“Castellano’s sophomore effort, following Save What’s Left is funny in the way a best pal known for her great sense of humor is. Reliably witty, refreshlingly snarky, original yet comfortingly familiar, Maria’s acerbic punch lines are nonetheless often delivered with a soul-baring sigh. If Annie Papadopolous doesn’t want to be Maria’s BFF, plenty of readers will.” ⎯ Booklist (starred review)
"This highly recommended and delightful book will charm readers, much like Virginia Evans’s The Correspondent, and is likely to find a similarly enthusiastic audience.” --Library Journal (Starred)
"I loved this book, filled with deliciously nutty, bite-sized vignettes that go down so easy. Like Grace Paley, Elizabeth Castellano is a master of low-key humor refracted through an eye for the absurd. Her voice is cynical without turning hopeless, comedic but never straying into satire. Pure pleasure." ⎯ Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Wreck and Sandwich
"The superb Elizabeth Castellano has written a delicious, hilarious, and completely original (fictional) memoir by an actress who has to honor a book contract from 40 years ago. And it’s a doozy. The components of a complicated life⎯love, family, and history, unspool in surprise, delight, heartache, and pain. I didn’t want this novel to end." ⎯ Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The View from Lake Como
"Like some gorgeous literary hybrid of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel meets Hacks in the best possible way . . . This is a brilliant, poignant, hilarious, heartbreaking, delightful ride that should not be missed." ⎯ Jessica Soffer, bestselling author of This Is a Love Story and Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots
Praise for Save What's Left:
“Irreverent and unexpectedly tender, this story takes neighborhood feuding to new heights and finds beauty and reinvention in unlikely places. A wickedly funny debut.” - Oprah Daily
“I loved every page of Save What’s Left—this voice, this eye, this story, its originality and wit, its offbeat social satire, its loopy cynicism, and a whole town’s good intentions gone awry. Fighting city hall has never been so delicious. Brava, Elizabeth Castellano. I can’t wait for your next book.” - Elinor Lipman, author of Every Tom, Dick & Harry
“Save What’s Left is an absolute delight. It’s laugh out loud funny and full of heart. I loved it.” - J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of The Cliffs
“Castellano’s wickedly funny debut unfurls in miserable yet gleeful detail the soul-sucking nightmare of owning a house on the Long Island oceanfront. . . . Clearly, the key requirement for successful beach house ownership is a (possibly illegal) sense of humor. Bring it on!” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“When her marriage goes bust, Kathleen heads for Long Island, where the challenges of owning a beach house—okay, a converted oyster shack—fuel a series of unfortunate, yet absolutely hilarious, events.” - People
“With its wisecracking protagonist—Kathleen Deane, still reeling from her husband Tom’s declaration that he was unhappy with their Kansas life and marriage—Save What’s Left brings a tongue-in-cheek tone to the beach read genre.” - Time
