It takes about 15 lines of Renee Swindle s comic first novel for the reader to realize that this is something special. Maybe it s the voice of Babysister， the main character， a bright young African American woman of almost unbelievable selfishness， who sets her sights on her best friend s new man， Darren. Or maybe it s the sharply observed details， or the ricocheting plot line， or the intelligence underlying Swindle s lively and versatile prose. Or maybe it s because， in a field of books described by their publishers as "hilarious，" Please Please Please actually is. Some of the best moments arise when Babysister， a spoiled brat with the ethics of a 10-year-old， tries to locate her stunted sense of right and wrong: I didn t start feeling guilty until after we made love and Rob held me from behind. There was something about the way he was trying to get me to play itsy-bitsy spider with him that made me feel awful. He was acting so sweet， yet the whole time we were making love I couldn t stop thinking about Darren. I had no business having sex with Rob， I thought. And later， as he fed me lumpy spoonfuls of oatmeal with his dopey love-struck smile and little bitty head， I swore to myself--swore--romantic side or no romantic side， I would not have sex with him ever again. Period. A handjob is one thing， but it was simply not my style to sleep with two men. Babysister s kind， indulgent father and weakling brother are equally well drawn， as is her poor friend Deborah， who has a Bible verse for every occasion except for when her best friend steals her fine-looking boyfriend. Not the wedding invitation， not even the wedding ring， can turn Babysister away from what she wants. This is a naughty and refreshing page-turner from a wonderful new writer. --Regina Marler