I've made it pretty clear how much I love Jen, so I've been waiting since May (when Jeneration X was released) to read her next book.
I was a bit hesitant before reading novel #2, only because her first novel was also memoir-ish. A "memovel" or "nemior". But I read somewhere (or maybe C told me) that it's quite a transition from memoir to novel so I gave Jen a free pass. Here I Go Again did not disapoint. Not a bit.
Set in Chicago (I love Chicago - it's just like being back at school) Here I Go Again follows the life of Lissy Ryder, former high school Prom Queen and Queen Bee, as she loses her job, house, and husband and tries to figure out where it all went wrong. Thanks to one former high school peer, she's given a second (and third and fourth) chance to go back to high school and right all of her wrongs (and there were a lot of wrongs).
Between her trips back to high school and back to present day, Lissy learns that some of the mean things she said and did must happen because those incidents helped develop the victims into the success stories they are today. If they hadn't been bullied they wouldn't have tried to make their lives better.
Ultimately Lissy finds the right balance (still bully those in high school but try to work out things at home with her parents) and she ends up with the future she realizes she really wants.
I loved Here I Go Again (haven't found a Jen Lancaster book that I couldn't put down) and especially enjoyed that Jen was able to write a true novel. One that while it is definitely Jen's writing style, it is a separate story from her real life.
Unless she really did travel back in time to high school, that'd be something else.
To join the Here I Go Again discussions, click here!
This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club, but the opinions expressed are my own.
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