This book is meant to be a fun, light read, and it is. It appealed to me because I too experienced the culture shock of being a Midwesterner suddenly transplanted to the great metropolis. The main character's descriptions of her suburban Chicago life before moving to New York are satirical and funny. This book was written right around the era of New York's bankruptcy, which makes it a bit of a timepiece, a pre-gentrified New York that no longer exists. ( )