In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch

Had I remembered that I had already read The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch I would not have read In Twenty Years, but I didn’t and so I did….

In Twenty Years was okay, but two days after reading it I’ve forgotten most of the character’s names and in a few weeks I’ll probably have forgotten the plot. No doubt in a few years time I’ll have forgotten that this author isn’t really writing for me and will read another book by her.

The story is about a group of five former housemates from university who spend a weekend together twenty years on to celebrate/reminisce/get into fights/fall into bed with each other/get drunk/ruin their careers/figure out what is important and generally enjoy (?) each other’s company. The weekend was organised from the grave by the sixth member of their household, who died tragically some years before. The weekend is on what would have been her fortieth birthday.

The story was dull and the characters’ mid life crisis’s were predictable, despite their unlikely paths in life (a rock star, a plastic surgeon, a successful blogger, her stay-at-home husband and a woman who is so frightened to really live that she creates a pretend life on social media).

The cover states that Allison Winn Scotch is a New York Times Bestselling Author, so clearly loads of other readers really enjoy her books.

The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch

Does anyone else ever feel mean about writing a negative book review? Sometimes I do. I also feel like a hypocrite, because writing a book is beyond me. Sigh. Feeling mean doesn’t stop me from saying what I really think about books though…

This may seem obvious, but after reading The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch, I probably won’t read more books by this author. While I didn’t dislike the story enough to stop reading, but I didn’t enjoy it enough to praise it.

The story line of The One That I Want is simple enough. Tilly is married to Tyler, and is happy with her life. She is in her thirties and works as a guidance counsellor at the same high school she and Tyler went to. Tilly is the ‘go to’ person whenever anyone needs something done that they don’t want to do themselves, like organising the school musical production (which this year is Grease, hence the title of this book). The only thing Tilly wants that she does not already have, is to become pregnant.

When Tilly goes to a clairvoyant, she is given the gift of clarity. She starts dreaming of unhappy, life-changing events which begin to come true.

On reflection, I think the overuse of descriptions and metaphors* throughout this book annoyed me the most. For example, Tilly describes someone tailing her “like a delinquent puppy dog.” Or when she is feeling confused about the changes around her, Tilly mourns “the shattered comfort of place that once hugged me like a life vest.” A metaphor every couple of pages might have been bearable, but unfortunately nearly every paragraph contained an irritating, complicated description.

So, while The One That I Want, wasn’t for me, good on Allison Winn Smith for being able to write a book. I wish I could. Unfortunately book reviews and emails are about my limit.

*I may mean ‘similes.’ I get confused between similes and metaphors. Don’t tell me the difference though, because I won’t remember, any more than I will remember this book in a month’s time.