When I was growing up, I loved Mad Libs. The excitement of sort of writing your own story really appealed to me. So I thought it would be fun to mesh that love with my love of books by turning blurbs into mad libs and letting you guys write your own book blurbs.
For anyone that doesn't know how Mad Libs work, I will ask you for certain parts of speech or other specific things (i.e.: date, age, color, etc.) which you will write down. After you have completed your list, scroll down below the cover image to find the redacted blurb. Then read through it substituting your words where applicable. Try not to laugh. (Laughing is actually strongly encouraged, because this is supposed to be funny.)
Some brief definitions of the parts of speech.
Noun: Person, place, or thing.
Verb: Describes or indicates action.
Adverb: Modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb expressing manner, place, time, or degree (gently, here, now, very).
Adjective: Names an attribute of a noun (pretty, blue, large)
Pronoun: A word that can function as a noun (I, we, they)
Preposition: a word that combines with a noun or pronoun to form a phrase that usually acts as an adverb, adjective, or noun (on, after, for)
And with that, here we go.
1: Number
2: Noun
3: Adjective
4: Verb ending in s
5: Plural noun
6: Verb
7: Adverb
8: Noun
9: City
10: Plural noun
Some brief definitions of the parts of speech.
Noun: Person, place, or thing.
Verb: Describes or indicates action.
Adverb: Modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb expressing manner, place, time, or degree (gently, here, now, very).
Adjective: Names an attribute of a noun (pretty, blue, large)
Pronoun: A word that can function as a noun (I, we, they)
Preposition: a word that combines with a noun or pronoun to form a phrase that usually acts as an adverb, adjective, or noun (on, after, for)
And with that, here we go.
1: Number
2: Noun
3: Adjective
4: Verb ending in s
5: Plural noun
6: Verb
7: Adverb
8: Noun
9: City
10: Plural noun
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: October 3, 2017
Pages: 448
Manhattan Beach opens in Brooklyn during the Great Depression. Anna Kerrigan, nearly ( 1: Number ) years old, accompanies her father to the house of a man who, she gleans, is crucial to the survival of her ( 2: Noun ) and her family. Anna observes the uniformed servants, the lavishing of toys on the children, and some ( 3: Adjective ) pact between her father and Dexter Styles.
Years later, her father has disappeared and the country is at war. Anna ( 4: Verb ending in s ) at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where women are allowed to hold ( 5: Plural noun ) that had always belonged to men. She becomes the first female diver, the most dangerous and exclusive of occupations, repairing the ships that will help America ( 6: Verb ) the war. She is the sole provider for her mother, a farm girl who had a brief and glamorous career as a Ziegfield folly, and her lovely, ( 7: Adverb ) disabled sister. At a night club, she chances to meet Styles, the man she visited with her father before he vanished, and she begins to understand the complexity of her father’s ( 8: Noun ).
Mesmerizing, hauntingly beautiful, with the pace and atmosphere of a noir thriller and a wealth of detail about organized crime, the merchant marine and the clash of classes in ( 9: City ), Egan’s first historical novel is a masterpiece, a deft, startling, intimate exploration of a transformative moment in the ( 10: Plural noun ) of women and men, America, and the world.
Years later, her father has disappeared and the country is at war. Anna ( 4: Verb ending in s ) at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where women are allowed to hold ( 5: Plural noun ) that had always belonged to men. She becomes the first female diver, the most dangerous and exclusive of occupations, repairing the ships that will help America ( 6: Verb ) the war. She is the sole provider for her mother, a farm girl who had a brief and glamorous career as a Ziegfield folly, and her lovely, ( 7: Adverb ) disabled sister. At a night club, she chances to meet Styles, the man she visited with her father before he vanished, and she begins to understand the complexity of her father’s ( 8: Noun ).
Mesmerizing, hauntingly beautiful, with the pace and atmosphere of a noir thriller and a wealth of detail about organized crime, the merchant marine and the clash of classes in ( 9: City ), Egan’s first historical novel is a masterpiece, a deft, startling, intimate exploration of a transformative moment in the ( 10: Plural noun ) of women and men, America, and the world.
Now that your fun is through, here is the real blurb for Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan.
Manhattan Beach opens in Brooklyn during the Great Depression. Anna Kerrigan, nearly twelve years old, accompanies her father to the house of a man who, she gleans, is crucial to the survival of her father and her family. Anna observes the uniformed servants, the lavishing of toys on the children, and some secret pact between her father and Dexter Styles.
Years later, her father has disappeared and the country is at war. Anna works at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where women are allowed to hold jobs that had always belonged to men. She becomes the first female diver, the most dangerous and exclusive of occupations, repairing the ships that will help America win the war. She is the sole provider for her mother, a farm girl who had a brief and glamorous career as a Ziegfield folly, and her lovely, severely disabled sister. At a night club, she chances to meet Styles, the man she visited with her father before he vanished, and she begins to understand the complexity of her father’s life.
Mesmerizing, hauntingly beautiful, with the pace and atmosphere of a noir thriller and a wealth of detail about organized crime, the merchant marine and the clash of classes in New York, Egan’s first historical novel is a masterpiece, a deft, startling, intimate exploration of a transformative moment in the lives of women and men, America, and the world.
Years later, her father has disappeared and the country is at war. Anna works at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where women are allowed to hold jobs that had always belonged to men. She becomes the first female diver, the most dangerous and exclusive of occupations, repairing the ships that will help America win the war. She is the sole provider for her mother, a farm girl who had a brief and glamorous career as a Ziegfield folly, and her lovely, severely disabled sister. At a night club, she chances to meet Styles, the man she visited with her father before he vanished, and she begins to understand the complexity of her father’s life.
Mesmerizing, hauntingly beautiful, with the pace and atmosphere of a noir thriller and a wealth of detail about organized crime, the merchant marine and the clash of classes in New York, Egan’s first historical novel is a masterpiece, a deft, startling, intimate exploration of a transformative moment in the lives of women and men, America, and the world.
If you enjoyed this mad lib, please comment with your list below so that the rest of us can get a chuckle out of it as well. And be sure to share with your friends. - Katie
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