“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.
[amazonify]0545088186[/amazonify]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.
Category: Children's Books, For Teens, General, Gift Ideas, Young Adult
This one has been on my TBR for a little while now. That list is ever-growing, I really can’t keep up! Anywho, great review! It’s kind of interesting how much things have changed. A lot of teens are getting married, with their parent’s consent or waiting until they’re of age. And then there are teens who are the exact opposite, who do everything with a boyfriend/girlfriend that a married couple would do, EXCEPT the marriage part. It just makes me wonder what things will be like when my kids are teenagers. I’m not too eager to find out!
Can’t wait to read this one!
Amanda recently posted..Double Review- Heavenly and Penitence- by Jennifer Laurens
Wow, what a great review! I also saw this one on Goodreads but, while I thought it sounded good, I wasn’t going to keep it at the forfront to read and there are just SO MANY books to read lately. After this review, I think I might need to reconsider that. It sounds both poignant and light-hearted, so would make a good read for the summer.
This sounds like a really interesting book. It covers a topic that is not often covered in books.I’m going to have to look around at the library for it.
Ah!!! I saw this as a featured book on Goodreads back in May and just from the little blurb on that thought it sounded like a fun read. Now with this review, I definitely have to get my hands on it! I love love stories, but not typical ‘romances’. Contrary to most of society, I actually prefer books/stories that are not overly sexed up – especially YA-oriented stories. While I know sexual activity is hugely prevalent in society, there are more people who are living more … ‘modestly’ shall we say, than people tend to realize. The gratuitous sex scenes that just get stuck in most novels today annoy me – so often they do nothing for the STORY itself, and are just there because “people expect it” … I applaud authors who write stories that don’t rely on hot & steamy to sell copies.
Great review!!
All that mild tangent to say … I’m looking forward to reading this one