Book Review - Here I Go Again, Jen Lancaster

Here I Go Again by Jen Lancaster
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a story, Here I Go Again sucked. Wait! Keep reading! (Even you, Jen, if you do things like read Goodread Reviews.)

It was a smarmy, unrealistic mishmash of It's a Wonderful Life and Mean Girls.

I know, you're thinking, um, it's about a time-travelling jerkface, it's obviously not meant to be realistic.

And I know. I know. But, for me, even my unrealistic stories need to tie up their loose ends, and make sense in the alternate reality they've forced into existence. And Here I Go Again doesn't do that.

There are a lot of inconsistencies, and plot points that weren't thought out, weren't followed through. (Okay, here's where the review gets good, I promise.)

But Here I Go Again ISN'T a story. It's a parable. And as a parable, it's fantastic. Right up there with the New Testament, and much more relevant to me at my current place in life.

The point of the book is pretty much exactly what the book SHOUTS at you (not exactly subtle, really, this book). Small motions create huge results.

And this is a truth. Even those of us without little vials of magic potion know that. But sometimes we forget.

The sub-theme is that kindness, true kindness--not the kind with any self-serving purpose--wins out in the end. That karma (even though it's NOT karma, but that's a semantics argument for another day) will get you. That you reap what you plant.

These lessons are some that I really needed to remember right now. Not that I'm being cruel to anyone, or experiencing anything near as extreme as the protagonist here, but that I could stand to be a little kinder, a little gentler, a little more loving as I go through my day-to-day life. I do a fairly good job, but I can get so caught up in what I need to succeed, and what I need to do physically for others to make them happy, that I forget, sometimes, to sit back and love and appreciate.

I was already making amends in this way, and Here I Go Again was excellent supplement reading for my journey.

So, yeah, the story? Not so much. The parable?

Aces.

View all my reviews


**I received this book as part of BlogHer's paid review program, but the opinions are my own. If you want to join in the conversation visit BlogHer where we're all talking about it!