Wednesday 24 June 2015

Review: Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid


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.
 

Paperback, 352 pages
Expected publication: July 7th 2015 by Washington Square Press

Terri's Thoughts

** I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.  The expected publication date is July 7th**

There were two reasons why I wanted to read this story.  The first is that I had previously read Reid's work After I Do and really enjoyed it.  I was excited to see that she had another novel released.  The second reason is that I really like the concept of two parallel stories showing the outcome based on one decision.  This is not an original concept, I have read other stories that have done the same however I really enjoy the possibilities a plot can take with this idea.

I was not disappointed with this read.  The reader sees how one seemingly minor decision made by Hannah drastically changes the course of her life.  I liked how the back stories did not change however everything in Hannah's life was completely different.  As the story synopsis suggests it made me think how much in life is determined by chance?  The story suggests that chance plays a big part in life and I liked how it made me think.  How often have we wondered to ourselves what would have happened if I made a different decision in a certain circumstance.  The answer is easy, it could have changed everything. 

The story also deals with accepting the cards that are dealt and moving forward.  This is a valuable lesson.

Back to the story.  I felt that Hannah had chemistry with both of her "leading" men however one more so than the other.  Since each of these men were in the separate stories it did not matter, each had his own appeal.

Altogether another solid story by Reid.  I will be keeping my eye out for her work as one of my go to authors.

Random thought:  I am often critical of a lot of book covers because they do not represent the content in the book well.  Many times the physical description is wrong etc.  I have to give kudo's to Reid for getting the cover right on this book (if it ends up being the final cover).  In the story Hannah is obsessed with wearing her hair in a high bun.  Look at the cover, yes...a high bun.  Thank you!



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.

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