All of my writing started to be about people I’d barely met, who had, for some reason, given me their best bits. Sometime in high school, I’d read a quote from a famous author, about whether or not he actually knew what he was writing. He’d said that if you were really a writer, you should be able to walk past a bar full of sailors, and stand outside for a minute, absorbing their talk, their catcalls, their songs. Then, you were qualified to go home and write an entire novel set at sea. I agreed with him, but I was doing it one better. I wasn’t just walking past. I was getting to go inside all these other people’s lives and look around. I was insanely lucky. The more I left my apartment and wandered into someone else’s story, the more I thought that maybe I was making myself worthy of being loved. (162)

Maria is in her early 20s, she’s a university student and an aspiring play writer, and she’s living in New York City in a small apartment with two roommates and a Big White Cat. This is her memoir. Generally, I roll my eyes at 20-somethings who write a memoir, but I may actually forgive her in this case, because she has a theme. This memoir is very specific: it’s about dating.

Weary of the dating the same men over and over again, except in slightly differing versions, Maria decides to try something radical: for one year, she will say ‘yes’ to everyone who asks her out. And she did. She dated everyone from the building maintenance handy man to a vampire in a pink dress who may or may not be Marilyn Manson, subway operators to lesbians, geeks and dog walkers.

This book is about being in your 20s, making footloose and fancy-free a way of life and sampling the grand buffet that is ‘life.’ It’s a mixed bag. Parts of the book are very well-written and parts of it are appallingly written. There are funny parts and parts that try to be funny but fall flat. This is not a great book, but it is interesting.

I was lukewarm about it all the way up to the chapter about the date with a lesbian and then I sat up and took notice. For me, this was the limitus test: if Maria Headley could handle this particular topic with sensitivity and respect – and still be funny about it – I might be forced to give her props. In fact, the chapter was hilarious – sort of like hearing a tourist describe a city that’s new to them, but with which you’re intimately familiar. I can’t vouch for accuracy other parts of the book (other reviewers have pointed out inconsistencies), but this one felt ‘real’ from my experience.

The chapter on the mime, which the author has obvious expertise was very, VERY funny.

After a rocky start, the rest of the book flowed smoothly for me. By this point in the story, Maria starts to unravel what she’s learned from her experiences so the book become less about the dates and more about larger life lessons to be gleaned from the dates.

The ending is really cheesy – be warned. It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again: don’t read the author’s bio, because it will spoil the ending. Overall, the book is funny and quirky and entertaining and it’s a good, quick read.

I was excited about the premise of this book-a woman, unlucky in love, decides to say yes to every man who asks her on a date, hoping to find the man of her dreams amongst the dudes she would normally dismiss-until I figured out that she was only 21 when she did this experiment. Her bitterness and desperatness to find Mister Right rang a little false. I mean, come on girl, you are 21 and living in New York. First of all, 21 is pretty much the Year of Yes for everyone! We all are less guarded and more willing to take risks and date stupid crazy men. I think it would have been more interesting if she was 30, had been on the dating scene for awhile and had a lot more walls built up. Then I think the book would be more about how her own life and perceptions changed, rather than a laundry list of bad dates. Also, why was she so hell bent on finding a man at that age anyway? I had a hard time sympathizing; instead, I kind of wanted to shake her. But the book had funny moments too I guess.

The ending is yawningly predictable; don’t read the author bio at the end where it says who her husband is or you’ll figure it out right away.

This got good reviews, and I didn’t go out looking for it but when I saw it on the “new books” table at the public library, I picked it up along with five other books. Although it was an easy read I somehow didn’t like the writing. And this is the type of book whose worth is entirely based on the quality of the writing, as there’s not much of a plot. I finished it in one day, actually just a few hours ago, and not much is sticking with me except the nagging impression that (REVEALING DETAIL ALERT): there’s no way she could have learned that much sign language in less than one semester.

A good idea for a book, but the execution was not my cup of tea.

this book is hilarious – and actually is a fantastic idea! imagine accepting every single date that is asked of you? just think about all the possibilities – for all we know we’re passing up on someone who could be totally right for us because we make assumptions about folks before getting to know them. and this author did it all in nyc.



now that i’ve finally finished it – it was kind of a let down. the author does all of this dating while she’s still in school! huh? who gets jaded so early in life? the book started out funny, but just went downhill from there