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A review by agsmith07
The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton, Lisa Steinke
5.0
If you could repeat one year of your life, what would you do differently? When she was forty, Jesse had a one night stand that resulted in the conception of her son Lucas. At first she didn’t confide the truth to her husband – who loved the boy from the start. But eventually it did come out and the two divorced. When Gabriella was forty, she was too busy writing best-selling novels to have a baby, which she now regrets. And Claire’s life was full of messy complications and sacrifices, due to dealing with her rebellious teenage daughter. She paid little attention to the man she loved - and he got away. Now the three women get the “chance” to go back and fix their mistakes, but what will that do to the futures?
This book was incredibly well written and plotted, despite the implausibly of the time twist. For the record, though, I enjoy books that take you to an alternate reality via “time travel” of some means. I’ve had my own what-if fantasies about different choices I could have made in the past and it’s what makes the characters so relatable. Their regrets are universal – even if I couldn’t exactly relate to their individual predicaments. There are many lessons to learn for the women about grief, loss, and keeping secrets. There are many nuggets of wisdom throughout the story. This was a favorite, “The thing Gabriella is that you never really get over losing someone or something you love. But the world keeps on moving and you have to also, or you’ll get lost. Learning to accept things and move on isn’t a weakness, It’s strength.”
Great read. Highly recommend.
This book was incredibly well written and plotted, despite the implausibly of the time twist. For the record, though, I enjoy books that take you to an alternate reality via “time travel” of some means. I’ve had my own what-if fantasies about different choices I could have made in the past and it’s what makes the characters so relatable. Their regrets are universal – even if I couldn’t exactly relate to their individual predicaments. There are many lessons to learn for the women about grief, loss, and keeping secrets. There are many nuggets of wisdom throughout the story. This was a favorite, “The thing Gabriella is that you never really get over losing someone or something you love. But the world keeps on moving and you have to also, or you’ll get lost. Learning to accept things and move on isn’t a weakness, It’s strength.”
Great read. Highly recommend.