Aliverse

My name is Holly.
This story is about me—
a writer who’s way behind
on her deadline.

But, honestly,
how can I concentrate on my work
when my fiftieth birthday’s
rushing at me like a freight train,

my hormones are making me feel
like a Szechuan flambé,
and my eighty-year-old mother’s
biting her nurses?

Not to mention the fact that my daughter’s
just begun applying to colleges
(none of which are within
a thousand-mile radius of home),

and lately my husband’s been
such an irritating, finger-pointing stinker
that I’ve found myself dreaming of ways
to spend his insurance money . . .

My name is Holly.
This book
tells my story—
a coming-of-middle-age story.

What a fun story to read! I received this book from the publisher (Harper Collins) as an advance review copy. When I requested it, I have to admit it was purely based on the name and the cover. I hadn’t looked into what it was about or anything like that. I hadn’t even looked into the other books the author, Sonya Sones, has written.

I thought the cover looked playful and summery and the name intrigued me. I had the vague idea that maybe it was a chick-lit type of mystery or something.

What I found instead was this delightful departure from the norm. The story is written in poetry format, making it a quick read and very easy on the eyes. Because of this, I managed to devour the book in about two days.

It’s a book that many married women can relate to, even if they don’t have a daughter going off to college. (Heck, my kids aren’t even in elementary school yet, but I felt completely in sync with the main character and her worries and problems.)

While there isn’t a whole lot of depth to the book, I found it refreshing and a nice change of pace from the books I usually read.

This is great beach or pool-side reading and I recommend it for a light change of pace. It’s still chick-lit, just not the kind I was expecting.

3.5 out of 5 stars