This was the Once Upon a Book Club's New Year's Eve selection. I had never purchased one of their boxes before and decided to give it a try. I absolutely LOVED the book and the concept of opening a present when I reached a certain page. The New Year's mini box contained an adorable bookish champagne glass that every book nerd would have loved. It says, "I like to party and by party I mean read books". It also came with a 40 book reading challenge, which I am thoroughly enjoying.
There were two surprise gifts that readers got to open when they reached certain pages in the book, which coincided with the story. The first gift I have found to be useful, but the second gift was a complete stretch. I understood what they were trying to capture, but at this price point, the gift was such low quality that I can't imagine anyone would actually use it. I threw mine away and have been enjoying the rest of the items.
Goodreads Overview:
Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.
Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.
With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.
While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.
Jacque's Review:
After reading the book I do not feel like the overview paints a clear picture of this story. Yes...there was a tragic loss and some friction between Clara and Morgan. They were both grieving and trying to process the events that took place in their own way, which was not productive most of the time. They do have different personalities, but I did not feel like they were at complete odds. They both loved each other and simply did not know how to communicate and work together without Chris or Jenny in the picture. Morgan was simply trying to protect Clara from the painful truth, but honesty really would have been the best policy in this case. The secrets led to speculation that was incorrect and placed the resentment and hurt feelings on the victim instead of the source. Once everything is out in the open, they have far more respect for one another and the healing process can finally begin.
In addition to Clara and Morgan we are introduced to Jonah, who was Chris's best friend growing up. Morgan seemed to have feelings for him when they were younger, but once she discovered she was pregnant at the age of 17, her life was pretty much set. She will marry Chris and they will live happily-ever-after. That seemed to be exactly how things played out until the beginning of the book. With another birthday rolling around Morgan is feeling empty. She doesn't have a career or anything outside of the home to keep her busy. Her life is caught in a rut of housework and taking care of her family. There is next to no spontaneity in her life. She wakes up at the same time every day, makes breakfast, and has a rotation of meals she prepares for dinner. Everything works like clockwork, but she is beginning to resent not finishing college and having a life of her own. Then she receives the call about the crash and her entire world is turned upside down.
Clara doesn't know how to talk to her mother about the tragedy and turns to her friend, Miller, for support. I loved Miller!! Jonah is a teacher at Clara and Miller's school and suggests they work on a school project together. Miller wants to produce films when he grows up and Clara wants to become an actress, so it seems like a perfect fit. The only problem, Clara's father doesn't approve. He knew Miller's father growing up and assumes the apple didn't fall far from the tree, which couldn't be further from the truth in this case. Miller eventually proves himself to Morgan, even though Clara's actions put him at a serious disadvantage most of the book.
Morgan and Jonah turn to each other for support as they uncover the painful truth of the events that led up to the crash. I enjoyed seeing how their relationship transitioned and progressed as they worked through their past feelings and the current situation they find themselves in.
I have yet to go wrong with a Colleen Hoover book. This was a 5 star book that I will not soon forget.
