It's summer - time to take a breather, enjoy the weather, check out the hotties at the beach and enjoy some fun books. For the next couple of weeks, Lit Chick is going to focus on some great summer reads. The first of these is Zoey Dean's (of The A-List Series fame) new novel for adults, How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls (Warner Books, July 2007).

Our heroine, Yale graduate and wanna-be-journalist Meghan Smith, slaves away at a tabloid magazine dreaming of grander pastures. After a terrible day at the office, Meghan finds herself being fired at the same time her boss (think Anna Wintour meets Bonnie Fuller) offers her a new job opportunity - as the tutor of the Baker heiresses of Palm Beach, Florida. Without any other job prospects on the horizon, Meghan leaves the city and her boyfriend, James, for the grandeur that is Les Anges, an estate owned by Laurel Limoges, grandmother to Sage and Rose Baker. Laurel, unhappy with the way her granddaughters have turned out, wants Meghan to help them graduate from prep school, pass the SATs and get into college; if Meghan succeeds, Laurel will pay her a sum large enough to cover all her debts.From the beginning, Meghan is a fish out of water and perfect fodder for the cruelty of the twins. With the help of some fairy godmothers, Meghan soon discovers that the only way she'll survive and succeed is by becoming just like her pupils - knowledgeable about Dior and fluent in the ways of the rich. Along the way Meghan learns more from her students than she ever imagined, discovers the man of her dreams and finds the career she always wanted (don't worry I am not giving anything away here).Dean manages to deliver a story that is both contemporary and moral - don't judge a book by its cover for you're sure to be fooled every time. Although the journey that Meghan makes in the book is unique, the tale is not. Each one of us have been challenged, each one of us have had a dream that seems difficult to obtain, each one of us have made rash judgments that prove to be misplaced. This is ultimately a story about transformation. This is a book that is shear, unadulterated fun!

Welsh Fest!!

Get prepared for our upcoming Welsh Book Fest Online...check out some of these amazing books by Welsh poets:The Blue Book - Owen Sheers (Seren Books)Skirrid Hill - Owen Sheers (Seren Books)Arab York - Landeg White (Parthian Books/DuFour Editions)Imperium - Hilary Davies (Enitharmon/DuFour Editions)Misappropriations - Jasmine Donahaye (Parthian/DuFour Editions)These are some of the authors we will be discussing come September.Books are the bomb!

Also check out The Ex Files: Women, Litigation and Liberty (Adams Media, 2006) available at amazon.com (exfilesbook.com)