The year we turned forty : a novel

Format:

Book

Title:

The year we turned forty : a novel

Author:

Fenton, Liz author

ISBN:

9781476763446

Edition:

First Washington Square Press trade paperback edition.

Publication:

New York : Washington Square Press, 2016.

Physical Description:

322 pages ; 21 cm

Summary:

Three best friends get the chance to return to the year they turned forty, the year that altered all of their lives in ways big and small-and also get the opportunity to change their future.

If you could repeat one year of your life, what would you do differently? Three friends get the chance to return to the year they turned forty-- the year that altered all of their lives. Jessie loves her son Lucas, but regrets that he was conceived in an affair to a married man-- whom she still loves. Gabriela wants a chance to rethink her choice to give up parenthood to further her career. Claire fantasizes about bonding with her mother-- and about the man who got away. Will reliving that year solve their problems-- or only lead to new ones?

Subject(s):

Best friends -- Fiction.

Female friendship -- Fiction.

Life change events -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

Genre:

Added Author:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Silver Falls Library	FIC FENTON	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

If you could repeat one year of your life, what would you do differently? This heartwarming and hilarious novel from the authors of The Status of All Things and Your Perfect Life features three best friends who get the chance to return to the year they turned forty--the year that altered all of their lives, in ways big and small--and also get the opportunity to change their future.

Jessie loves her son Lucas more than anything, but it tears her up inside that he was conceived in an affair that ended her marriage to a man she still loves, a man who just told her he's getting remarried. This time around, she's determined to bury the secret of Lucas' paternity, and to repair the fissures that sent her wandering the first time.

Gabriela regrets that she wasted her most fertile years in hot pursuit of a publishing career. Yes, she's one of the biggest authors in the world, but maybe what she really wanted to create was a family. With a chance to do it again, she's focused on convincing her husband, Colin, to give her the baby she desires.

Claire is the only one who has made peace with her past: her twenty-two year old daughter, Emily, is finally on track after the turmoil of adolescence, and she's recently gotten engaged, with the two carat diamond on her finger to prove it. But if she's being honest, Claire still fantasizes about her own missed opportunities: a chance to bond with her mother before it was too late, and the possibility of preventing her daughter from years of anguish. Plus, there's the man who got away--the man who may have been her one true love.

But it doesn't take long for all three women to learn that re-living a life and making different decisions only leads to new problems and consequences--and that the mistakes they made may, in fact, have been the best choices of all...

Author Notes

Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have been best friends for twenty-five years and survived high school and college together. Liz lives in San Diego with her husband and two children. Lisa, a former talk show producer, now lives in Chicago with her husband, daughter, and two bonus children.

Reviews (3)

Kirkus Review

A lighthearted noveltouched with magical elementsexploring the emotional high jinks that ensue when three best friends are given the chance to travel 10 years back in time. Authors Fenton and Steinke (The Status Of All Things, 2015, etc.), longtime best friends in real life, continue their trajectory of frothy, pop-culture-infused women's fiction with the story of Jessie, Gabriela, and Claire, three California women marred by varying degrees of dissatisfaction in their personal lives. Jessie is still riddled with shame about cheating on her husband, Grant, years earlieran indiscretion that brought about her beloved son and triggered the dissolution of her marriage. Reeling from the news that Grant is newly engaged, Jessie's obsessive thoughts spin into overdrive. Gabriela never thought she wanted kids; a successful author, she was long content with fame, fortune, and the fantastic partner she'd found in husband Colin. But then she realized she wanted morenamely, a familyand, rounding 50, she still finds herself sad about missing her chance. Finally, Claire is excitedly engaged to a man she loves, though she keeps falling into ruminative spells of regret about her mother's death and her troubled relationship with her demanding daughter. After the three best friends head to Vegas to jointly celebrate their birthdays, they're shocked when a magician invites them backstage and offers them a chance to go back in time and redo their 40th year (an especially pivotal time in each of their lives). The women are thrilledat first. The authors skillfully whisk readers along as the friends attempt to re-create the lives they think they should have had and as they realize some of their so-called mistakes may not have been mistakes after all. A charming but at times predictable novel exploring the importance of friendship and the futility of second-guessing one's past. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

If you were offered the chance to go back in time 10 years and relive a year, would you? On the eve of their joint fiftieth-birthday party in Vegas, three friends meet a magician and get the chance to go back to the year they turned 40. Jessie wants to keep the fact that she had an affair secret from her then-husband; Gabriela wants to go back and save her failed marriage by trying to have a child; Claire wants to bond with her mother before it's too late. Their new choices don't always work out the way they expect, and they can't decide if they want to stay and live life from that point on, or return to the present and the catch is, they all have to agree to stay, together. There's a lot going on here, but this kind of what if fiction is enormously popular (see Landline, 2013; Time of My Life, 2008; Remember Me? 2008), and focusing this story on three different women makes an engaging twist.--Vnuk, Rebecca Copyright 2016 Booklist

Library Journal Review

Jessie, Claire, and Gabriela have been best friends forever. They've gone through a lot together, but their joint 40th birthday party sets off events that significantly alter their futures. Jessie decides to tell her husband that the baby she is carrying is not his; Gabriela is determined to become a mother; and Claire is dealing with escalating problems with her adolescent daughter. Ten years later, at a celebration for their 50th birthdays, they are given the chance to go back and relive their 40th year to see if they can change their futures for the better. With things no longer set in stone, the three friends must contend with the problems and consequences their new decisions create. Were the mistakes they made the first time around actually the best choices they could have made? VERDICT Fenton and Steinke (Your Perfect Life) answer the age-old question: If you could do it all again, what would you do differently? A quick, lively, and stimulating tale with highly likable main characters, this book addresses the what-if moments in life. An entertaining read for fans of Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner.-Kristen Calvert -Nelson, Marion Cty. P.L. Syst., Ocala, FL © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.