Goodreads Summary:
Hilarious new fiction from the New York Times bestselling author of Bitter Is the New Black and If You Were Here .
Twenty years after ruling the halls of her suburban Chicago high school, Lissy Ryder doesn't understand why her glory days ended. Back then, she was worshipped...beloved...feared. Present day, not so much. She's been pink-slipped from her high-paying job, dumped by her husband, and kicked out of her condo. Now, at thirty-seven, she's struggling to start a business out of her parents' garage and sleeping under the hair-band posters in her old bedroom.
Lissy finally realizes karma is the only bitch bigger than she was. Her present is miserable because of her past. But it's not like she can go back in time and change who she was...or can she?
My Thoughts:
I have been a fan of Jen Lancaster for a while now. Her wit and irreverent style are what drew me into her memoirs. Her first novel was decent but was a little too close to how she writes her true stories, which made it occasionally confusing (you would forget it was fiction from time to time). Here We Go Again is Jen's second novel. Her characters voice is more distinct from her own while maintaining the wit and style we have grown to love.
The only real criticism I have about this book is the first part of the book our main character is too over the top. I know it was the point but it could have been executed without so much current dumb blonde slag. It was sometimes a little awkward to continue reading because this character was so overblown. This issue thankfully resolves itself about a quarter of the way through the book. We go on a great ride of figuring out what kind of impact we may or may not have on people. Lissy Ryder is not a nice person, she is selfish and cruel. This book takes us through a funny and at times touching eye opening journey. Lissy has her selfishness and cruelty thrown in her face, and as it turns out, she doesn’t like what she sees.
I liked the book over all. I didn’t find it overly predictable or derived like a lot of books in the genre. I can’t wait to see what Jen comes up with in her third novel. I love watching her fiction evolve. Jen can tell a great story.
While writing this review I was listening to Face the Nation.
