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I loved this book! There is my review of the book, now I’m waiting for the movie to come to Redbox because I missed it in theaters. Seriously though, I really did love the book. It was so quirky and I completely got Bernadette. I think there might be a little bit of Bernadette in all of us. I mean who hasn’t wanted to take off, leave our world behind and rediscover ourselves in a place where no one knows us?
Did I tell you this book is a little quirky? This book is told in such a different way for me. At times, you’re hearing from Bernadette herself and you really get in her head and thoughts and other times it’s her daughter’s voice trying to figure out her mom, the neighbors, her dad and everything else going on in their world. I love correspondence that goes back and forth, whether it’s a text message or an email, it gives you a fly on the wall look into what was going on behind the scenes. Haven’t you wished to be a fly on the wall sometimes so you could listen in on conversations?
I love the relationship between Bernadette and her daughter. As a mom of children that have had health issues, I get it. I understand the panic of letting your children out of your site and letting them start to spread their wings. The worry that every cold, fever or new symptom might mean something dreadful and having to fight that feeling so your child doesn’t grow up a hypochondriac. I understand what all that stress does to you and your relationships. Bernadette and her daughter have a unique closeness and then the normal teen mother-daughter relationship kicks in at times. Her husband seems to be a dream, I mean he’s handsome and has a dream job, but is he really dreamy? I’m not going to tell you, you have to read the book to find out!
Then there’s Bernadette herself. She is complicated, really complicated. But at her core is she really than different than most of us? So maybe we don’t do things to drive our neighbors crazy or have names for all the moms at our child’s school but I’m sure at some point you’ve thought about it. Bernadette is a woman on the edge, looking at her life and realizing it isn’t exactly what she wanted it to be and she isn’t coping with it well. She is funny, brash, self-deprecating, and crazy smart, but also dealing with anxiety and depression. She’s a woman that isn’t sure what to do with herself while everything is crumbling around her. They say your home is a reflection of your life and Bernadette’s home truly is that reflection.
But when Bernadette disappears, everyone in her life realizes, they really don’t know anything about her. Her daughter begins piecing her mother’s life together bit by bit. Her life is turned upside down but she gains a completely new understanding of her father and especially her mom as desperately seeks to find her. She and her father wind up on a voyage that takes them to the ends of the earth to find Bernadette. it seems like Bernadette has disappeared off the face of the earth, forever, is she running away from her life and her family? Has she finally cracked or is she starting her second act?
I don’t want to give away too much in case you decide to read the book, which I recommend. It is witty, smart and a fun read. It is not a cuss free book, there are a few curse words in the book. Other than a few cuss words, the book is clean. If you like the Confessions of a Shopaholic series then you’ll most likely want to add this book to your collection. Maria Semple did a great job with this book and I’m so upset that I missed it in theaters. I will probably buy the movie too. If you’re wanting a girls movie binge day it would most likely go good with Confessions of a Shopaholic and Eat, Pray, Love and Under the Tuscan Sun.
If you’d like to have your very own copy of Where’d You Go, Bernadette just click on the image below.
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