What if one small choice changes the trajectory of your entire life?
Plot:
What if one small choice changes the trajectory of your entire life? Maybe In Another Life explores this theory with dueling storylines. Unsure of what her next move in life is going to be, Hannah moves home and in with her best friend Gabby. The pair go to a bar to meet up with old friends as a welcome home for Hannah and there she reconnects with her old high school love. At the end of the night Hannah is faced with a choice: go home with her high school sweetheart Ethan or go home with Gabby. In alternating chapters, we see the consequences of both decisions on both Hannah and the people surrounding her. Maybe In Another Life explores if fate truly exists, can one action change your entire life, and are some things just meant to be?
Review:
Truthfully, this book was a major flop for me. This was the one book I bought by TJR that I was most excited to read and sadly the one I was most disappointed with. The concept was great, your decision in one seemingly insignificant moment can set your life on two distinct courses depending on your choice. In practicality though, it just didn’t work.
Let’s start with the good. The first half had me, the stories were different enough that I needed to see where Hannah would end up on each path. Her character was certainly relatable, most of us in our 20’s can agree that it gets frustrating feeling like you’re the only one in your friend group without your shit together. The friendship between Hannah and Gabby is the true love story here and honestly, carried this book on its back. it is the most accurate version of the pure love between best friends I’ve seen in a long time.
Now onto the not-so-great…
Some things happened no matter which choice Hannah made and I liked the idea that there are some fixed events in our lives, however, it got redundant at times when often the same exact conversation was had between two characters. This would have been okay if it happened once or twice, but it happened too much where it felt like I was just rereading bits and it took me out of the story especially when I would get confused as to which storyline I was in.
Then there was the ending. I kept waiting and waiting for something big to happen, perhaps a choice she had to make or really just anything, but nothing happened. There was no big climax or character arch. It just ended. For such a great concept, the ending just felt dissatisfying.
All in all, Maybe In Another Life was just okay. It had some good quotes and some cute moments, but not enough to leave make up for the lackluster ending. This is not the Taylor Jenkins Reid book I’d recommend for your first go-around with her.
Favorite quote:
“But I wonder how different my world would be if any of those things had happened. You can’t change just one part, can you? When you sit there and wish things had happened differently, you can’t just wish away the bad stuff. You have to think about all the good stuff you might lose, too. Better just to stay in the now and focus on what you can do better in the future.”
&
“Timing seems like an excuse. Extenuating circumstances is an excuse. If you love someone, if you think you could make them happy for the rest of your life together, then nothing should stop you. You should be prepared to take them as they are and deal with the consequences. Relationships aren’t neat and clean. They’re ugly and messy, and they make almost no sense except to the two people in them. That’s what I think. I think if you truly love someone, you accept the circumstances; you don’t hide behind them.”
Rating:
2.5/5 Stars