I will not be able to review this book. I started to read it, but it just didn't meet my expectations. I couldn't connect with the characters, and the plot just didn't really vibe the way I had hoped it would. It could be a case of "wrong book at the wrong time", so maybe I will try again later.

Cute story with comedic tones. The protagonist takes film lessons to make his sister happy, but he ends falling for the teacher. Along the way, he recounts life with his grandparents and their buddies at a senior citizens apartment complex in Florida. A lot of stereotypes, but they're written in an amusing tongue-in-cheek manner.

Every year, BookSparks has a Fall Reading Challenge, and for the 2018 edition, today's book, Chuckerman Makes A Movie by Francie Arenson Dickman, was among them.  As it turns out, even though I wasn't actually a blogger selected to be part of the BookSparks challenge, I was able to secure a digital copy of this book for review through my relationship as a book blogger with NetGalley.

To recap on the story involved in Chuckerman Makes a Movie, we have David Melman, who is a 35 year old pursuing 20-something pop stars and is conflicted about finally settling down. He knows love - the love of his classic 1977 yellow Cadillac Coupe de Ville inherited from his grandfather, Slip Melman. Everyone in David's life -- including his young niece and nephew -- thinks he needs to change his ways.

David's sister, Marcy convinces him to take a film-writing class that's taught by Marcy’s friend Laurel (aka “The Mormon Rodeo").  Laurel urges David to write about his beloved Cadillac, which turns into a project full of David's recollections from a family vacation when he was just ten years old and visiting his grandparents, Slip and Estelle Melman in Miami Beach, Florida, along with dozens of other Jewish snow-birds

Melman's screenplay serves to provide readers with a story within a story. The author has created enthusiastic characters filled with humor with great generational and cultural textures. The writing is very colorful and engaging, and I loved the characters' strong family bonds. I also loved the romantic aspect of the story. This is definitely a great page-turner for a long weekend or a trip to the beach (for us here in sunny Florida)!

I have received an advanced reader digital copy of this book through NetGalley, and I'm posting as part of the BookSparks Fall Reading Challenge 2018 (FRC#2018).

Oh, my gosh! Chuckerman Writes a Movie is hilarious at times, seriously retrospective at others. I literally laughed out loud at many of the scenes. Other scenes were thoughtful and reflective. It is a perfect combination of funny and serious wrapped up in the story of David Melman and Laurel Sorenson. David has been told his is floundering in both love and life. His sister, Marcy, strongly suggests he takes a course in screen writing. Her friend, Laurel (The Mormon Rodeo) teaches it and feels it will help him in life. He falls for her; she falls for him. But, a pristine, ancient Cadillac stands in the middle.