I Read What You Write

Molly is on the fast track to success and if she has given up on her childhood dreams she has a nice home, a great job in New York City and solid marriage or so she thought until she came home in the middle of the day to find her husband and his secretary. Needing to fly home to Wisconsin to help her ill father, she finds that she needs to re-evaluate her life. She suddenly realizes that her dreams may not be something she has moved on from and if that isn’t enough. She finds out the boy next door that she spent her childhood crushing on is once again living next door and is still completely crushable.

I use the word fun a lot on this blog, but rarely does a book personify a term as completely as this one. Hilarious, Humorous, and Witty also leap to mind. Told in first person and as series of quirky Facebook updates and witty blog posts, this story had me laughing quite literally until I cried. In going back home, her goal is to get her dad situated with a home nurse and get back to her life as soon as possible and move on from her suddenly disastrous marriage. Her plan is complicated by the fact that her obnoxious dad has a reputation with home health care services and hiring a private nurse is not as easy as it would seem. It is complicated further by a pushy, but well meaning, best friend who has decided that the best thing for a broken heart is to get right back in the saddle, as she sets Molly on course that leads to several hilarious dating fiascoes. She also sets Molly up with a blog and a blogging class as she sees an opportunity to convince Molly that what she really wants is what she has always wanted, to be a writer. Muddying up the waters more, is the really hot guy next door and his adorable daughter, who seem to really want to be a part of her life. As Molly reels from one hilarious disaster to the next, she finds that her life may not be what she thought it was and that she has options she never dreamed of.

The characters and relationships in this story are incredible. From the ease at which Molly reconnects with the boy next door to dealing with the strained relationship with her mother, the characters jump off the page and become real to the reader. Everyone knows or should know an irascible group of ‘mature’ ladies like Molly’s blogging class. Everyone has or needs a best friend like Dianne, a polar opposite who still has your back after all the years years. Every girl wants the boy next door.

Molly’s story is a how to on how to meet life’s “little” challenges head on with laughter and introspection. Also if you want to start a blog this is a great place to get advice.

5 stars

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review