Book Title: Jenny James is Not a Disaster (Goodreads)
Author: Debbie Johnson
Narrator: Beth Eyre
Rating: 4/5⭐⭐⭐⭐
Impending layoffs, rundown car, house falling into the ocean--wait what? Jenny James's life is not a disaster. It's a full blown catastrophe. Luckily, cute drifter and mobile home owner Luke saves her right before she chased her house down a mudslide. He invites Jenny, and her 18-year-old son Charlie, into the mobile life as Jenny works through how to restart her life. They adventure around England, looking for places that remind them of Wuthering Heights, Zombies, or Oxford.
This was a really cute story. I loved how it was a love story, but not about love, and not like a typical romance. Jenny takes the vacation time to contemplate her relationship with her son, the rest of her family, and even what she wants to do for a living, all in search of her joy. The wit is sharp, and I loved the playfulness of Jenny's relationship with her son, Charlie. They felt like real people who knew each other inside and out.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and thought it was great. The narrator sounded like what I envisioned for Jenny. It fit very well, and I didn't find any parts that made me cringe.
Would recommend!
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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Published Date: July 9, 2024
Official blurb:
There's having a bad day . . . and then there's having a Very Bad Day.
Thirty-something single mum Jenny James is used to the typical run-in-your-tights, milk-turned-sour, break-a-nail bad kind of day. Attitude from her teenage son? Count on it. Car problems? To be expected. Never quite enough money for monthly expenses? Guaranteed.
And then arrives the Very Bad Day--when Jenny finds out her dull but reliable office job is in jeopardy, her car totally and completely breaks down, and she arrives home (on foot) just in time to see her modest-but-cozy cottage sliding off a cliff into the sea. Jenny's life--not to mention her home--has reached its ultimate low point.
Estranged from her parents since she became pregnant at age eighteen and set out on her own, Jenny has nowhere to turn when she and her son, Charlie, find themselves without a place to live. Her neighbor, the reclusive but attractive Luke who lives alone with his dog in a surprisingly homey RV, opens up his camper--and his vagabond lifestyle--to Jenny and her son.
As the unlikely threesome--four including the dog--hit the road, Jenny finds herself experiencing a new sense of freedom as she reflects on who she was, who she is, and who she could become. Maybe when you fall, you actually find the best way to move forward.