Genre: Chick Lit
Published: 2017
Pages: 434
An Adventures By The Page 2018 Best Book Nominee
2018 Best Plotting Winner
Katie likes to pretend that her life is perfect but in reality, it's the opposite. She lives with lousy roommates and her job is boring. If only she could be like her terrible but cool boss, Demeter. Although not terribly liked by her subordinates, Demeter oozes a rich, cool lifestyle. But then Katie is let go.
She decides to return to the family farm, where her dad and his wife are setting up a glamping business. The farm is nice, but the life she envisioned is nowhere in sight. Then Demeter shows up with her family as guests, and it turns out that her life isn't so glamorous after all. Soon they'll find themselves somehow bonding over the camping experience and the struggles they've been sharing. And maybe they'll even be able to help each other find the success they've been looking for.
You wonder about a book like this that has an obvious message and whether it will get preachy on you. It does, but not to the degree you hope it won't. Actually, from a writing perspective, I was impressed with the structure. The subplots, the initial problems all characters are dealing with, and the climaxes at all points all flow really nicely and it reads like a movie. It's also fairly humorous, especially in the first half. I didn't feel like Kinsella tried too hard to elicit laughs by forcing wacky situations. (Okay, there are some. Especially with the plotting near the end. But it comes with the chick lit territory and sometimes you have to suspend belief for wacky stuff to happen. Actually, I think that cycling with a bunch of Santa Clauses seems awesome.)
One part I enjoy about reading is watching the characters and situations evolve. I really like the idea of feel-good family Amsters Farm and seeing it come to fruition, following the cast of guests as I do so. I also like the character development. Katie's mistakes and choices all seem to come from her personality, and by the end some comes to realize some things about her life. Mainly, it's not perfect. Even the ending isn't a given- Katie uses her prowess to earn the final result.
There's also a bunch of stuff going on that never gets hard to keep track of. Katie feels the need to lie to her father about losing her job so he doesn't get angry about people not seeing Katie's potential. She had to hide herself from Demeter in the beginning once she arrives at the farm, and reinvents herself in the beginning as well. It doesn't go well. And she must navigate a potential relationship with a colleague. All of these stories, hopefully, will blend together to form that so-called perfect life.
Yes, there's a love story. It's Kinsella chick lit. But that can be a good thing, because it makes sense and isn't forced like so many other non-chick lit books I read. It's not inappropriate for the book and make sense. I can't say that some authors, like Jodi Picoult, know to do the same (I'm sorry. I've been complaining about that certain book a lot lately, but it made me so mad because it was so good until a stupid chick-lit romance that didn't belong ruined it). In fact, I wasn't even sure this one was going to happen, and it added some welcome suspense.
Chick lit fans will eat this one up. In addition to a descriptive, rich story that lets readers "be" the character, it has a good message that isn't preached too much- in fact, it barely mentions the ideal Instagram life. It's a good blend of humor, fun, and a realization that nobody is perfect- just as long as readers are okay with a bit of chick lit silliness.
5 stars
The novel also comes with this useful information. I find these hysterical.
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