The first thing to do with book is push aside on misgivings or qualms that this is your typical chic-lit because this is a book not to be missed; its honest and sincere but with an added bang! Susie is in a panic; she has been labelled a leftover after taking a ridiculous quiz in a popular women’s magazine and she’s not happy. It’s not her fault that she is single, in a job she hates, and in a flat where the ownership is shared between her and her brother, right? Do not let yourself be misled, because Susie has a plan. If she can only get the promotion that she has been yearning for she can pursue her dream job and start a career in food. Simple? Not quite; tumble through this story rich with laughs, embarrassments and food on the rollarcoaster that is Leftovers.

As soon as I read the first page I knew that this was a book for me; the warmth that Susie, the main character, gives off is impeccably believable and I was hooked. Anyone that reads my book reviews knows that if I cannot connect with a character it causes a rift in my enjoyment in the book and I was happy here that I immediately felt I knew the character and all her misgivings. Newman’s writing is not only warm and enveloping but also witty and sharp with anecdotes and hilarity. Susie is original and real in the way that she stumbles through life and she has a real sense of authenticity that is sometimes difficult to create.  Another definite positive to this book is the sense of friendship between the characters. The mockery between Susie and her best friend Rebecca was brilliant and added a sense of added affection and misgivings between friends: (look out for Subecca!) Whilst Dalia (another of Stella’s friends) hooked on a new relationship and abandoning her friends on many occasions hit so many relatable notes with me only allowing me to relate to Susie more!

Much of the book is taken up with Susie and her tiring job in advertising. Susie’s difficulty to get herself recognised in her difficult job advertising pizzas with an exasperating creative team and thorny and stubborn boss is well told my Newman and I found myself really rooting for her to be appreciated. The project is going down and Stella needs to hold on and bring everyone together to show she deserves the promotion! The solution to this is food; especially pasta! The book revolves heavily around Susie’s Italian roots and her love of pasta! Throughout the book we are tempted with the appetizing and delectable recipes that are dispersed throughout the book based on her Grandmother’s belief that there is a pasta dish for every occasion! Friendship, fights, sarcasm and add in the hints of Mr Ryan Gosling (I bet that got a few people more than interested) and you are in for a stunner of a book. Real, honest and not clichéd with a defiant ending; this was a book for me and I bet it will be a book for you too!