait to go back and read Crazy Ladies, so I can know more about Dorothy and Clancy Jane.

I fully intend to read everything this author writes. :)

[Eowyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

both books are hysterical...i live for crazy women.

[Catie Zarski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Book. Thanks Kylie

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!!! This book was so....funny that @ times I would laugh out loud.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great follow-up to Crazy Ladies. This time the focus is around Bitsy, but Clancy Jane, Dorothy and Violet's lives are included. If you need a book to take your mind off your troubles and laugh a little, this is a great book to read. These women's ups and downs make for a great story.

[Jonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Lee West has the incredible ability to turn everything she writes into gold. This book was just a wild ride and so much fun to read. Part sad, part hysterically funny, and always interesting. Really a must - read!

[Carolyn (in SC) C234D · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a selection for our book group that I just couldn't get into. Obviously other people thought it was a riot, but it wasn't for me, and I didn't finish it.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book because it seemed like an easy escape. I was quite ill, couldn’t do much and kind of trapped by an uncooperative body. So why not read about a big family of women with what seemed like easy problems. By golly, none of their problems were easy! They were attracted to the worst kind of men and they made some choices that were amazingly dumb but it all worked out. At times I identified with almost every one of these women except Dorothy but there were times her character actually made me laugh out loud. Those letters and tapes to the president’s wives were simply great! Bitsy is the one character that I was happiest for, at times, but also the one whose life seemed way too dramatic. Why not though? She deserved a great life and she worked her way into the life style she needed for happiness. We all deserve happiness. Great book!

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read all the Amazon and Goodreads reviews and I was bemused at how many four and five star reviews there were. The author tries hard to imitate Mary Kay Andrews and Rebecca Wells in her depiction of wacky Southern women, but she falls flat too often. Her writing of the spoiled daughter Jennifer was especially annoying; I wondered more than once why nobody gave that girl the good spanking she deserved. And the ending.....terrible. If this was meant to be a long-delayed reconciliation with Jennifer and her mother it fell completely flat for me. The only saving grace was that the "ditsy Bitsy" developed into an independent businesswoman, and her cousin Violet was interesting and had a voice of her own.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I borrowed a copy of the audiobook from the library and purchased the ebook because sometimes I like to read along. I'm not sure what happened - the ebook said it was 813 pages long but the audiobook version, I think is like 544 pages or something. HUGE amounts of the written book were missing from the audiobook. Entire chapters, extensive dialogue, and the whole correspondence between Dorothy and the first ladies. I'm not sure if I would have liked this more if I just listened to it or just read it, but I was just so focused on what was missing that it really took me out of the story.

[Sabrina Wareham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was for me. There’s something I find ever comforting about chick-lit novels set in the South. They’re heartwarming and funny, but with a touch of sass. This book was no exception and provided a great escape from every day life. I will definitely be purchasing other books by this author.

Mild spoilers ahead.

This book spans over twenty years, from when our protagonist Bitsy’s daughter Jennifer is a baby, to her wedding day. The story sets up a cast of characters, from the aforementioned to Bitsy’s mother Dorothy, who spent the first half of the book in a mental hospital, and her Aunt Clancy and cousin Violet. It interwove their stories together with the message that we are all more alike than we think, and no matter how hard we try to run, family is still family.

Things started off with a bang, Dorothy’s letter setting the tone for the book. Once we got into Bitsy telling her side of the story, I knew I was going to love her. She was such a spitfire who got the short end of the stick because her husband was rich. After an adventure for the ages, she ends up back in her hometown and without the custody of her daughter. She starts working at Aunt Clancy’s restaurant, marries a good for nothing dentist, and then finds another good for nothing guy before finding herself and what makes her happy.

Meanwhile, her mom is sprung from the mental hospital and out to prove she’s not crazy, while she continues to write letters to all the first ladies. They’re not always nice letters, either. Some of them are downright insulting, but she’s cheery about it, so there’s that. Aunt Clancy goes through trials and tribulations with her romantic life, while her daughter Violet goes from a loose canon to a respected psychologist. There is so much growth and change in this book, but the biggest is Jennifer herself, who grows up rich and spoiled only to, in the very end, discover she and her mother are one in the same.

This review would be several pages if I tried to break down each part of the book, so I’ll simply say that if you’re looking for a book that focuses on character growth over the years and crazy, unconventional families, this book is for you. The only disappointing thing is that the story should have been given two books. We pass through several years that are told to us in nothing but sporadic letters written back and forth through the family. I would have read a whole other book on all of Bitsy’s years in London.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was okay. Sometimes funny, now and then touching.
I guess one should read the first book first.. didn’t realize this was a sequel. Since Dorothy’s asylum stay was constantly referred to, a couple paragraphs about the origin would have been nice.
Bitsy’s character changed enough to seem nondescript.

[Reading With My Cats · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love southern fiction and this was a really nice read but I definitely found myself skimming a bit towards the end. I loved all the super descriptive paragraphs especially with sooo many characters to keep up with but at the same time it began to feel a bit long winded. I enjoyed the book but at the same time I was ready for it to end.

[Mindy Tysinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second book by Ms. West and I think I liked it better than the first. And I thought that one was really good. The characters are all very charming if a bit eccentric which makes the book really enjoyable.

[Caroline Abbott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wish I hadn't spent the time to read 528 pages. I kept hoping for some redemption for the story of a young woman who is punished for fighting against domestic violence. It didn't come until the last page. : (

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was a fun front porch read!

[Keri Murcray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this second book better than the first, but of course you need to read the first to know these characters. I enjoyed the multiple narrators and loved seeing their stories continued.

[JT · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book but unnecessarily long.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well! That was one crazy book.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine book by Michael lee west