Reviewed by shannonmiz on
What if we got do-overs when we didn't love how we handled something? Wouldn't that be fabulous? It would. We don't, but Adelaide might. Here's the thing: I have no idea which of Adelaide's attempts on living are the "real" ones. I suspect we aren't supposed to know. I won't lie, it frustrated me a bit as a very logic-driven, concrete thinker. But I can absolutely appreciate that there's something thought-provoking in the not knowing, something that challenges us to almost choose-her-adventure, if you will.
Adelaide, when we meet her, isn't particularly likable. Oh, we feel bad for her because she's just been dumped and is kind of a mess of a person, sure. She's going through a lot of family stuff (which unwinds as the story does, so I won't say much more about that), and it's certainly not easy. But sometimes, as we all do, Adelaide brings on some of her hardships. But during the course of the story, she begins to actually see that she is sometimes her own worst enemy, and somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophet.
So while none of Adelaide's do-overs may even be "real", Adelaide's ability to grow and move forward is very real. That even if she is forced to live with the very first set of events, she has learned so much from them that she will be able to have much better futures, no matter the past. And that is something we can all stand to remember.
Bottom Line: Truly lovely and thought provoking, Adelaide's growth and trajectory made her story worth reading, no matter what version of her life she ends up in.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 21 May, 2020: Finished reading
- 21 May, 2020: Reviewed