What if you were approaching the end of your thirties and all of the life milestones you took for granted in your youth suddenly seemed out of reach?
On the eve of her thirty-ninth birthday, Maggie Piper doesn't look, act, or feel much different than she did at twenty-nine, but with her fortieth birthday speeding towards her like a freight train, she wonders if she should. The fear of a slowing metabolism, wrinkling of her skin, and the ticking of her biological clock leaves Maggie torn between a desire to settle down like most of her similarly-aged peers and concern that all is not perfect in her existing relationship. When a spontaneous request for a temporary "break" from her live-in boyfriend results in a "break-up," Maggie finds herself single once again and only twelve months from the big 4.0. In the profound yet bumpy year that follows, Maggie will learn, sometimes painfully, that life doesn't always happen on a schedule, there are no deadlines in love, and age really is just a number.
On the eve of her thirty-ninth birthday, Maggie Piper doesn't look, act, or feel much different than she did at twenty-nine, but with her fortieth birthday speeding towards her like a freight train, she wonders if she should. The fear of a slowing metabolism, wrinkling of her skin, and the ticking of her biological clock leaves Maggie torn between a desire to settle down like most of her similarly-aged peers and concern that all is not perfect in her existing relationship. When a spontaneous request for a temporary "break" from her live-in boyfriend results in a "break-up," Maggie finds herself single once again and only twelve months from the big 4.0. In the profound yet bumpy year that follows, Maggie will learn, sometimes painfully, that life doesn't always happen on a schedule, there are no deadlines in love, and age really is just a number.
MY REVIEW
If you’ve
read previous titles of Meredith Schorr, and you loved them, there would be no
need to read the blurb of her every new book before jumping into it. I didn’t
consider the blurb.
The
storyline is everyday mainstream women’s fiction. Girl approaching her forties,
Girl not considering marriage with a man she has no spark with, Girl wondering
if there’s more to love than good company.
Just like
every tale set in New York, there’s a mix of friends in the city who go on and
on about relationships, ageing, babies in later years. An insightful title for
anyone approaching their forties with style or with dread (much like our main
character).
The main
character, is lovely. Very relatable to all women hitting their forties. Other
characters you would also enjoy are, an Aunt with conventional values about
marriage who loves to put pressure on our main character, an understanding
mother who’s surprisingly calm that her daughter might be breaking up with her
best man yet, Phillip—an ageing hottie boss in our lead’s workplace, Ben—a
laidback guy our lead encounters.
Having read
all three of Meredith Schorr titles, I really, really had hopes for this one. I
did like it. But it was just a normal read, nothing I would gush heavily about.
I felt I needed more. I wished it wasn’t too conventional women’s fiction.
My rating:
Three /five stars (3/5 stars)
How Do You Know is available on amazon
My work not
done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads.
