REVIEWS
Publishers Weekly:
"Matloff is a writing pro, sprightly and thorough in her characterizations."
The Christian Science Monitor. "Matloff tells a compelling story....Her writing is as brilliant as a crystal chandelier, her pacing as quick as a skip down her multi-storied staircase."
Tucson Citizen: "a hugely entertaining memoir about family, community and real estate"
Rocky Mountain News: "delightful and humorous...Matloff is a superb storyteller"
Library Journal: "Matloff blends humor with considerable storytelling skills"
Kirkus Reviews:
"The author avoids nonfiction chick-lit cliché, even when describing such milestones as 9/11 or her pregnancy; her journalistic curiosity and lightly self-deprecating touch keep the book from becoming an uptown safari for the Elle Decor set. She rarely focuses on herself or even the house, but rather on her thrilling, problem-plagued neighborhood, colorfully portrayed in terms that are neither frightened nor naïve.
A loving, stirring portrait of the American cultural mosaic."
"Although I always suspected that renovating a house in New York City would be a slightly more harrowing undertaking than dodging bullets as a foreign correspondent, it took this charming story to convince me it also could be more entertaining. Except for the plumbing. That's one adventure I couldn't survive."-- Michelle Slatalla, author of The Town on Beaver Creek
“After years of covering wars overseas, Judith Matloff takes her boundless courage and inimitable style to the front lines of America's biggest city. From her vantage point in a former crack house in West Harlem, she brings life to a proud community held hostage by drug dealers and forgotten by policy makers. Matloff's sense of humor, clear reportage and zest for adventure never fails. Home Girl is part gritty confessional, part love story, and totally delightful.”-- Bob Drogin, author of Curveball
“Here the American dream of home ownership takes on the epic dimensions of the modern pioneer in a drug raddled land. Matloff's story, which had me crying and laughing, is a portrait of a household and a community, both extending far beyond the specifics of west Harlem to the universal--like all well told stories do.”-- Martha McPhee, author of L’America
"a poignant memoir" -- TimeOut NY
"a hugely entertaining memoir" -- Tucson Citizen
Washington Post
"...is as likely to appeal to social activists as serial renovators."
The New York Times Cityroom Blogs
Memphis Flyer
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