Category: General

“I Now Pronounce You Someone Else” by Erin McCahan

Reviewed by Jennifer J.

After the death of her biological father, Bronwen starts to envision that the life she is stuck living is not really her own. Someday soon, her real parents, the kind and loving Lilywhite family, will come and claim her. Then she’ll be able to live the life she was meant to, as Phoebe Lilywhite. As Phoebe, she will not have a mother obsessed with turning her into something she is not (her mother has been Making a Day of It and dying her daughter’s hair from brown to blond since she was 13), a stepfather who keeps her at arm’s length, or a brother who sets the bar so high he might as well be Jesus.

As her high school career comes to an end, Bronwen breaks up with her lousy boyfriend Chad who attempts to take their relationship to the next level. When Jared Sondervan, a sensitive older guy, walks back into her life, Bronwen falls head over heels in love with him. Unlike Chad, Jared’s intentions are pure and he is willing to take as much time as Bronwen needs. At age 18, Bronwen begins to plan the rest of her life around Jared, putting his goals and desires before her own.

Though I Now Pronounce You Someone Else deals with some rather difficult situations including overbearing parents, uninvolved stepfathers, and commitment at a younge age, Erin McCahan approaches it lightheartedly and with so much innocence that it almost felt like a fairy tale. Jared Sondervan is literally the perfect guy. I kept waiting for the “catch” with Jared, but I couldn’t find one. His biggest flaw was being a little too naive for his age (around 21) about getting married, but that only made me more attracted to him.

How Bronwen thought it was a good idea to get married at her age was shocking to me, but her parents did not set the best life examples for her. Her mother was a horrible role model to her, and her stepfather was too unsure of himself to step in and be the father she needed. I was pleased with how the relationship between Bronwen and Whitt was resolved, but had hoped it would happen sooner. Even though I thought the circumstances in this novel were too squeaky clean and implausible for most relationships between young couples to day, it was a refreshing and fun book to read.

Bronwen made me laugh, and she even made me cry. When you read it, you’ll feel like you are getting an all access pass into the mind of your best friend.

Jennifer graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in English. She occasionally dabbles with her own fiction writing, particularly with the Young Adult and Paranormal genres. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and daughter.

This book was provided free of any obligation by Arthur A. Levine Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.