Reviews
"It's hard to think about real estate without crying...Well, try laughing, instead. In Cracks in the Foundation, realtor/standup comedian/first time novelist Erica Ferencik convinces us that comic reality is more hysterical than we ever imagined. This is a fun read, as if Ferencik were to the (mini-) manor born."
Alex Beam, Boston Globe Columnist
"Erica Ferencik is one of our podcast's most popular contributors, a triple-threat humorist and fiction writer with the heart of an angel, the wit of a first rate satirist, and the zaniness of John Cleese..."
Tony Kahn, Creator and Producer of National Public Radio's "Morning Stories" Podcast
"...Are you in need of a good laugh? A load of good laughs? Found 'em, in...Cracks in the Foundation...Ginger Kanadoo, you keep on keeping on. We're all burdened with a flaw or two...but your soaring, though often misguided spirit is just the spring tonic this middle-aged muddler needs. Looking forward to the sequel. Or the movie!"
Rebecca Rule, Portsmouth Herald, Nashua Telegraph, Concord Monitor
"A loving tribute and tongue-in-cheek send-up of the real estate business, Ferencik has created the spunky Ginger Kanadoo, a New York Realtor who will stop at nothing to nail the sale."
Kristine Diederich, Daily News Tribune
"This is the most ridiculous, hilarious romp I've ever been on! This book was entertaining, silly, and wonderful!"
Katrin Schumann, co-author of Mothers Need Time-Outs, Too (McGraw-Hill 2008)
"Seldom have I loved a heroine with more abandon than the ever-optimistic Ginger Kanadoo, washed up realtor with an outhouse to sell and a daughter from hell. Erica Ferencik's big-hearted debut, Cracks in the Foundation, is very fresh and very funny, full of flawed characters with feet of clay and hearts of gold. Like a scrappy dandelion struggling through a crack in the pavement, Ginger Kanadoo grapples valiantly with love, work, parenthood, her mother, even a ghost or two. Will she succeed in blooming in her beloved Squamskootnocket? In the capable hands of the talented Ferencik, Ginger's journey over the hill is a hoot with a heart. Cracks in the Foundation is a winner of a novel, an enjoyable reminder that the grass is always greener on the other side of the outhouse."
Mary E. Mitchell, author of Starting Out Sideways, St. Martin's Press
"Get ready for a bumpy, surprise-filled ride as Ginger Kanadoo - covered in donut crumbs and pond scum - lurches toward realtor immortality, middle-aged romance, and reconciliation with both her cantankerous mother and her sullen Wiccan daughter. A successful concoction of broad comedy, finely observed detail, and real emotion, Cracks in the Foundation is a compelling read."
Holly Chamberlin, author of The Friends We Keep, 2007, and the upcoming Tuscan Holiday, (Kensington, August, 2008)
"How much of Erica Ferencik's portrait of a real-estate agent as an aging caricature is wickedly funny satire and how much is reporting from the front lines? Each reader can draw that line. If I were a licensed real estate agent, Ginger would make me squirm...and laugh...and squirm...and laugh. No one likes to be skewered, particularly by one of your own. This self-critical look at the real estate profession is hard to dismiss because it is intended to make fun of the norm, not the exception. Cracks in the Foundation is a well-written comedy. It's zany in the ways of Max Shulman, best known for his Dobie Gillis stories.
You'll laugh at Ginger, whose personality is built on the shallowest of foundations. But there's a sadness here too. Most readers can identify with the feeling of being star-crossed, of nothing working out right, of most things not the way they use to be.
Ferencik is a witty writer. She has an eye for stereotypes and an ear for dialogue. The story moves quickly from one Lucy-type mess to the next, which is always a little worse. Ginger, I should add, changes. And a happy ending is had by all. Except me. I had grown fond of watching Ginger make everything worse. (For the full review, please visit: review, Curtis Seltzer)
Curtis Seltzer, author of How to be a Dirt-Smart Buyer of Country Property, Infinity Publishing
"Erica Ferencik's comic novel should be required reading for anyone buying or selling a house, or just anyone who wants a good laugh. There are so many funny things in this book, it makes me want to sell my house. Well, not really. But if there is such a thing as real estate fiction, Ferencik is the queen of it. Read and enjoy!"
Becky Motew, author of Coupon Girl, Dorchester Publishing
"Ferencik's Cracks in the Foundation is a hoot! Ginger is irresistable even though she can't help herself from stumbling into deeper trouble while trying to make things right. Her big heart prevails with the help of her fleet of nutty relatives and friends who are equally endearing. I was gripped (and laughing!) right to the very last sentence."
Cindy Pierce, Comic Storyteller and co-author of Finding the Doorbell, Sexual Satisfaction for the Long Haul, 2008, Nomad Press
"Cracks in the Foundation is a page-turning romp seasoned with unique, eccentric characters. Ginger "Another Zin, please" Kanadoo is a loveable lush who crashes through life with the reckless abandon of a frat house social director. While this doesn't always bode well when trying to raise a Wiccan/Goth daughter or sell haunted houses in the quiet town of Squamskootnocket, she is always bitch-slapped into reality by her caustic, nonagenarian aunt Maxie. A lesser writer would face a Herculean task in trying to garner sympathy for Ginger, yet Erica Ferencik navigates that tightrope with the ease of the Great Blondin, forcing the reader to pull for our troubled protagonist despite her myriad dysfunctions. At the end of the day, you're left with a smile on your face and a lump in your throat. Above all, this book is disastrously compelling and exceptionally funny! So funny, in fact, I'm frantically searching the marketplace for a split-level outhouse."
Rick D'Elia, Comedian and co-author of How to Talk to a Yankee Fan, Seven Locks Press
"Every so often it's necessary for any reader to hunker down and devour a really insane book, and this is right at the top of the list! It's peopled with a motley crew of loonies, including the heroine realtor, her Wiccan daughter, her 90something aunt who's also a realtor, and her mother (Big Jean) who's in a nursing home and spends her time speeding off to bingo games in her wheelchair. The plot initially revolves around Ginger Kanadoo's attempt to sell an outhouse (albeit an historic one), and there are Wiccan rituals, a tour of a haunted house, and a Ouija board. The story just goes from one absurdity to another, and I found myself laughing out loud...If you need something well-written but goofy to cheer up a bad day, I highly recommend this book!"
Frank J. Konopka, Top 500 Reviewer, Vine Voice, Amazon.com
"Fast moving, fun, and a little zany, Cracks in the Foundation is an entertaining read. Ginger Kanadoo is a single mom and former beauty queen who works at her family's real estate firm. She seems to be in a state of disbelief that she is the mother of a teenage, Wiccan daughter and she has to promote her properties to make a living, the most recent of which is a historic but delapidated outhouse...In a competitive frenzy, Ginger finds herself going to any length to make a sale...Ginger's journey to rock bottom strangely becomes a bonding experience with her family. Harvest is there for her mom and reveals that she is the more level-headed of the two...A hilarious tale!"
The Modern Witch, October, 2008
"Ginger Kanadoo is outrageous and ridiculous. I loved her from page one. What a delightful book!"
Barbara Corcoran, Founder of the Corcoran Group
From the Real Estate Community
"Laugh out loud funny! A hilarious and touching story!"
Gail Shobin, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, Sudbury, MA
"As her hijinks go from mild to wild, it seems there's nothing Ginger Kanadoo won't do for the sale. She's the 'Lucille Ball of Real Estate' — without Ricky to save her!"
Judy Leerer, Realtor, Realty Executives, Boston West, MA
"Oh, my God...when I wasn't smiling I was laughing, and when I wasn't laughing I was smiling my face off! I will certainly never look at a bottle of white zin the same way ever again. Laugh out loud funny!"
Cat Strahan, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, Sudbury, MA
"This book is drop dead hilarious. Ginger is the Lucy Ricardo of Realtors! I couldn't wait to see what she got herself into/out of next! File under fiction...but this is a day in the life of Real Estate. I was supposed to be reading another book for my book club, but I could not put this down!!!"
Susan Gonnella, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, Brookline, MA
"There are two kinds of books for me: the red light book, which is where you are so excited about it you read it at red lights, and the open house book, which is what you read when you are stuck in someone's house for two hours with nothing to do. This was a red light book, no question. I was reading this book in the car and actually blew off business until I finished it on Sunday. I loved it!"
Beth Byrne, Realtor, Carlson GMAC, Natick, MA
"Witty and entertaining, this book will hit a nerve with anyone who's ever bought or sold a house, while realtors will relate to every wild adventure Ginger has — this book is a scream!"
Mike Hunter, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, Sudbury, MA
"Really captivating and fun! I loved the characters! Sometimes it does take the supernatural to get through the tough times in real estate."
Shelley Shapiro, Realtor, Wilton, CT
"I couldn't put it down and wanted it to keep going after the last page!"
Marji Ford, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, Wayland, MA
"The hilarious misadventures of Ginger Kanadoo is a must read. Erica Ferencik's novel is a cover-to-cover delight! You will laugh out loud at the fast-paced dialogue, zany characters, and mad situations. Janet Evanovich, make room for Erica!"
Tom Fama, Satellite Realty, Marlborough, MA
"A rip roaring ride through the hills and valleys of real estate!"
Scott Adamson, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, Sudbury, MA
"What a riot!! I couldn't wait to see what Ginger would get herself into next!! I want more!! When do we get a sequel?"
Lee Griffin, Administrative Coordinator, Coldwell Banker, Sudbury, MA
"Because I am the #1 Realtor in my own mind, and have also followed my Mom's footprints, I could really relate to Ginger! Easy reading that puts life into perspective...and you thought you had it bad...I will never think of White Zin the same way again. Ginger's simplistic solutions make you want to turn the page to see what disaster is waiting right around the corner for her to somehow wriggle out of!"
Kathy Gatos, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, Sudbury, MA
"Erica Ferencik has masterfully captured the very essence of the stereotypical realtor in her creation of Ginger Kanadoo. Ginger epitomizes the very worst qualities of her profession, yet she still manages to capture our hearts. Anyone in a "commission-only" profession will probably see a little bit of Ginger in themselves...and hopefully have enough of a sense of humor to laugh it off. Erica is a very, very funny writer and I can't wait till her next book!"
Debbie Greenlaw, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, Sudbury MA
"Brilliant. I want more Ginger. Completely absurd. My life stopped until I finished this book."
Elaine Courtney, Office Administrator, Coldwell Banker, Sudbury, MA
"I couldn't stop laughing, I couldn't stop wondering, and I couldn't stop loving these characters! What a great story. I'll never be able to recruit!"
Barbara Epstein, Senior Vice President, Manager, Coldwell Banker Real Estate
"Great read! This really nails the crazy world of real estate."
Dave Banks, President, On the Level Home Inspection, Southborough, MA
"A laugh a minute! This is a must summer read."
Cheryl Cohen and Fred Chi, Raveis Real Estate, Sudbury, MA
