Title: Time of My Life
Author: Allison Winn Scotch
Genre: Chick-Lit; 283 pages
Copyright: 2008
Rating: 1.5 Bookmarks
I love the cover of this book, the pink and green caught my eye from the shelf at the library, and I was smitten. The premise seemed pretty straight forward: Affluent, suburban mom Jillian Westfield comes down with a powerful case of the “What Ifs” after learning her old boyfriend is getting married.
(note to self: Stop reading books just because you like the cover.)
The last few books I reviewed here were selected solely on the cover art and all left me uninspired*.
Maybe Time of My Life didn’t speak to me because I married my college sweetheart and we don’t have kids. I never had a ‘one that got away’ boyfriend and the dynamic of our relationship hasn’t shifted by the addition of children. I don’t wake up each day wondering how I ended up living the Stepford lifestyle because happily for me, I don’t.
When Jillian finds herself magically transported back in time 7 years, able to relive her past, she takes a cab to her home in search of her toddler daughter, Katie. But Jillian doesn’t live in her McMansion yet. And Katie hasn’t been born because Jillian hasn’t met her husband.
Is this my house? Is it the house of my future?…It seems insane, to come back here…but Katie! I can’t just leave Katie! What if she’s here? What if I’ve fallen down some mind-bending rabbit-hole and this is an LSD trip gone bad?
Simultaneously, there’s an abandonment sub-plot while the author manages to tackle myriad family and parenting issues along the way. Ultimately Jillian comes to a decision on which life she is destined (and desires) to lead.
The book is a quick read and does have appeal. If you enjoy mainstream chick-lit, or secretly wish you could rewind a part of your life and get a do-over, you’d probably get a kick out of Time of My Life.
Have you read this book? If so, what did you think? Or do you have a ‘One That Got Away’ story for me? I’d love to hear it…
*For the record, I’m an upbeat and positive person. I don’t enjoy writing negative reviews and it’s mere coincidence that my first few have been critical.
Book, Line, and Sinker 