*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
Title: The Foreseeable Future
Author: Emily Adrian
Publisher: Dial Books
Publication Date: May 8, 2018
ISBN: 9780399538995
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Audrey’s life has been planned out for her since she was born, and now she’s supposed to attend Whedon College in the fall, where both of her parents work. But Audrey has a different plan in mind: She’s not going to attend college at all. She’s going to earn some money and move to Seattle, the city she’s loved since she was a child. And the best way to earn that money is by working the night shift at the local nursing home. Seth O’Malley works there, too, and a romance quickly blossoms between them. But things get complicated when Audrey saves the life of Cameron Suzuki, Seth’s ex. A video of her performing CPR at the beach goes viral, and suddenly, Audrey’s wanted for TV interviews and newspaper articles. And just when Audrey starts to love life at the nursing home–and life with Seth–Seattle comes knocking. Does she follow the path she set out for herself, even when it means leaving behind Seth and the cast of quirky patients she’s come to care for? Or does she embrace a future with Seth–at least for the foreseeable future–at the cost of abandoning her dreams?
Hmm, I both really enjoyed this book and didn’t all at the same time. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads, but I think it was more of a 3.5 star book for me.
What did I like? Well, the story is a light, but still serious story of a girl who is following the path that everyone expects for her. Audrey is going to the college where both of her parents are–getting accepted more on her parents’ merit than her own. In a family full of intellectuals, she doesn’t want to let them down, but she can’t exactly compete with her parents and siblings on an academic level. When a summer job at a nursing home and a chance incident on the beach lead Audrey more towards the medical professions, she’s not sure that her newfound interests will garner her parents full support. This novel explores Audrey’s life as she develops a new romance that leads her to question everything she’s every thought she wanted, and inspires her to seek out goals that actually motivate and excite her.
What didn’t I like? Audrey and I are so different as people and so I found it incredibly difficult to relate to and understand her motivations. She’s impulsive to my calculated, she’s wild to my meticulous, she’s uncertain to my certainty. I think there are many, many teens out there in the world that would really get Audrey and be inspired by her story and the journey she takes in this novel. As for me, I found her impulsivity a bit infuriating. It leads her to sometimes appear to be less than honest as she changes her mind about drastic decisions in an instant and often at inconvenient or heat-of-the-moment times. The characters around her are incredibly forgiving of this character trait, but I, however, found it to be too much of a rollercoaster ride. I was angry at Audrey more than I could really enjoy the story.
As a summer beach/cottage read, I would definitely suggest this book! I think there are many people who will really like this story, but it wasn’t to my taste. I think it has many merits, but I am a reader who looks to relate strongly to the characters and to the story. In this case I didn’t unfortunately.
Let me know how you like this one! 🙂
Worn Pages and Ink 