The Book
The Author:
Lauren Graham
What It’s About:
When Franny Banks moved out to New York City, she gave herself a three year deadline to make it as an actress. However, two and a half years go by, and all Franny has to show for herself is a single line in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters. She was making ends meet by waitressing, while living with her college best friend, as well as Dan, an aspiring sci-fi writer.
Getting nothing but auditions for commercials, Franny is ecstatic when a couple of agents call to sign her. She starts auditioning for actual film and TV roles, but is competing with Penelope, who seems to be a favorite amongst casting agents. Things start to get more muddled when Franny develops feelings for both Dan and a flirty guy from her class. With her deadline quickly approaching, Franny pushes to fulfill her dreams, not wanting to give up and accept failure.
Thoughts:
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. On the one hand, I was excited because I’m a fan of Lauren’s from Gilmore Girls. And on the other hand, most actors who attempt to write really can’t. So, I was on the fence when I began.
I’ll be honest — a good portion of the book was, more or less, boring.
It wasn’t necessarily the writing because Lauren does a great job in narrating. Franny is super likable as a female protagonist and the other characters represent people we all know in real life. Though, not all of us are aspiring actors, we see pieces of of ourselves in Franny and her life. However, the main problem that I had with the book was the lack of action. The beginning dragged out, making you question where the story was headed. It felt like it really took off about halfway through, and then the resolve seemed to be pretty quick. I was left wanting more information about where Franny ended up in her life, but by then the book was done.
Despite that, I’d still recommend the book because it is light, and it is honest. Franny is every twenty something in a nutshell — going after her dreams, but barely making ends meet. It’s a hard knock life, and Lauren does a great job in portraying how twenty somethings struggle when they’re just starting out. It’s said that Lauren wrote it based on her life back in the ‘90s when she was starting out with acting in New York, which is interesting to know.
FTS Rating:
6.5/10
Lauren Graham is an American actress, producer, and debut novelist best known for playing Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls and Sarah Braverman on Parenthood. Graham signed a deal with Warner Bros. Television and Ellen DeGeneres’ production company A Very Good Production to adapt it into a TV series. The script will be written by her.
