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Melissa Bank's first book, The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, is probably best known as one of the novels that started the whole 'chick lit' phenomenon. This is a shame, as nearly everyone has an opinion about chick lit, most being negative (and certainly not helped by the whole Opal fiasco). Such opinions, however, run the risk of overlooking a promising young author in Banks. Her second work, The Wonder Spot, carries the same structure as Girls' Guide--short narratives from the life of our female protagonist, beginning with her teenage years and continuing, in spurts, to her late thirties. In this case, it's Sophie Applebaum, struggling with relationships, a nonexistant career, and the questions of where she will end up in life. Moving from Sophie's Jewish upbringing in Philadelphia to her struggles at life in Manhatten, Bank's writing is witty and insightful. The story does focus on Sophie's relationships, but all of her relations are equally treated, leaving The Wonder Spot more a take on family life in general than on the romantic relationships of 'chick lit'. I came to this book after reading a glowing recommendation for it, and I tend to agree that Bank is a writer worth watching.