1. YA books seem to be, in general, cheaper than books found in the general fiction section. (Justyne's Wallet: 1. Bookstore: 0.)
2. I seem to have trouble finding an intriguing plot synopsis for adult fiction because every one I read just seems to have very Grown Up Characters with Grown Up Problems, and the whole thing is very Grown Up, which is something that I most definitely am not. Besides, who doesn't love Teen Drama? (YA: 10. Adult Fiction: -1.)
3. I lived a spectacularly boring and uneventful adolescence, and therefore must relive it precariously through the eyes of fictional characters who are much more rebellious than I ever dared to be. (YA: ∞. Justyne: ?)
Luckily, the last few times I have made the daring jump into Grown Up Literature, I haven't been disappointed. So I present to you: How to Fall in Love, by Cecelia Ahern.
Our main girl here is Christine, a 30-something Irish woman who spends her days finding jobs for people and her nights avoiding her douchey ex-husband, who is literally probably the Worst Person Ever. One night, she's strolling along, minding her business, when she stumbles upon Adam. Adam is a soon-to-be-35-year-old Irish man who almost jumps off a bridge. Almost--Christine manages to pull his ass off the railing, with the promise that she can convince him to love life again. Except now Adam expects her to, y'know, keep that promise, and Christine is starting to freak out because she's not even sure if she loves life right now, let alone if she's capable of showing it to somebody else.
Thing is, though, she doesn't really have a choice, because his birthday is in two weeks and if she doesn't convince him that life can still be happiness and rainbows and unicorns, he's gonna try and kill himself again, and probably succeed, unless Christine just happens to be walking by again. (Which at this point really isn't all that unlikely.) So the stakes are pretty high.
But first, let's go back to her ex-husband: WHAT A BUTT. All he did throughout the entire length of the book was tick me off, and yeah, okay, that was probably the point. But I feel ripped off in the sense that I was DESPERATELY HOPING that someone would clock him. The Adam, the detective, Chrstine...hell, throw Mr. Basil in there. Literally. Anyone. He deserved a punch in the throat, and I just about screamed when Christine urged the detective to not press charges. (Chrstine, you're great, but come on.)
I also find his utter lack of passion hard to believe, considering how much effort he was putting into hating her and making her life miserable. I don't know, but that kinda sounds like passion to me.
One thing I was super confused about was Adam's feelings towards the family business--I mean, I suppose it was sorta-kinda-almost hinted at, before he actually made the decision to take on the company, but only very briefly and very vaguely. (Unless I missed something, a big something, which is entirely likely because I'm oblivious about a lot of stuff.) I was just bothered by how sudden he changed his mind once his sister showed up. Had the hints been more prominent, his sister's arrival would have been the perfect final motivator for him to get his shit together and tackle the position head-on--as is, though, it was too sudden and out of the blue.
Christine's character, though--God, I love her. She's a meddler, intent on fixing everything (whether or not it's her actual job). Even though her actions are not always the most thought out plans, they are well intended, and she genuinely wants to help people, bless her heart. And her obsession with how-to books is probably one of my favourite quirks of any character, like, ever.
Overall, though, this book was rather well written. It was more a story about love and finding the life you think is worth living, rather than a story about outright depression, but enjoyable nontheless.
I'd give it a solid 3.9 stars.
Until later,
- Justyne
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