Thursday, August 7, 2014

BOOK REVIEW: Where’d You Go Bernadette

For months my mother has been recommending a book to me; every time I would tell her what I was currently reading, a mix between sad YA[1] books (If I Stay, Gale Forman) or random classics (Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut) my mother would roll her eyes and tell me to read a ‘happy book’, to which she would recommend Where’d You Go Bernadette.  Despite me shouting it from the rooftops and recommending it to everyone with ears whenever I fall in love with a book, I know I am a very picky reader and usually do not take recommendations easily.  If I do not like a book, it will be painful for me to read and within the first chapter I will put it down, so I learned to be selective with what I pick up.  Only a few people have recommended books that I really enjoyed, so needless to say I was a bit skeptical when my mom kept pushing this book [we read different genres].  Alas, after finishing my sad YA book, I went to my local[2] bookstore and purchased Where’d You Go Bernadette amongst others.

I won’t lie, despite the beautiful color and inviting artwork the book cover had to offer, I read another book first.  However, once I picked up Where’d You Go, I could not put it down!  That book captivated me from the first sentence.  Sure, there were some parts of the book that were better than others, but by the middle of the book I found myself frantically reading just to find out exactly what happened to Bernadette Fox.  This book is a fun, lighthearted, quick read, but do not be confused, it will fill you with emotions.  Upon opening the book I felt like I was plucked from New York City and immediately transplanted and immersed into Seattle.  I grew a bond with each of the characters that filled me with emotions which wavered between love, hate, more love, confusion, and just genuinely not knowing what to make of their true motives. 

Where’d You Go Bernadette constantly kept me guessing and playing with my heartstrings.  There were twists, turns and surprises around every corner, I could never see what was coming next and therefore was left in perpetual suspense. Unlike several books I have read in the past where you get halfway through the read and can accurately pinpoint how it ends, Where’d You Go keeps you guessing until the final page.  Even after the perfectly surprising ending I found myself looking for more pages at the end of the book just so I could continue reading, because that is how engulfed in this book I was.

Whenever I fall in love with a book I find myself tearing through the pages wanting to know what happens next, but being utterly heartbroken once I finish the book.  I am not heartbroken because I think the book ended poorly (it absolutely did not!) but because I feel like I just lost a bunch of new friends.  I lost my little Seattle world and now am left mourning and unable to pick a secondary read, a problem in which I have not had in a while since I just went on a reading binge.  But this book was definitely special.  After reading this book in several days, Where’d You Go Bernadette made it to my top two favorite books of all time[3].  If you are looking for a fun, carefree book that will also captivate you and make you forget your surroundings until you finish it, then I strongly suggest you pick up Where’d you go Bernadette . . . you won’t regret it!




[1] YA: Young Adult
[2] Shop Local, support small business!! The BookMark Shoppe. http://www.bookmarkshoppe.com/
[3] My first favorite being Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

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