Everything Is Going to Be Great: An Underfunded and Overexposed European Grand Tour

Everything Is Going to Be Great by Rachel Shukert
review copy provided by Harper Perennial
Summary from Goodreads:
When she lands a coveted nonpaying, nonspeaking role in a play going on a European tour, Rachel Shukert—with a brand-new degree in acting from NYU and no money—finally scores her big break. And, after a fluke at customs in Vienna, she gets her golden ticket: an unstamped passport, giving her free rein to “find herself” on a grand tour of Europe. Traveling from Vienna to Zurich to Amsterdam, Rachel bounces through complicated relationships, drunken mishaps, miscommunication, and the reality-adjusting culture shock that every twentysomething faces when sent off to negotiate "the real world"—whatever that may be.

My Take:
First of all, I have to state right off that this book is not for everyone. It's racy and raunchy and so very funny! So, if you are squeamish, easily offended or just a stick-in-the-mud, don't bother reading it. On the other hand, if you have any sense of humor at all and aren't too easily upset by wacky situations, this book is most definitely worth reading!

I wasn't sure after the first chapter, to be honest, but after that chapter I started putting those little post-it flags on every page where I laughed out loud and now my book is riddled with little blue flags.  The "How to use this book" and "Preparing the Preparations" sections are just a taste of the fun that follows.  The first chapter titled "I am not even washing the underpants of me", describes her adventure in Paris the summer before her junior year of college. And it had me worried about what might follow, but the descriptions of Rachel's sudden and increasing fluency in French as she drinks more and more wine was just so funny, I had to continue.

I hate to give away too many of the funny bits in this book because everyone should discover Shukert for themselves, but I will say that I will never be able to listen to Phil Collins in quite the same way again! This is a fun, wild, crazy, but honest look at Rachel Shukert's adventures in Europe, but mostly in Amsterdam.