Would I Lie To You by Sheila Norton (2003)

Brit chick lit about a young woman who is cleaning houses in order to provide for her young daughter and herself. While cleaning one client's house that doesn’t need cleaning, she starts using his computer to write a tv script. But the real story here is with her friendships, her romancesm and her funny, lightly snarky interior monologues.

I Did (But I Wouldn't Now) by Cara Lockwood (2006)

Chick lit about a woman who married a musician (who turned into a rock star) and as she gets a divorce, hides out with her good friend in London. Let's see: Good, handsome, funny, smart, blah blah friend. Hmm. Predictable, but still fun thanks to the delightfully bitter heroine.

My Life: The Musical by Maryrose Wood (2008)

Emily Pearl is obsessed with a Broadway show and devoted to trying to find the mysterious author. Wood was a member of the original cast of Merrily We Roll Along, and vividly depicts theater life and Broadway fans.

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen by Dyan Sheldon (1999)

Drama queen Mary Elizabeth moves from Manhattan to New Jersey with her mother and two bratty sisters, renames herself Lola, and sets about shaking up her suburban high school. Lola is a hilarious character and the story, as told through her melodramatic perspective, is equally hilarious.  Terrible cover art, however.

Bras and Broomsticks by Sarah Mylnowski (2005)

Rachel is a normal Jewish girl growing up in New York City, who wants nothing more than to be popular, have a boyfriend, grow breasts and stop her father from marrying her evil Soon-To-Be-Stepmonster (STB for short). When she comes home one day to discover that her younger sister Miri is a witch, as is her mother, she begins to make all sorts of plans to make her dreams come true. Very cute YA chick lit.

The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman (2008)

Set in a post-apocalyptic, future society run by The Corporation, Honor is willing to get along by obeying the rules at her school, but her parents are rebellious and eventually disappear. Would provide good discussion for a teen book club.  I do love a good post-apocalypse story.

Girl's Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky (2006)

Very cute chick lit about a librarian who discovers a hidden store of witchcraft books in her basement and begins to explore her witchcraft skills.  Fun, dishy blend of fantasy and romance.

Absolutely, Positively Not by David LaRochelle (2005)

Funny and charming novel about a teenage boy coming to terms with his homosexuality. Yay for light and funny gay teen lit! Better than those scarring books where the poor gay kid is victimized, terrorized and humiliated (for example, Annie on My Mind - an acclaimed gay teen novel).  See also David Levithan's Boy Meets Boy for fun gay YA lit.

Rhymes with Witches by Lauren Myracle (2005)

Our heroine gets tapped to join the group of the most popular girls in school, known as the Bitches. However, she finds out that popularity is not all it's cracked up to be, and that popularity has a price. All pretty clichéd, but interesting characterizations and a supernatural element keeps this fresh and fun.

Elinor Lipman - Adored Author

Elinor Lipman writes witty novels filled with vivid, memorable characters. Often my favorite is whatever novel she's most recently published.  Some of my favorites are: Ladies’ Man - A tale of three sisters, all spinsters and living together in Boston; Isabel’s Bed – A writer takes a ghost writing position for scandal queen; and When She Found Me - A shy teacher is sought out by her gregarious birth mother.  My Latest Grievance feels like a revisiting of some themes from her first novel: Then She Found Me. Namely, girl raised by conservative, quiet parents runs into a mother figure who is outrageous (in a Lipman way) and shakes up her life. And I'll always love The Inn at Lake Devine about a young girl who witnesses anti-Semitism from the Inn of the title who grows up and finds her life inextricably linked with that of the owners. Funny, romantic, meaningful.  Plus, I love the inside look at the great Jewish resorts of the Catskills.