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A review by ashleysilver7
Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky
3.0
As other people have commented, this book was a tad too predictable and cliched. From the very beginning, I knew how this book was going to end...that said, there could have been more plot development in the meantime, but alas, there was not. And, as others have said, I was looking forward for this book to end.
Put simply, this is a romance novel/redemption story about a mother whose five-year-old daughter was killed in a car accident while she was distracted by her phone. Her marriage fell apart (understandably), and her family disowned her (awful!). As a result, this woman literally reinvents herself in the town of Devon, Vermont. Very few people know that Maggie (or Mackenzie) used to be married, had a daughter, and (the kicker!) a distracted-driving law NAMED after her!
We get it, Maggie has extreme guilt and self-loathing for what happened. Any parent would feel the same way...and their journey toward recovery would be painful and ever evolving. However, the way she was shut-out by her parents and brother? Cruel...and not well explained by the author. And the fact that her probation officer is all over her case? For what? She should NOT have been a felon in the first place, if you ask me...
Edward Cooper, her ex-husband shows up in Devon unexpectedly...did I mention this book was predictable? However, the overall writing was good, and I did enjoy the story about a mother's grief. It would have been better had their not been so many cliched and anecdotes about Maggie's sexy ex-husband. 3/5 stars
Put simply, this is a romance novel/redemption story about a mother whose five-year-old daughter was killed in a car accident while she was distracted by her phone. Her marriage fell apart (understandably), and her family disowned her (awful!). As a result, this woman literally reinvents herself in the town of Devon, Vermont. Very few people know that Maggie (or Mackenzie) used to be married, had a daughter, and (the kicker!) a distracted-driving law NAMED after her!
We get it, Maggie has extreme guilt and self-loathing for what happened. Any parent would feel the same way...and their journey toward recovery would be painful and ever evolving. However, the way she was shut-out by her parents and brother? Cruel...and not well explained by the author. And the fact that her probation officer is all over her case? For what? She should NOT have been a felon in the first place, if you ask me...
Edward Cooper, her ex-husband shows up in Devon unexpectedly...did I mention this book was predictable? However, the overall writing was good, and I did enjoy the story about a mother's grief. It would have been better had their not been so many cliched and anecdotes about Maggie's sexy ex-husband. 3/5 stars