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Eileen F. (Drexel Hill, PA)
Moving forward
A very quick read about a mother and daughter finding their way and the mother facing her past. I enjoyed the premise and the main character but was puzzled that the 15 year old was given the role of the wise one. The supporting characters were interesting people.
Nan G. (Mazomanie, WI)
Easy Beach Read
If you like books about relationships between women (friends, mothers/daughters) and like them even more if they are easy to read with all the loose ends tied up in a neat bow by the last page- The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is for you. Definitely not a thought provoking novel, it is perfect to toss in the beach bag, finish while enjoying the sun and then leave behind for someone else to discover. Matthew Dicks does an especially good job of capturing the sometimes fractious and complicated relationship between a mother & teen daughter while dropping the ball a bit on the defining incident behind
…more the break-up of one of the central relationships. That said, I would recommend this for anyone looking for an easy, breezy read! (less)The premise of a woman, wife and mother of a teen-age daughter finally speaking up to an adult bully and then reaching back to her youth to confront the perceived bullying that defined her life sounds a little far-fetched. Having said that, Caroline Jacobs does take the reader on a fun trip, the by-product of which is a bonding experience with her daughter. This is a perfect summer read, not too challenging but engaging enough to keep one's interest. I would almost say that the daughter's "old-head" intelligence and practicality are a little mature for a teenager, except that I have a daughter who could be her double.
Carol F. (Lake Linden, MI)
Comeback or Something Else?
Revenge! Is that really what Caroline was after or was it something deeper - something she had always needed to resolve that finally came to the forefront? You just have to find out if Caroline will go through with her plan and so you almost rush to the end of the book to find out. Along the way though we realize that Polly's high school life is not really so different than Caroline's was many years ago. I think this book could work for a discussion group.
Liz B. (Fairview, TX)
Whose Comeback is it Anyway?
This is a light and easy read. While I enjoyed the ease of reading, I found the high school incident requiring a "comeback" to be fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Something a bit more traumatic might have triggered such a response but I had trouble buying that this mom went to such great lengths to find revenge against her former best friend. And honestly, she didn't even want the revenge as it turned out. Her daughter should get full credit for the perfect comeback, not Caroline herself. I thought the dialogue between mother and daughter was well-written, especially coming from a male author.
…more Overall, an easy read that could spark some deeper conversation but not well enough developed in plot or character. (less)No one is more surprised than Caroline, a quiet unassuming person, when she suddenly blurts out a 4-letter expletive at the PTO President at the local high school. After she realizes what she has done, she decides to make a trip, along with her very smart, too sassy daughter to visit a former best friend and demand an apology from her. The ex-friend had bullied her in high school and Caroline wants her to know how humiliated she was then and how it changed her life. This is an enjoyable and easy read...
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.
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
…more 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. (less)
