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There are currently 23 member reviews
for The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs
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Sylvia G. (Scottsdale, AZ)
Not so perfect
First, I felt that I was reading a YA novel. The teenage daughter In this novel is way more wise and mature than her mother, which is not saying much. Second, the breezy, easy read was like fast food. It went down easy but an hour later I was hungry. As I've gotten older, I find that I don't like to waste my time on books like this, but it was a light, painless diversion that someone looking for that sort of thing should enjoy.
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Leslie G. (Peabody, MA)
Role Reversals
The author presents a novel role reversal in the mother -daughter relationship in which the child is portrayed as more insightful than the adults surrounding her. However, the level of wisdom of fifteen-year-old Polly and the level of naivety of her mother Caroline did not always seem believable.
Some of the minor characters would be more interesting if they were "fleshed out" to a greater extent. For example, it would be interesting to learn more of Caroline's mother's transformation from a depressed alcoholic to a successful and compassionate woman. Tom, Caroline's husband, also might be a more understandable character if he were described thoroughly.
Ultimately, the basic premise that Caroline has allowed her high-school slight to morph into such an enormous part of her life to the extent that it is an integral part of her life-long guilt does not seem realistic or compelling enough to be the basis for an entire novel.