Tag Archives: Dina Silver

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Kat Fight

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Headed to the beach and need a quick, fun read?

Grab Kat Fight.

Author Dina Silver is making headway in the chick lit genre with her second novel, a follow-up to “One Pink Line.” Silver’s protagonist, Kat, is a young twenty-something navigating a frustrating relationship while living single-style in Chicago and working at an ad agency. Though not auto-biographical, Silver draws from her personal experiences to craft this fun read. (Had she gone in a different direction, the girl could be Mrs. Skin, after all — hilarious!)

It’s got many of the elements we’ve come to expect in a beach book—gay best friend, meddling-but-loving sister, intense best friend (and subsequent participant in the also expected love triangle), bitchy-but-not-really-a-bitch boss, and jackhole ex-boyfriend who only realizes how awesome you are when you finally are ready to move on with someone else.

Why I liked it: Like “Calico Joe,” it was a book I could take a long afternoon with and just enjoy—not too heavy on the brain, easily accessible characters and finishable in a day. If I were to nit-pick, I felt like I kept waiting on some resolution to Megan’s issues with either being a mommy or being married to someone a bit hapless in the father department. But really, when it comes to character development, one character out of a dozen isn’t bad, and does provide just the fodder necessary for book club discussion. “Is Megan being too demanding? Is she jealous of Kat? Maybe Miles isn’t Henry’s and and he knows it!” (Just kidding, that last thought is the question that gets asked after the third glass of wine.)

Silver’s books are easy to relate to because they come from real life. Maybe not straight from real life, but enough so that you can feel a bit of “been there, done that” while reading. Here’s hoping she has a few more stories to share!

Kat Fight
Dina Silver

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One Pink Line

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Well, here’s your beach book.

One Pink Line was the perfect palate cleanser after the harrowing Running the Rift. It’s the story of love gone …wrong? No. Stupid? Maybe. Sydney Shepard is a recent high school graduate who meets the love her life the summer prior to leaving for college. Ethan Reynolds is that love, and the two commit to remaining in love, though free to enjoy their college experiences at separate schools. One drunken night 4 years later, Sydney becomes the cautionary tale for any young single girl attending a frat party — and a mommy 9 months later.

As the reader, I will say this—the story’s not entirely complex, and not too difficult to figure out. I would have appreciated a deeper look into why exactly Sydney and her mother don’t mesh, why Ethan is the one ready to commit, how Grace comes to terms–if she really does–with her parentage (the book jumps entire years at at a time) and really, more about the relationship between Ethan and Sydney. BUT–with all that, I still couldn’t put the book down. I was engaged from start to finish, which makes it great for the beach, the plane, a long car ride. It’s definitely enjoyable, you you will root for Sydney, as problematic as her situation is.

An interesting note—living and working in the same area the book is set, I’ve heard stories of cocaine use, such as that mentioned by the author, with kids as young as sophomores in high school. So while reading this book, should you be tempted to scoff at the notion of drug use at such a young age, believe you me, it’s all too real. And way scary. Maybe more so than a college pregnancy.

One Pink Line
Dina Silver