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A review by lovelymisanthrope
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I purchased a copy of this book from the library bookstore.
"In Five Years" follows Dannie Kohan. Dannie has the seemingly perfect life, and her grand plan is falling perfectly into place. She is about to land her dream job at a law firm, she is living in her dream apartment in New York City, and she is about to be proposed to by the perfect guy. But, on the night of her engagement, she falls asleep, and has the most vivid dream about what her life looks like five years into the future. Nothing turns out how she thought it would, and she does not know what that means for her present.
I would first like to say that I found this book in the romance section of the bookstore, and although there are some love stories, all of the romance felt more like a subplot. I think this is a hard-hitting contemporary that is far more about Dannie and her relationship with her best friend, Bella. I think this is a love letter to friends, and to one's self, because Dannie is forced to acknowledge some difficult truths she has hidden from herself.
I love the exploration of the idea: where do you see yourself in five years? It is often easy to dream and picture where life is going to take you, but everything can change in the blink of an eye. Dannie is a planner, and very much has the plan for life laid out. For her to see a future she did not envision is terrifying, and I think a lot of us would be shocked to see where our lives are actually going. I think this book also tries to tackle the idea that knowing the future can ruin the present. Dannie saw her future, thought she did not like it, and she stressed and tried everything in her power to steer away from it. Knowing does not make it better.
Dannie is such a relatable character, and I loved reading from her perspective. She is trying so hard to stick with her rigid plans, that she is missing all of the beautiful things she could have.
The pacing was great in the book. I did not feel like the story was taking place over five years, which I think is a great testament to the writing. All of the characters felt fleshed out, and I was rooting for them all in different ways.
I highly recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more from Rebecca Serle in the future.
"In Five Years" follows Dannie Kohan. Dannie has the seemingly perfect life, and her grand plan is falling perfectly into place. She is about to land her dream job at a law firm, she is living in her dream apartment in New York City, and she is about to be proposed to by the perfect guy. But, on the night of her engagement, she falls asleep, and has the most vivid dream about what her life looks like five years into the future. Nothing turns out how she thought it would, and she does not know what that means for her present.
I would first like to say that I found this book in the romance section of the bookstore, and although there are some love stories, all of the romance felt more like a subplot. I think this is a hard-hitting contemporary that is far more about Dannie and her relationship with her best friend, Bella. I think this is a love letter to friends, and to one's self, because Dannie is forced to acknowledge some difficult truths she has hidden from herself.
I love the exploration of the idea: where do you see yourself in five years? It is often easy to dream and picture where life is going to take you, but everything can change in the blink of an eye. Dannie is a planner, and very much has the plan for life laid out. For her to see a future she did not envision is terrifying, and I think a lot of us would be shocked to see where our lives are actually going. I think this book also tries to tackle the idea that knowing the future can ruin the present. Dannie saw her future, thought she did not like it, and she stressed and tried everything in her power to steer away from it. Knowing does not make it better.
Dannie is such a relatable character, and I loved reading from her perspective. She is trying so hard to stick with her rigid plans, that she is missing all of the beautiful things she could have.
The pacing was great in the book. I did not feel like the story was taking place over five years, which I think is a great testament to the writing. All of the characters felt fleshed out, and I was rooting for them all in different ways.
I highly recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more from Rebecca Serle in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Cancer, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Medical content and Pregnancy