Forks, Knives and Spoons by Leah DeCesare

Today's interview on the GSMC Book Review Podcast came about thanks to social media.  Leah DeCesare is one of the 17 Scribes authors and we follow each other on Twitter and Instagram.  I kept seeing her posts and thinking she was hilarious.  I also kept seeing her book, Forks, Knives and Spoons, and thinking I should invite her to be a guest on the podcast.  Then one day it happened.  She posted that she had just shown the move When Harry Met Sally... to her daughter for the first time.  I love that movie, have loved it for years, and quote it all the time.  I posted a quote in reply to the tweet, Leah answered, and the rest is history.  I contacted her about the podcast, she said yes, and here we are.

Now, I *could* just spend this post writing quotes from the movie but as much as Leah may or may not appreciate that, I think I'll talk about the book because it is just as enjoyable with as many quotable quotes.

Source

There are three kinds of guys: forks, knives, and spoons. That is the final lesson that Amy York’s father sends her off to college with, never suspecting just how far his daughter will take it. Clinging to the Utensil Classification System as her guide, Amy tries to convince her skeptical roommate, Veronica Warren, of its usefulness as they navigate the heartbreaks and soul mates of college and beyond.

Beginning in 1988, their freshman year at Syracuse University, Amy and Veronica meet an assortment of guys—from slotted spoons and shrimp forks to butter knives and sporks—all while trying to learn if the UCS holds true. On the quest to find their perfect steak knives, they learn to believe in themselves—and not to settle in love or life. (Source)

I was in 8th grade in 1988 and have absolutely no desire to go back to that age for myself (ugh...Junior High), but it was a lot of fun to go back to the era of big hair, no cell phones or email, and, um, interesting fashion choices.  Amy and Veronica reminded me a lot of my college roommate-turned best friend and myself and it was fun to watch their collective stories unfold and evolve.

Genres:

• Women's Fiction
• Romance

What I enjoyed:

• All of the details that Leah includes in making the time period come alive. From Aqua Net to crimped hair to Crest Flouristat toothpaste and beyond I was reminded of so many little things I hadn't thought about in forever.
• The sometimes ridiculous and often amazingly accurate details of the UCS.  I never would have thought to include as many categories as what evolves throughout the book.
• The friendship between Amy and Veronica and it's consistency throughout the story.
• The overarching theme of learning to believe in yourself.  Yes, this book is in many ways a romance, but above and beyond relationships and the UCS it's about learning who you are as a person and believing in that person.

Who should read Forks, Knives and Spoons?

• Fans of Women's Fiction.
• Fans of books about female friendship.
• Fans of romance.
• Fans of When Harry Met Sally...

Quotes:

• "Veronica hesitated, unsure if Amy was seriously evaluating this guy with a code of cutlery she'd assumed was just a lark."
• "'Do you really think it's true that men and women can't just be friends?  We're friends,' Amy said. 'Don't you think Harry is totally wrong?'" -Amy
• "'You should make each other better...It took some time to figure out that I needed to truly be myself, and even longer to learn how to do that.  Arthur has always been my best friend.  I wish that for you, sweetheart.'" -Amy's Aunt Joanie
• "Believe you are worth being loved and don't ever settle." -Amy's dad

Where you can find Leah online:
Website: http://www.leahdecesare.com/
Blog: http://www.leahdecesare.com/blog/
Facebook: @leahdecesareauthor
Twitter: @LeahDeCesare
Instagram: @leah.decesare
Pinterest: Leah DeCesare
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LeahDeCesare

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Leah-DeCesare/e/B00LNLVK2C/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379995.Leah_DeCesare

Author Bio:

Source

Leah DeCesare’s childhood dream was to become an author though she never expected her first book to be about parenting. The Naked Parenting series stemmed from her main gig as mother of three and she writes between car pools and laundry.

Forks, Knives, and Spoons is her debut novel. (SparkPress, April 2017).  Leah has also written articles for publication in The Huffington Post, the International Doula, The Key, and other online outlets and local publications.

More than 25 years after her father used a fork, knife, and spoon to give one final lesson about boys before sending her off to college, Leah DeCesare shares the Utensil Classification System.

“I met my perfect steak knife even though he wasn’t in the package I’d expected. I have the most amazing husband and I want to let other young women know that they shouldn’t settle,” DeCesare says. “It’s important for women of all ages to be true to themselves and believe in themselves.”

Married for over 22 years, Leah’s current parenting adventures revolve around kids, tween and teenagers, creating the basis for her Mother’s Circle parenting blog, where she shares perspectives on parenting from pregnancy through teens.

Her pre-baby professional experience was in public relations and event planning and for the past fifteen years, her career has focused on birth, babies, and early parenting as a certified childbirth educator, a birth and postpartum doula.

In 2013, Leah spearheaded the Campaign for Hope to build the Kampala Children’s Centre for Hope and Wellness in Uganda and co-founded the nonprofit, Doulas of Rhode Island, in 2008.

She parents, writes and volunteers in Rhode Island. (Source)

For the interview with Leah please click here.