Paula Wall has written a book I wish I’d written–the highest compliment I can think of. Her book recounting the passionate adventures of several generations of irresistably eccentric women joins the ranks of other page-turners like The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

Ms. Wall has a very funny way with metaphor. I found three or four I thought were overdone, but that’s not much considering the hundreds that succeed, not to mention the delightfully colorful language. I kept wondering how on earth she came up with all this stuff, sentence after sentence, page after page, with never a falter, never a boring moment.

So if you could use a kick in the hutzpa department, several hundred laughs, or inspiration to be yourself and let the hips fall where they may, go read, borrow, or beg THE ROCK WALL right now. It’s probably an easy reserve at your public library, where I found mine, pulling it off the shelf as a maybe I’d never heard of. But don’t wait too long–Paula Wall is going to be a very, very popular author. I can’t wait for the next installment about the next generation of Belles, which I am heartily hoping is in the works.