Welcome to our stop for the MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE tour by Taylor Jenkins Reid! This book is a great summer read, light yet thought-provoking at the same time.
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published By: Washington Square Press (July 7, 2015)
Source: Purchased a copy
Book Description:
From the acclaimed author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.
At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.
Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?
In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?
Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.
MY REVIEW:
Parallel universes? Yes, please! I have always been intrigued with stories about the path not taken. The blurb of MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE intrigued me and made me think of one of my favorite movies, Sliding Doors. While this book was not all that I had hoped for, it is nonetheless a well-written, thought-provoking story about the consequences of our actions, fate and destiny.
Taylor Jenkins Reid brings a unique and fresh voice to the idea that our soul mates are out there, and that our choices lead us to our own realities. Both parallel stories in this book were engaging, REAL, and very original. The characters are all very relatable and some of their stories more poignant than others.
“I know there may be universes out there where I made different choices and they led me somewhere else, led me to someone else. And my heart breaks for every single version of me that didn’t end up with you.”
Our heroine Hannah takes two widely divergent paths, as does her best friend Gabby. I did feel an overriding sense of sadness while reading this book, which, happily, was replaced by joy by the end. MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE is a very thoughtful and interesting book, which will make you think about your choices in life, and whether fate ever really plays a part in our lives. Is everything all mapped out, occurring anyway no matter what our choices might be? There’s lots to chew on here and I will say that I was totally surprised by the ending of this book.
I would have like a little more detail about some of the more meaningful events in this book. However, much of this story seems aimed at twenty-somethings who will very much enjoy Hannah’s journey. I did feel that some important details were missing, but overall, both the writing and the story were very intriguing and fresh.
I read this in one sitting and I will definitely grab the author’s other books now. Love, loss, family, friendship, loyalty — they are all covered here and I think this is the perfect summertime read.
About the Author:
Taylor Jenkins Reid is an author and essayist from Acton, Massachusetts. Her first novel, Forever, Interrupted, was named one of the “11 Debuts We Love” by Kirkus Reviews. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Alex, and their dog, Rabbit.
Website
https://twitter.com/tjenkinsreid
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