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schweibertsm's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I wasn't sure if I'd like this book. Early on there were parts that absolutely made me cringe, but Sophie Cousens nails what it's like to be a working mom. I've never felt more seen then the scene with Baby Amy being sick. By the end of this story you are rooting for Lucy and her family and the life she wants. How many times have we all wished our lives away? But life is found in the small moments and the mundane.
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, and Pregnancy
bookish_leslie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Spice: 2๐ถ๏ธ
Romantic tension, under clothes groping, sex scenes that fade to black before anything explicit happens
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Romantic tension, under clothes groping, sex scenes that fade to black before anything explicit happens
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My Thoughts
This book wasnโt at all what I was expecting, but I liked it. The cover design had me expecting a typical romcom, and while there was a romance subplot, this book was no romcom. It was a character-driven story about choices, family, identity, grief, and self discovery; a story about regrets, acceptance, love in all its myriad forms, second chances, and the both/and of life.
I think what I loved most about this book was how thought-provoking it was. What makes us who we are? What truly matters in life? If I could forget the experiences that have led to my grief - would I? Or in doing so would I lose parts of myself Iโd want to keep? What matters more - remembering or living? What are my current choices saying about what my future will be like? What bright spots in my life might I be overlooking amongst the grievances? What role does the philosophy of โfake it until you make itโ play in personal and professional growth? These are just some of the many things this book prompted me to think about.
But the relationships between the characters really shone for me in this book, too. Sure, the main character, Lucy, acted questionably and immaturely at times, but I think her reactions to what happened to her were very real too. I especially loved her interactions with 7-year-old Felix, but it was heartwarming to see her grow into her relationships with Sam and Amy, as well.
This probably isnโt the book for you if youโre a plot-based reader, as it was largely character driven, but I do think it would be a good fit for people who like a bit of depth to their stories, philosophizing about life, or who are feeling nostalgic for old 90s movies like 13 Going on 30 (although in this case it was 26 going on 42).
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Dementia
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content
dsforbus's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Minor: Child death and Death
lanayagraham's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
British mash-up of 13 going on 30 and Freaky Friday. This magical realism was both laugh-out-lound funny with relatable humour and fun banter, but it also held really heavy elements of the true cost of skipping to "the good part." Overall, it was great, with a perfect ending. However, some aspects were clichรฉ and a bit TOO fantastical for a pseudo realistic book... but in the end, worth the read.
Moderate: Child death and Death
katherine_alexis's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Child death and Death
ohsteen714's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Minor: Child death, Death, and Dementia
sandlynn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Just loved this book. I know the basic story's been done before, but this was done so well. The characters rang true to me and the situations were both humorous and deeply emotional.
Minor: Child death and Death
casaveli's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Dementia
spellbindingtomes's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ...๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฌ๐ช๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ.
๐๐ข๐ง๐ข ๐๐ฒ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ:
26 year old, Lucy Young, is tired of her mundane life. One day she stumbles upon a wishing machine and wishes to skip to the good part of her life. The next day, she wakes up to find herself in her forties with a handsome husband, a high-level job, and two children. Unsure if it's real or if she's skipped a chunk of her life, Lucy must decide if she wants to go back to her past or embrace her new reality.
โข
โข
โข
Skipping to "the good part" sounds great, but in actuality I think it would be pretty scary waking up one day to an entire life you have no memories of making.
Sophie's writing had me completely invested in Lucy's predicament. I understood her struggles adjusting to her future life โ suddenly becoming a wife and a parent to two kids, learning about how her old relationships and friendships held up through the years. On top of all that, the daunting possibility that maybe the wishing machine wasn't real to begin with and instead she might have memory problems. I was getting so anxious and overwhelmed for her!
But what balances this terrifying situation are the side characters, especially Sam and Felix. Sam was incredibly supportive and understanding with Lucy and Felix was so sweet, trying his best to help Lucy out so he can get his 'mom' back.
๐๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด โ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ?
Though this took me a while to get into, once I was one-third of the way through, I was completely hooked! At first, Lucy wasn't super likeable but her character growth was well done that by the end I was rooting for her. I wanted her to be happy whether that was going back to the past or staying in the future.
Read if you like:
๐บ 13 going on 30 movie
โณtime travel
๐บ magical realism
โณ self-discovery
๐๐ข๐ง๐ข ๐๐ฒ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ:
26 year old, Lucy Young, is tired of her mundane life. One day she stumbles upon a wishing machine and wishes to skip to the good part of her life. The next day, she wakes up to find herself in her forties with a handsome husband, a high-level job, and two children. Unsure if it's real or if she's skipped a chunk of her life, Lucy must decide if she wants to go back to her past or embrace her new reality.
โข
โข
โข
Skipping to "the good part" sounds great, but in actuality I think it would be pretty scary waking up one day to an entire life you have no memories of making.
Sophie's writing had me completely invested in Lucy's predicament. I understood her struggles adjusting to her future life โ suddenly becoming a wife and a parent to two kids, learning about how her old relationships and friendships held up through the years. On top of all that, the daunting possibility that maybe the wishing machine wasn't real to begin with and instead she might have memory problems. I was getting so anxious and overwhelmed for her!
But what balances this terrifying situation are the side characters, especially Sam and Felix. Sam was incredibly supportive and understanding with Lucy and Felix was so sweet, trying his best to help Lucy out so he can get his 'mom' back.
๐๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด โ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ?
Though this took me a while to get into, once I was one-third of the way through, I was completely hooked! At first, Lucy wasn't super likeable but her character growth was well done that by the end I was rooting for her. I wanted her to be happy whether that was going back to the past or staying in the future.
Read if you like:
๐บ 13 going on 30 movie
โณtime travel
๐บ magical realism
โณ self-discovery
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief
mishale1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
My grandmother used to say to never wish away days. She said you have to live through the bad days because as life goes on you really wouldnโt ever want to give up any time.
I thought of that when reading this book.
My god I found this book so sad for so much of the story.
Lucy is in her mid twenties. Life is rough. She shares an apartment with three other people, only one of which is a true friend and the others and their partners are kind of strange.
Sheโs not where she wants to be at work.
Dating sucks.
The only good part is her friends really. The author definitely managed to convince me that Lucy was pretty unhappy with the state of her life at this time.
After one particularly bad day, Lucy finds herself making a wish on a wishing machine to โget to the good partโ of her life. She wakes up and suddenly sheโs in her early forties. Sheโs married to a wonderful man (that she doesnโt know). She has kids who are strangers to her. Sheโs incredibly successful at work. She has a beautiful home. And she has the wardrobe and shoe closet of her dreams. Life looks pretty good. But she canโt remember getting there because she basically jumped forward 16 years!
As Lucy tries to figure out her circumstances she starts to wonder if maybe she didnโt time travel. Maybe she had amnesia or something of the like. And things keep popping into her mind that she feels like she shouldnโt remember.
But then thereโs little Felix. Heโs her son. He truly believes her and wants to help her find the washing machine so he can get his real mom back.
I was shocked that little Felix wound up being one of my favorite characters.
As Lucy starts to debate whether she can go back, and whether she wants to go back, she is confronted with something shocking and bad that happened during the past 16 years. This result of this event is likely to determine whether Lucy will go home if she can.
Like I said, I found so much of this book to be sad. I was sad for twenty-something Lucy. Then I was sad for forty-something Lucy. I was sad for the things she couldnโt remember and then I was sad when she started to remember.
I think the overall message would be that there are always going to be good things and bad things happening in your life simultaneously. And being twenty-something is fun sometimes even when it sucks. And being forty-something is still fun too. Itโs not about getting to the good part, itโs about enjoying the good parts whenever they happen.
I thought of that when reading this book.
My god I found this book so sad for so much of the story.
Lucy is in her mid twenties. Life is rough. She shares an apartment with three other people, only one of which is a true friend and the others and their partners are kind of strange.
Sheโs not where she wants to be at work.
Dating sucks.
The only good part is her friends really. The author definitely managed to convince me that Lucy was pretty unhappy with the state of her life at this time.
After one particularly bad day, Lucy finds herself making a wish on a wishing machine to โget to the good partโ of her life. She wakes up and suddenly sheโs in her early forties. Sheโs married to a wonderful man (that she doesnโt know). She has kids who are strangers to her. Sheโs incredibly successful at work. She has a beautiful home. And she has the wardrobe and shoe closet of her dreams. Life looks pretty good. But she canโt remember getting there because she basically jumped forward 16 years!
As Lucy tries to figure out her circumstances she starts to wonder if maybe she didnโt time travel. Maybe she had amnesia or something of the like. And things keep popping into her mind that she feels like she shouldnโt remember.
But then thereโs little Felix. Heโs her son. He truly believes her and wants to help her find the washing machine so he can get his real mom back.
I was shocked that little Felix wound up being one of my favorite characters.
As Lucy starts to debate whether she can go back, and whether she wants to go back, she is confronted with something shocking and bad that happened during the past 16 years. This result of this event is likely to determine whether Lucy will go home if she can.
Like I said, I found so much of this book to be sad. I was sad for twenty-something Lucy. Then I was sad for forty-something Lucy. I was sad for the things she couldnโt remember and then I was sad when she started to remember.
I think the overall message would be that there are always going to be good things and bad things happening in your life simultaneously. And being twenty-something is fun sometimes even when it sucks. And being forty-something is still fun too. Itโs not about getting to the good part, itโs about enjoying the good parts whenever they happen.
Moderate: Child death and Death