Synopsis:
In colleges across the country, 97% of 'next-morning' stories are exaggerated and embellished. In the mind's eye of the teller, the average is replaced by the astounding. Co-eds become sultrier, beers are chugged faster and epic nights stretch on infinitely. It is this subtle extra, this slight enhancement of every vivid detail, which gives the topic “College” its brilliant cache as it recedes gently into one's memory bank under the category “Glory Days.” This is one of those stories.
A glorious season of spring softball provides the setting for Must Be Nice. Kev and his closest friends are second-semester college seniors, poised on the threshold of graduation and the unfamiliar world beyond. Line drives and double plays are blurred together with cheap liquor and final exams as college comes to its inevitable and unforgettable end. Set against a backdrop of wild parties, lazy afternoons and beer league softball, Kev must come to grips with the end of his untroubled collegiate reality and flash forward to the impending newness of “real life.”
My Review:
I don't typically read novels from the male perspective- I honestly can't remember the last time I have actually. I'm glad, however, that this didn't stop me from picking up Must Be Nice. Federico paints a pretty detailed picture of college life from the male perspective, I would imagine. There was just something about the way he wrote that I could feel the casualness of Kev's surroundings even in the more serious moments- not in a sense of general casualty, mind you, but the sense of casualty you feel when you're in college (Sorry if that's vague, but I can't think of another way to describe it). While it's written from the male perspective, and of a baseball player at that, this book was easy to get into and really shows the connections you make in college can change your life. Given that I have a somewhat different view on my college life, Federico wrote a story that made me appreciate his experience as well.
A quick read, perfect for college students (past, present, and in the not too far future), I give this book:
Must Be Nice is in stores now :)
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