Review – The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen
Fiction, women’s
Hoo boy, do I have a lot to tell you about this book! Let me give you a little back story before I tell you about The Opposite of Me.
First, I’ve known Sarah Pekkanen since about February 2009 when she introduced herself on my blog. I checked out her site and signed up for her newsletter. When I got her first newsletter, I was hooked. I was like, I’m TOTALLY into this author, and I can’t believe her book doesn’t come out for another 13 months! So we chat every once in a while, and I love her more every time she sends out a newsletter (about once a month), and then the next thing I know I’ve got a copy of The Opposite of Me in my hot little hands! And I can hardly contain myself and I can’t wait to crack it open. And then I go to hospital because dang if my side isn’t KILLING ME, and next thing I know I’m being admitted for appendicitis and lucky for me I brought the book I was reading AND The Opposite of Me, because you never know when you’ll need an extra book, right? So I basically read The Opposite of Me in one sitting, because I had nothing to do other than hope my urinary tract started working right.
The Opposite of Me is about Lindsey and Alex, fraternal twins who are completely different. Alex is beautiful, and to make up for the fact that she’s not as beautiful as Alex, Lindsey works long and hard to become successful. Just when success is within her grasp and she’s about to be named the creative vice president of an advertising agency, a poor choice leads to her getting fired and running away to her parents’ home so she can try to salvage what she’s spent so long building. Lindsey is forced to confront her family’s history and take a look at why she is where she is.
Pekkanen has taken a dynamic that I’m utterly fascinated with, despite the fact that it doesn’t pertain to me at all: the dynamics of sisters. Also, the family dynamic and how roles are assigned and taken on is developed well. I found myself thinking of my own family dynamic and how I ended up being “the smart one”.
When I started reading The Opposite of Me, I couldn’t help but see that Pekkanen has a fantastic voice, whether she’s writing you an email, a newsletter, or a novel. She’s very funny and wry.
I hate predictable story lines and tidy stories. My heart was sinking as I read The Opposite of Me, and wondered if Pekkanen would let me down for the first time by doing the very thing I hate: being predictable. I was pleased when I realized that things weren’t as predictable or tidy as I thought they might become (though it does have its fair share of tidiness).
As I mentioned, Pekkanen has a great sense of humor in her writing. She can take an ordinary situation and make you giggle at the humor in it, humor that you didn’t see before, but which is now blatantly obvious.
I predict that The Opposite of Me will be wildly popular, and Pekkanen is undoubtedly an author to keep your eye on.
Rating: 90 out of 100
| Tags: sarah pekkanen, the opposite of me, women's fiction 15 comments »
March 8th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
About halfway through the book I thought it was going predictable too, but I was very pleased with where she ended up taking it.
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:30 am
I’m looking forward to reading this book. It looks fun and I’m hearing lots of good things about it. Thanks for sharing!
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March 9th, 2010 at 6:48 am
I love Sarah too, so I’m really excited to see her book is so good – I’ve got to make time to get to it soon.
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March 9th, 2010 at 9:56 am
I’m going to add this book to my Good Reads to be read list. I love books that aren’t predictable. This sounds really great!
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March 9th, 2010 at 10:07 am
This sounds like a good one. I love to read about the dynamics of sisters…I have 8 of my own!
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March 9th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
This looks like a good one. I’ve always been fascinated by what it might be like to be one of multiples – identical or fraternal – and there are no twins in my family that I know of.
Maybe the fact that sisters don’t pertain to you is why you’re so interested in them. I have 3 sisters & have always wondered what brothers would be like as well. Or, when things get really crazy, an only child, LOL.
I too, was labeled “the smart one” and I have mixed feelings(sometimes even hurt feelings) about it. Families are complicated. Sigh.
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March 9th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Yay – not predictable! Very happy to see another favorable review.
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March 10th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
Hey Trish! I just bought my copy of The Opposite of Me last night at Sarah’s book signing in Bethesda, MD. Like you, she contacted me because of my book blog and our correspondence quickly grew into an online friendship. Since moving home to the DC area after a few years away, I am thrilled to call her a neighbor and to have the opportunity I had last night. I can’t wait to read TOOM too and will hopefully get to it soon and I am so glad you and others enjoyed it so much. You can check out pics of Sarah, my friends and me at
http://planetbooks.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/authors-can-be-soooo-cool-and-sometimes-they-dont-even-know-it/
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March 10th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
This is getting such great reviews, I’m definitely going to have to add it to the tbr list. Were you concerned that, after striking up a relationship with the author, you might not like the book?
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March 11th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Oh, this does sound like a very good book, and I love the fact that it’s not too predictable! I have only seen a couple of reviews of this book, but both mentioned the great newsletters and wonderful personality of the author. I think I am going to have to try to get on that subscription list! Thanks for your very thoughtful review of this book. The wish list grows ever longer!
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March 11th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
I’ve been reading Sarah’s newsletter too. I love her humor and I was hoping it would show through in her novel. I’m so glad it turned out great. I’m looking forward to reading it.
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March 13th, 2010 at 5:50 am
This one sounds really good, I had to check out the author’s website too since her last name sounds Finnish.
) I really have to look for this book.
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March 14th, 2010 at 9:55 am
I got my book in the mail and my wife stole it.
Greg Gutierrez
Zen and the Art of Surfing
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March 16th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
It’s wonderful. I couldn’t put it down. Kept making lame excuses to my husband about why I couldn’t get out of bed. But it was really so I could just keep reading. No it’s not predictable, but I’m glad someone’s not afraid to have a somewhat happy ending these days. I’ve had enough of downers.
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March 19th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
This books sounds terrific, can you tell me when it will be coming out on audio as this has become my favorite way of listening/reading and I carry my ipod everywhere. Thanks.
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