Short, Fast and Furious Read: Life and Other

What it's about (from the publisher):

Libby Miller has always been an unwavering optimist—but when her husband drops a bomb on their marriage the same day a doctor delivers devastating news, she realizes her rose-colored glasses have actually been blinding her.

With nothing left to lose, she abandons her life in Chicago for the clear waters and bright beaches of the Caribbean for what might be her last hurrah. Despite her new sunny locale, her plans go awry when she finds that she can’t quite outrun the past or bring herself to face an unknowable future. Every day of tropical bliss may be an invitation to disaster, but with her twin brother on her trail and a new relationship on the horizon, Libby is determined to forget about fate. Will she risk it all to live—and love—a little longer?

From critically acclaimed author Camille Pagán comes a hilarious and hopeful story about a woman choosing between a “perfect” life and actually living.

 My take:

This is what adults call short chick lit, fast prose and furious circumstances. It is a formula, true, but the quick pace necessary for a short read makes it less formulaic somehow. You get to know Libby and want to root for her and everything happens fast enough that you don't get tired of her. She will seem familiar to the middle reader because especially in the beginning, she kind of acts like a middle schooler.

I guess I would call this a beach read, but I actually should create a different category. This is a plane read as long as you are able to create a translucent wall around yourself so that no one sees you crying (that is if you are a crying kind of person). I am not giving out a spoiler alert, so do not read too much into this comment. Still, at 250 Kindle pages, you can finish this book on a flight from Honolulu to Seattle.