If You're Not the One by Jemma Forte Published by Sourcebooks Landmark Publication Date: June 1st 2015
Pages: 417
Buy on Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Bookshop.org
Find on: Goodreads
What if you could do it all over again?Jennifer Wright is pretty sure her husband doesn't love her anymore. She and Max used to be the perfect couple, but the pressures of work and kids have pulled them in opposite directions. Now , Jen is full of "what if" questions about whether her bland, suburban existence is all she was ever destined for.When a terrible accident sends Jen into a coma, she is able to see what her life could have been if she had run off to Australia with the handsome, dangerous man she met on vacation, or if she had stayed with her workaholic college boyfriend. Would she ever have loved another child as much as she loves her daughters? Could she have become rich? More than anything, Jen wants to do the right thing for her family. But what she discovers may leave her with even more questions about the choices she made, and no easy answers about what to do next.
I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did. I didn’t really read the summary, I knew I had to review it so I just started reading it. From the get go, I connected with Jennifer (I think MANY readers will). She is a young mother—overwhelmed, underappreciated, questioning where her life is headed.
Jennifer has an accident which results in injuries with unexpected consequences. She ends up being able to revisit her past choices (previous boyfriends, careers,etc.) and actually “see” where those paths would have taken her life. I think most of us would love this ability! I know most of us wonder, had I ended up married to _________, what would my life have been like? Would I be happier?
Now I assumed that being able to do this would end with a lesson in “be careful what you wish for” and it kind of does, BUT Forte’s book is anything but predictable. Jennifer must reconcile with the decisions she has made and what new decisions may bring.
Readers will enjoy this book. Jennifer and the other characters are easy to identify and sympathize with. I found myself both laughing out loud and crying at various times throughout. As I mentioned above, the story is anything but predictable so I enjoyed discovering how it would end. I highly recommend this one and I would love to see a follow up book!
