Sunday 15 December 2013

The Opposite of Maybe - Maddie Dawson



About the book… 
Jonathan and Rosie have been together so long they finish each other’s sentences so when he (finally) proposes and asks her to move across the country with him, everyone is happily surprised.

But when things suddenly unravel, Rosie sends Jonathan packing and moves back home with Soapie, the irascible, opinionated grandmother who raised her. Only now she has to figure out how to fire Soapie’s very unsuitable caregiver, a gardener named Tony who lets her drink martinis, smoke, and cheat at Scrabble.

It’s a temporary break, of course—until Rosie realizes she’s accidentally pregnant at 44, completely unequipped for motherhood, and worse, may be falling in love with the sentimental, troubled Tony, whose life is even more muddled than hers. 

It’s not until Rosie learns the truth about her mother’s tragic story that she wonders if sometimes you have to let go of your fears, trusting that the big-hearted, messy life that awaits you may just be the one you were meant to live.

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About the author… 
Maddie grew up in the South, born into a family of outrageous storytellers - the kind of storytellers who would sit on the dock by the lake in the evening and claim that everything they say is THE absolute truth, like, stack-of-Bibles true. The more outlandish the story, the more it likely it was to be true. Or so they said.

Her various careers are a substitute English teacher, department store clerk, medical records typist, waitress, cat-sitter, wedding invitation company receptionist, nanny, daycare worker, electrocardiogram technician, and Taco Bell taco-maker were only bearable if I could think up stories as I worked.



Today she lives in Connecticut, and spends part of every day on her screened-in back porch with her trusty laptop, writing and writing and writing, looking out at the willow tree and the rosebush and the rhododendron that has a nice nest of cardinals, who she imagines to be yelling at her to get back to work whenever she waits too long to write the next sentence.

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My thoughts…
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  I lwas drawn to the front cover and synopsis and the book didn't disappoint.

Rosie the main character has lived with her partner Jonathan for fifteen years. At first they both seem to be happy with their lot but very early on you get the impression that Rosie in particular is looking for and in fact needs more. Life is just ambling along. Their mutual friends and family seem to know them better than they do themselves with Jonathan and to a lesser degree Rosie being the butt of their jokes.  Things are often going to happen but.....

I hadn't previously read anything by Maddie Dawson and was impressed with the way she wove the characters in and out of the book. Building upon the emotions and characters with each chapter.  Just when I thought I'd got it all sussed, Maddie added a bit more depth to the character and I had to re-think. This isn't a straight forward story but one of discovery for most of the characters and my personal opinion of them changed several times throughout the book. 

If you want to laugh and cry and at times think deeply this is for you - It wasn't all predictable and lovely, it was just like real life - things don't always happen in the way or, at the time we want them to. 

I've found an author that I look forward to seeking out again - so a big thank you Maddie Dawson.

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