Book Review Friday July 4, 2008

Ha! It's Monday. It was a great weekend though.

Book: If You Could See Me Now
Author: Cecelia Ahern
Pages: 320

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I happened to pick it up because I noticed that she wrote P.S. I Love You, which turned out to be a good movie. That was my only motivation to read this book.

I thought the book was very original and the plot line a little on the quirky--though pleasant--side. I flipped to the back to see a picture of the author and was astonished to see that she was merely 24. Also, the daughter of the Irish Prime Minister--which lead to a thought-provoking conversation with a friend as to if Ireland was under British rule or not. From what we gathered, just six counties in Northern Ireland remain under British control. The rest is the Free Republic of Ireland. Really, they should teach you this stuff in school. What would we ever do without Google?

Anyhoo...Elizabeth is a tightly wound 34 year old who is reluctantly raising her sister's 6 year old son. She's taken the weight of her family's problems on to her shoulders and is alone and miserable. Abandoned at 12 by her mother and left to essentially raise her baby sister, Elizabeth has always held a grudge against her free-spirited sister and her grieving father.

Enter in Ivan, who is not what anyone thinks he is. He shows Elizabeth an entirely new way of life and the small town in Ireland can hardly believe it's eyes when a new woman emerges. If only they could figure out who and what Ivan is.

The best part of the entire book was when you find out who Ivan is. It took me completely by surprise and I loved that aspect of the story. The book itself is cheesy, but it's what makes a good, no-brainer read. I found Elizabeth to be a bit overindulgent at times, but it was easy to forgive her. I can't say that I liked the ending. It didn't tie up loose ends and left a lot to be desired, but overall the book was a good one.