cover image DRESS YOU UP IN MY LOVE

DRESS YOU UP IN MY LOVE

Diane Stingley, . . Downtown, $12 (324pp) ISBN 978-0-7434-6491-8

Samantha Stone, a wisecracking, 30-something freelance photographer, copes with the ramifications of a little white lie in Stingley's cute debut. To escape one more round of Yahtzee on Thanksgiving, Sam invents a date and a boyfriend. "Why isn't he spending Thanksgiving with his family?" Sam's mother asks. "He's an orphan," Sam quips. More improbable, fictional details follow, and before she knows it, she's got to hire an actor. Fake boyfriend Alex Graham fools a whole host of folks: lesbian best friend Shelley, exasperating ex Greg, comically silent Uncle Verne and anti-bacterial soap fanatic Mom. There are certain advantages to hiring a boyfriend for holiday parties, Sam discovers: "I'm telling you, Halle Berry could walk by topless and if I'm there, he wouldn't give her a second look." But there's a downside, too: the actor, Mark Simpson, is a little too serious about his craft: "I'm looking for the person underneath the orthodontist who skydives. Why did I become an orthodontist? What was my motivation?" Stingley sometimes slips from funny to just plain corny, but Sam's voice is winning, even when she's spouting drivel. With an ending that's hopeful rather than picture perfect, this is a bright, fun and fluffy modern fairy tale. (Dec.)