Take a photo of a barcode or cover
brianaisgoingplaces 's review for:
The Wife App
by Carolyn Mackler
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This one is a hard one for me to rate. The Wife App follows the intertwining personal, professional, and romantic lives of three close friends who decide to create an app to help people meet Wives. The Wife App isn’t a dating app, but instead allows people to be matched with Wives who will take on the many tasks that often fall to women in relationships. More than the cooking and cleaning, Wives take on the mental load and show that the value of the free labor women do everyday. It’s a cool idea, and while not entirely the focus of the book, is interesting to see highlighted.
However, if you’re a young woman trying really hard not to be jaded by the way men are socialized and how difficult it can be to find a partner who is willing to actually partner with you instead of having you act as their second mom, this book will not help in those efforts. I often felt EXTREMELY frustrated for the characters and reading the things that they had to navigate with their exes. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing, but I do think it mad me not necessarily enjoy the book.
In this book, we get to read the point of view of each friend. At first it was hard to keep track because the women didn’t really seem to have distinct personalities, but over the course of the novel, we got to see them grow and change. While the impetus for them creating the app made me roll my eyes and say “Y’all need therapy”, I think this was a story where we got to see each character grow and develop. I was proud of them and happy for them in the end.
All in all, I think I can finally come to terms with the fact that I’m not a fan of “women’s fiction”, but still be able to appreciate a book for the ride it takes me on.
Maybe I should read Fairplay as a palette cleanser.
3.5 rounded to 4