The reviews keep coming in!

Issue #20.05 :: 08/27/2008 - 09/02/2008
“Party Favors: A Novel of Politics and Greed”
Nicole Sexton with Susan Johnston
BY J. EDWARD SUMERAU

“Party Favors: A Novel of Politics and Greed” Nicole Sexton with Susan Johnston

AUGUSTA, GA - In the midst of a widely watched political campaign, which may very well dominate conversation throughout the fall, Nicole Sexton and Susan Johnston offers a brilliant novel explicating the savage nature of the political world.

A former fundraiser and served as the National Director of Finance for the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2002–2005, Nicole Sexton has a marvelous collection of informative experience in the murky world of big time politics. Currently working for the ONE Campaign in the fight against aids, Sexton offers her talent and dry wit in a remarkable debut. Helped along the way by acclaimed entertainment writer and playwright Susan Johnston, Sexton’s “Party Favors” collects a witty narrative with a collection of inside information proclaimed throughout the fascinating story of a life in search of a calling.

Circling around the experiences of main character Temple Sachet, “Party Favors” is a wonderfully entertaining read composed with a fast pace, a slick dry wit, and a curious exposition of the brutality of the political world. A master party planner from her earliest days, Temple Sachet creates a career in the powerful world of politics with her ability to raise money, organize people, and shine for the right moments at the best of dinner parties until she finds herself trapped in a bubble with the President of the United States. Faced with a man she can’t support and a system she can no longer reconcile, Temple forages into her life story in search of meaning.

Buoyed by a quirky mother, a rock-star dating sister, a group of friends fit for the best of after parties, and the love of a good pet, Temple fights her way to the top of every mountain in search of success. Though the road is often filled with obstacles including betrayals and unforeseen renovations in the middle of the nowhere, Temple rises to every challenge with spunk and heart, and along the way she learns a lot about the world, the political system, and the realities of life.

Built upon a framework of experience, “Party Favors” is a fast-paced force of hilarity combined with an intelligent narrative and a main character worthy of adoration. Traveling between the fast-paced world of Washington D.C., the sultry sounds of New Orleans (pre- and post-Katrina) and the beauty of Italy, the adventures of Temple combine the best efforts of storytelling in a cathedral of entertainment perfect for the political season upon us.

Sexton, Nicole with Susan Johnston. “Party Favors: A Novel of Politics and Greed.” Guilford, Connecticut: The Lyons Press (An Imprint of Globe Pequot Press). 2008. 242pp. $24.95 Cloth. ISBN: 9781599214597.