Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him-Danielle Ganek

This was one of my favorite reads of 2007--and yeah, maybe I'm a little biased. For those of you that don't know, I'm an Art History major at Sac State, so it seems only natural that I would be drawn to a story set around an art gallery. This one is about a girl named Mia, a discontent "gallerista," living in New York city. Mia despises her boss and yearns for a gallery all her own. The gallery she works at receives a collection by an unknown artist, Jeffery Finelli. There is much interest surrounding his major piece, which provides the book's title. His sudden fame brings his family out of the woodwork, including his niece--who learns she is the girl featured in Finelli's piece. The artist is hit by a taxi and dies, which leaves his neice to discover more about her family. She ends up unlocking her own passion for art and inspires Mia to find a new path in life. This story moves pretty quickly, much like the fast-paced city of New York. I was worried the characters would be the stereotpical "Soho art snob," but you become involved in their lives. Everybody can relate to Mia; starting out in a job that once suited you, then outgrowing it, wanting to pursue something more. Needless to say, I enjoyed that everyone loved art, sans the pretentiousness.