{"title":"Julia Claiborne Johnson","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"be-frank-with-me-a-novel","title":"Be Frank With Me: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAN AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION ADULT DEBUT HONOR BOOK\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWINNER OF THE AUDIE AWARD FOR BEST FEMALE NARRATOR\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eLOS ANGELES TIMES\u003c\/em\u003e BESTSELLER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA sparkling talent makes her fiction debut with this infectious novel that combines the charming pluck of \u003cem\u003eEloise\u003c\/em\u003e, the poignant psychological quirks of \u003cem\u003eThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time\u003c\/em\u003e and the page-turning spirit of \u003cem\u003eWhere’d You Go, Bernadette.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReclusive literary legend M. M. “Mimi” Banning has been holed up in her Bel Air mansion for years. But after falling prey to a Bernie Madoff-style ponzi scheme, she’s flat broke. Now Mimi must write a new book for the first time in decades, and to ensure the timely delivery of her manuscript, her New York publisher sends an assistant to monitor her progress. The prickly Mimi reluctantly complies—with a few stipulations: No Ivy-Leaguers or English majors. Must drive, cook, tidy. Computer whiz. Good with kids. Quiet, discreet, sane.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Alice Whitley arrives at the Banning mansion, she’s put to work right away—as a full-time companion to Frank, the writer’s eccentric nine-year-old, a boy with the wit of Noel Coward, the wardrobe of a 1930s movie star, and very little in common with his fellow fourth-graders.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs she slowly gets to know Frank, Alice becomes consumed with finding out who Frank’s father is, how his gorgeous “piano teacher and itinerant male role model” Xander fits into the Banning family equation—and whether Mimi will ever finish that book.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFull of heart and countless “only-in-Hollywood” moments, \u003cem\u003eBe Frank with Me\u003c\/em\u003e is a captivating and unconventional story of an unusual mother and son, and the intrepid young woman who finds herself irresistibly pulled into their unforgettable world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Julia Claiborne Johnson","offers":[{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":53153255194915,"sku":"9780062413727","price":15.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780062413727.jpg?v=1741158177"},{"product_id":"better-luck-next-time-a-novel","title":"Better Luck Next Time: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Doesn’t a romantic comedy set on a 1930s Nevada dude ranch teeming with about-to-be-divorced women owe a certain debt to the era’s big-screen classics? Then again, it’s hard to believe a cinematic version could be any more fun.” — \u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe dazzling second novel from the bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eBe Frank with Me\u003c\/em\u003e, a charming story of endings, new beginnings, and the complexities and complications of friendship and love, set in late 1930s Reno.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt’s 1938 and women seeking a quick, no-questions split from their husbands head to the “divorce capital of the world,” Reno, Nevada. There’s one catch: they have to wait six-weeks to become “residents.” Many of these wealthy, soon-to-be divorcees flock to the Flying Leap, a dude ranch that caters to their every need. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwenty-four-year-old Ward spent one year at Yale before his family lost everything in the Great Depression; now he’s earning an honest living as a ranch hand at the Flying Leap. Admired for his dashing good looks—“Cary Grant in cowboy boots”—Ward thinks he’s got the Flying Leap’s clients all figured out. But two new guests are about to upend everything he thinks he knows: Nina, a St Louis heiress and amateur pilot back for her third divorce, and Emily, whose bravest moment in life was leaving her cheating husband back in San Francisco and driving herself to Reno.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA novel about divorce, marriage, and everything that comes in between (money, class, ambition, and opportunity), \u003cem\u003eBetter Luck Next Time\u003c\/em\u003e is a hilarious yet poignant examination of the ways friendship can save us, love can destroy us, and the family we create can be stronger than the family we come from.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Julia Claiborne Johnson","offers":[{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":53156268769571,"sku":"9780062916389","price":13.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":53497101386019,"sku":"9780062916365","price":23.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780062916389.jpg?v=1741167547"}],"url":"https:\/\/epicreads.com\/collections\/julia-claiborne-johnson.oembed","provider":"Epic Reads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}