Customer Reviews

Life as I Know It: A Novel

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The story behind "Life As I Know It" is actually kind of cool. Apparently, it was originally self-published, but it got so much hype that Harper Collins eventually took notice, and now it's being published by a major publishing firm. Pretty neat, right?

After reading it, I can see what all the fuss was about. It starts off when a woman, Jessica, is struck by lightning. As a result, she finds herself leading two completely different lives in two separate bodies. While this premise isn't necessareily new or unique, Rose brings it to life in a fresh and fun kind of way that feels exciting and new.

Jessica takes her new double life in stride, and while she definitely struggles with it, I was duly impressed by her take-charge, "do the best that I can given the circumstances" attitude. She deals with things so well that it's hard to truly believe, which in the end made this book fun and easy-to-read while at the same time being slightly sad and slightly depressing. I was entranced/captivated as Rose seamlessly moved from one life to the other, and I found myself greedily turning page after page, wondering how events from one life would affect the other, extraordinarily curious about the outcome of things.

While this book was heartwarming and fun, I think I loved it so much for the sense of hopefulness it instilled in me and for the sense of comfort I felt from its predictability. Even though there was really no other way things could have turned out, I was still curious about the outcome and quite pleased when things turned out as they did.

The ONLY problem that I had with this book was that it sometimes took itself too seriously, trying to delve deeper than a book like this is capable of delving. And then it jumped over some of the more difficult topics that I wanted to hear more about, saying "don't even try thinking about it."

This chick-lit novel is a great, simple read for adults and teens alike. I think most readers, like me, will find it impossible to put down.

This plot has been done before, I will admit, but it was a fun read! It was written very well, with unexpected twists and characters that were easy to get attached to. I very much liked the ending!

Jessica Taylor is walking her dog Frankie when the rain turned ugly with wind, lightning and thunder. She struggles to leave the Downs when a Labrador runs up to them. A man catches up to her and the two canines. He thanks her as his dog got loose and offers her a ride. She feels lightning strike her heart as Jessica falls in love at first sight; only lightning literally strikes her body leaving her dead.

Jessica awakens n a hospital in which everyone calls her Mrs. Lauren Richardson, wife to Grant and mother of four children (Sophie, Nicole, Toby and Teddy). The kids are well behaved, but Jessica feels their sadness as order is their life. She loves each of the children especially brain damaged Teddy and connects with Lauren's sister Karen who she confides in that her memories are that of single in love Jessica Taylor and not that of mother and wife Mrs. Lauren Richardson.

On the surface Life As I Know It is a lighthearted romp that compares a single career woman with a married mother. However, Melanie Rose's contemporary is actually much deeper with a subtle profundity that stuns the audience even with knowing how the tale will end. The light touch enhances the sobering finish that will have readers understand the real intent is not comparing lifestyles, but instead making a powerful case that being a woman means sacrificing personal desires to make a better life for loved ones.

Harriet Klausner

As soon as I started Could It Be Magic? I was a bit worried it was going to be a carbon copy of the fabulous Kinsella novel Remember Me?. They both have the same elements of memory loss (albeit the memory loss happened for different reasons), and both books have the female character learning to get used to an entirely different life. But Could It Be Magic? is about so much more than that as lead character Jessica, after being struck by lightning, finds herself in another woman, Lauren's, body. As it turns out, when Jessica is asleep, she awakens as Lauren and when Lauren is asleep, she becomes herself, Jessica, again. Not only does Jessica have to contend with being a completely different woman, but it turns out that Lauren has a husband and four children, so Jessica (as Lauren) has to be a mother and wife without knowing who the people are that purport to be her family. Honestly, it might sound complicated but it's really not. The only complication is that Jessica has to divide her time between being herself and being Lauren equally so that her own, real life with a job, dog and prospective boyfriend, doesn't end up going completely down the pan.

I mean, isn't that just one of the best plot lines for a story you've ever heard about? It's such a fascinating avenue for Melanie Rose to go down and for a first novel it's even more fantastic. I absolutely adored every page of the book, and it was easy to flip between Jessica being Jessica and Jessica being Lauren, it all flowed so nicely that I just wanted to keep reading and keep reading and keep reading to see how it was all going to pan out. I thought both stories, as the book is essentially, two stories merged into one, were equally as interesting as Jessica frantically tries to keep both lives on the go, without arousing the suspicion that everything isn't exactly as it seems. The book zig-zagged into all sorts of directions as the pages wore on and I couldn't flip the pages fast enough as both of Jessica's worlds threatened to collapse in on themselves.

You would think that with essentially two different stories there would be tons of characters to keep up with, but it's really not that difficult as they all have their own quirks and foibles. I warmed to Jessica immediately and she has raced up into my top 10 female characters ever. She just takes everything in her stride and I totally admired how she threw herself into being Lauren. Jessica's personality stays pretty much the same throughout, which again, was another plus point. We don't really know too much about the `real' Lauren, but from what we do learn, I didn't really know what to make of her. One of my favourite characters was Dan, who Jessica meets before her lightning strike. He was such a likeable character and I could see why Jessica fell for him! As for Lauren's husband and children, I can't say I liked Grant, the husband, very much, he seemed very smarmy but I adored Lauren's four children. Teddy in particular was really lovely.

Melanie Rose deals with some difficult topics throughout the book, topics you might not expect from the beautiful orange cover, but all the subjects covered are handled sensibly and with great care. Could It Be Magic? is told entirely from Jessica's point of view, switching between herself and Lauren, which made the book very easy to get in to. My main worry about the book was how it would end. It's a completely unique storyline and the ending was either going to make or break the book. Thankfully, and much to my relief, I though the ending was very satisfactory. There's no feel that the book was rushed to a conclusion and there was no convoluted explanation about what happened, all there was was a fantastic ending that had me in tears. Could It Be Magic? will appeal to many, many people and if you haven't already read it, then I really do think you should pick this book up. Despite how cringe-worthy this may sound, it is a magical novel.

I'm stingy with my four stars, but this one was close -- a delightful and very entertaining story with a plot that, while unlikely to the point of verging on science fiction, was made totally believable and compelling. The storyline is elaborated on elsewhere (quick version: simultaneous lightening strike results in protagonist inhabiting another woman's body and alternating with her own body while the other woman sleeps), but what elevated this book from "chick lit" to thought-provoking was that it makes the reader really think about the moral, ethical, and emotional complications that would arise if you found yourself in someone else's body/and reminds us that when we judge someone else, we may not know what their life is really like. Without being preachy, the story also reminds us about the things that are really important in life: love and relationship, not status and acquisitions.

"Life as I Know It" was a fun, fun read. I got totally wrapped up in the story and found myself turning page after page wondering what was going to happen next to the lovable main character.

I really enjoyed this book. The breezy style of writing was wonderful and the pages just flew by, I could hardly put it down! Her dialogue was quite excellent, I could really picture Jessica. I loved the story line and how things worked out, with some twists on minor plot lines that were nice to see. While a few things were a tad bit contrived, all in all, I would recommend this book wholeheartedly for a fun, 'light' read. Reminded me a bit of Claire Cook's books, like Must Love Dogs or Wildwater Walking Club, which I also think of as 'light' page turners.

Although the ending is a bit disappointing, "Life as I Know It" is a good debut novel. It mines known territory --what if due to extraordinary circumstances, you had to live someone else's life?-- but comes up with original results. I look forward to reading Melanie Rose's next book.

I thought Life as I Know It was a unique story. I've read something similar before, but this was different enough that it didnt feel like i was rereading the same book. I loved the characters and it would be nice to read a sequel! I'm looking forward to reading more from Melanie Rose.