Why Can’t I Be You by Allison Larkin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed every minute (well, except for the sad parts, of course!) of this very well-written, thoughtful (and thought-provoking) novel!
At first glance, you might assume that this is your standard “romantic fiction” fare: think again! I love a good “self-examination/I need to change the direction of my life/I’m taking this chance and going with it even if I get burned/Oh boy I hope I don’t get burned/Darn it I got burned!/Okay, I’m done sobbing and wallowing in self-pity/Time to get back up on my feet and face life bravely” stories.
I loved how the unsuspecting Jenny Shaw was literally dragged into her impersonation of the high school legend “Jessie Effing Morgan” by a mistake on the part of the effervescent Myra (the high school reunion coordinator.)
I truly enjoyed spending time with this crazy cast of characters, so much so that I ordered this author’s first book (Stay) because I love stories about overcoming adversity and starting afresh. We’ve all been there at least once in our lives.
But what I REALLY like about this author is that she stays hopeful, even if there isn’t a Happily-Ever-After snapshot on the last page of the novel. She leaves it up to the reader to decide whether Jenny will successfully steer the direction of her life back on course, after years of being her alcoholic mother’s punching bag and enabler. Bravo to Jennie! She won me over and I fully approved of her decision to be audacious, get out of her self-imposed rut, and choose transformation over stagnation, come what may – (despite the inner voices that kept telling her to pack up and run for the hills!)
This was a helluva great, immersive read, and I wanted more of this! Well done: 5 much-deserved stars for this thoughtful and downright insightful examination of friendships, relationships, and our motivations for maintaining them – even when they were harmful shams. Highly recommended!
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