A review by georgina_bawden
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple

3.0

I get the feeling that whichever Maria Semple book you read first is going to be your favourite. That said, I genuinely do think Bernadette was the better novel. Today is less inventive, and repeats a lot of the same tropes as Bernadette but slightly watered down. This time though the bored over-achieving mum is the main character and the precocious child secondary. Semple is fantastic at voice and character, and her unexpected plot segues are always enjoyable. This one did pack some surprisingly heavy emotional punch, when it delves into the story of two estranged sisters. The ending was a little unsatisfying as it centered on the romantic relationship between the main character and her husband when I felt the real heart of the book was her relationship to said sister. However leaving that unresolved was bittersweet and will probably make the after effect of the book linger much more than had it all been neatly resolved. This is beach-read light lit with more literary aspirations, I suppose. It is funny, and although off-puttingly (to me) un PC at times this does usually serve the character (many of them unlikeable). A mixed bag and not one I feel I can as enthusiastically recommend as Where'd You Go Bernadette?