Springing from her hit one-woman show of the same name, "The English American" follows Pippa Dunn, who is adopted by British parents and doesn't meet her American birth parents until she is 28. Chaos ensues when reality collides with fantasy, in this hilarious and poignant debut novel. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Based on her semi-autobiographical one-woman show of the same title, Larkin's debut novel takes a comedic but heartfelt look at issues of identity, heredity and self-acceptance. Pippa Dunn British, 28 and living with her sister in West London loves her adoptive parents dearly, but has rarely felt at home with the primness and very British emotional restraint with which she was raised, as her funny, anxious narration demonstrates. When Pippa discovers that her birth mother, Billie, is an American (from Georgia, no less) she feels compelled to travel to the U.S. to meet the the sweet, understanding, empathetic ethereal mother she's always imagined. Not surprisingly, both Billie and Pippa's birth father, Walt, fail to live up to her imagined ideals. Although Larkin's premise leads to worthy reflections in Pippa's winning voice, awkward attempts to marry the birth-mother search to a conventional romantic comedy plot are less successful. Through a midbook e-mail exchange, we learn that Pippa met her soul mate, Nick (now a banker in Singapore), in a London park seven years before, but wasn't ready to feel love. Nick the banker-cum-painter is far too tortured and emotive to be believable, and the ensuing romantic revelations are predictable. Pippa, however, is a complex, compelling character truly an amalgam of her heredity and her environment and readers will root for her as she uncovers her roots and finds herself. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

At age 28, Londoner Pippa Dunn is flogging along, suffering a job beneath her talents, failed personal relationships, and her dull and predictable parents and sister. Then her life is struck by a boomerang when she searches out her birth parents, who turn out to be Americans, Southerners, outgoing, gregarious, and attractive. Billie, Pippa's birth mother, an art promoter of sorts, is utterly self-obsessed and wants her daughter as a mirror image. While charismatic, her birth father, Walt, is involved in somewhat dubious business affairs. Deceptively simple in framework, the novel successfully veers between poignancy and outrageous humor, with Larkin having great fun with English and American cultures as Pippa navigates her way through the culture clashes and extended families to recognize her unique, quirky self. Larkin, who was born in the United States and adopted at birth by British parents, has a successful one-woman comic show called The English American, which has played to acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic; this first novel is a more fictionalized account of that show. The author's coverage of adoptee rights makes it an especially timely addition to public libraries. Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, OR Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Despite loving her English mum and dad dearly, Pippa Dunn-adopted as an infant from America-never feels she fits into her family. Her fear of abandonment has her looking for the wrong men, in order to leave them before they leave her. At the age of 28, Pippa goes to America seeking her birth parents: beautiful, artistic Billie and her married lover, Walt, who gave up their daughter for the sake of their relationship. The first blush of parental love is intoxicating, with Pippa seeing her traits in others and feeling truly free to express herself. Then reality (Billie's possessiveness, Walt's evasiveness) sets in, and Pippa faces the issue of nature versus nurture. Pippa's long-distance correspondent through all this is fellow adoptee Nick Devang, but her true source of support is right in front of her. A predictable romantic outcome is easily forgiven, given comedienne-actress-playwright Larkin's vivid description of the obstacles facing adoptees who find their birth parents. Drawn from Larkin's own life, this debut novel-like Pippa herself-is smart, funny, and utterly charming. Leber, Michele. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.