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"Nancy Harrison is running for Senate, and she's going to win, goddamnit. Not that that's her slogan, although it could be. She's said all the right things. Passed all the right legislation. Chapped her lips kissing babies. There's just one problem: her grown children. Greta and Nick Harrison are adrift. Nick is floundering in his attempts to write a musical about the life of Joan Didion (called Hello to All That!). And then there's his little sister Greta. Smart, pretty, and completely unmotivated, allowing her life to pass her by like the shoppers at the Apple store where she works. One morning the world wakes up not to Nancy making headlines, but her daughter, Greta. She's in Paris. With extremist protestors. Throwing a bottle of champagne through a beloved bistro's front window. In order to save her campaign, not to mention her daughter, Nancy and Nick must find Greta before it's too late. Smart, funny and tear-jerking, Let's Not Do That Again proves that, like democracy, family is a messy, fragile thing"-
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Grant Ginder is the author of several previous novels, including The People We Hate at the Wedding (which has been adapted into a major motion picture starring Allison Janney, Kristen Bell, and Ben Platt). Originally from Southern California, Ginder received his MFA from New York University, where he teaches writing.
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Nancy Harrison is a seemingly unstoppable force in U.S. politics, unrelenting in her push for progressive policies and for a New York senate seat. Though her main opponent in the senate race poses a challenge, the biggest threat to her career lies closer to home with her daughter, Greta. The politician's daughter has become an international scandal when a video showing her smashing in a Parisian restaurant's window with a champagne bottle is leaked to the media. In order to save her campaign, Nancy sends her son, Nick, to fetch his sister in Paris and find motive and meaning in her destructive behavior. Nick told himself he was done working for his mother in order to focus on his needs, but he realizes that Greta could be in trouble that far outweighs the consequences for their mother's campaign. Let's Not Do That Again is a fast-paced saga chock-full of scandal, political savvy, and romance, sure to be enjoyed by fans of Casey McQuiston's Red, White, & Royal Blue (2020) and other contemporary political fiction. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.
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In this timely comic novel set in New York and Paris, a political family deals with drama past and present. A new book from Ginder beckons the reader like a hot bath and glass of something, a reliable and relaxing pleasure. Here the point of departure is a riot in Paris during which a young American pitches a champagne bottle through the window of a famous restaurant, apparently at the behest of a French right-wing extremist. This is bad news for her mother, Nancy Harrison, who is running for the U.S. Senate from New York. Nancy has been representing her district in the House of Representatives for nearly 20 years, since her husband's death opened the seat, and her hard work, vision, and political instincts have led to this Senate race. Her competition is a Republican television actor "whose most impressive accomplishment was hiding his Botox"-still, beating him won't be easy, especially with these new headlines. Her son, Nick, who's just retired from the stress of working for his mom and is looking forward to getting off benzos and finding a boyfriend, is tapped to fly over and pry sister Greta away from the evil Frenchman. Ginder aces the small stuff: sparkling dialogue, hilarious supporting characters (Greta's roommates!), whimsically named establishments-a doggy day care is BowHaus; a retirement community, Boom Town; a favorite restaurant, Me, Myself, and Thai. Nick is writing a musical based on the work of...Joan Didion. And you know the old saying about a gun in the drawer in the first act? Well, here the gun is a state-of-the-art trash compactor. Keep your eye on that thing. He also aces the big stuff, characteristically insightful on sibling and parent-child relationships and politically on message. As Nancy puts it, "The only option is to fix things, because you're sure as hell not going to leave them for your children looking like this." Ooh la la. The Senate race may be tight, but this book is a shoo-in. Copyright Kirkus 2022 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
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