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Why Can’t I Be You

February 27, 2013 by Nancy

In Stay, Allie Larkin’s first novel (linked to my review), a woman adopts a puppy over the internet and gets a lot more than she bargained for. Her newest novel, Why Can’t I Be You, is based on a premise a bit more outlandish but is just as fun and quirky.

Jenny Shaw, having just been dumped at the airport by the boyfriend she thought was going to ask her to move in with him, arrives at a conference in Seattle and instinctively turns her head when she hears her name. Only the name being called isn’t Jenny, it’s Jessie. Jenny is caught by surprise and decides to just go with it, pretending to be this Jessie person, with the intention of never again seeing the woman who is hugging her. It seems Jenny bears a close physical resemblance to Jessie, so much that her high school friends, in town for their 13th reunion, don’t realize Jenny isn’t their Jessie, who they haven’t seen since graduation when she disappeared from their lives. But Jenny ends up spending time with Myra and finds she likes her, but also keeps up the ruse by attempting to reminisce about memories she obviously doesn’t have.

Each time Jenny decides she’s going to tell Myra and her friends the truth, she ends up digging a little deeper hole. Besides, Jenny’s own life kind of sucks right now, why not be someone else for a while? Only Jenny also falls for Fish, the guy who pined for Jessie in high school, and starts to feel pretty guilty about lying to the only real family she’s ever had.

With each turn of the page, Jenny gets closer to getting caught in her web of lies, and while the reader knows the truth is going to come out as the charade can’t be kept up forever, you also want Jenny to keep the new friends she’s made. She hasn’t had the greatest life — her mother’s alcoholism prevented her from making friends as a youth, shown through flashbacks, and her only friend back home in Rochester is not a girlfriend, like Myra has become.

Jenny shows a lot of growth throughout this well-paced novel, and while it is a bit far-fetched that no one realizes she’s not Jessie (with the possible exception of Fish’s father), it’s not hard to believe that Jenny is the Jessie her friends really wanted all along, since Jessie was not really a nice person. I enjoyed this novel very much and recommend it for it’s warmth and humor, as well as the Pacific Northwest setting.

We have one copy of Why Can’t I Be You for a lucky winner, U.S. only. Please leave a comment to enter and the winner will be announced on March 13. The giveaway is closed.

We have a ton of current giveaways. Check them out. And make sure not to miss what’s coming up: Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter or on Facebook.

  • The winner of All That I Am is #19 Don.
  • The winner of The Street Sweeper is #26 Anita Yancey.

Filed Under: Fiction, Nancy

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Comments

  1. Dawn says

    February 27, 2013 at 4:33 am

    Sounds like a fun little escapade to escape into literally speaking!

  2. Anne says

    February 27, 2013 at 12:24 pm

    Definitely a book I would enjoy. Thanks.

  3. latanya says

    February 27, 2013 at 1:19 pm

    Sounds like a great book

  4. ellie says

    February 27, 2013 at 1:20 pm

    thanks for this special giveaway.

  5. Katie says

    February 27, 2013 at 2:09 pm

    Sounds like a very fun book!

  6. diane says

    February 27, 2013 at 2:13 pm

    Interesting and unique.

  7. MonaG says

    February 27, 2013 at 2:28 pm

    Sounds like a fun read. Sometimes I wish I was someone else but I don’t think I could ever pull this off.

    Thanks 🙂

  8. Linda Kish says

    February 27, 2013 at 4:09 pm

    I would love to win a copy of this book.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  9. Angela E. says

    February 27, 2013 at 4:29 pm

    Would like to read.

  10. Anna Marie says

    February 27, 2013 at 6:51 pm

    I found this web site by accident. I have marked it as a favorite and check it every couple of days. I keep checking for the book club selection.
    Keep up the good work.

    Anna Marie

  11. Jenna Evans says

    February 27, 2013 at 7:29 pm

    This book does sound interesting! And also funny! Looks like something I would enjoy

  12. Cindi says

    February 27, 2013 at 8:06 pm

    The cover of this book is fabulous…
    Very interesting and so is the plot!
    Many thanks, Cindi

  13. Liz says

    February 27, 2013 at 10:30 pm

    Premise seems hard to believe but am interested to know the ending. Thanks for the giveaway.

  14. Jessica T says

    February 27, 2013 at 11:57 pm

    Love books set here!

    • Jennifer says

      March 12, 2013 at 8:01 pm

      You won this book! Please reply to this email notification with your shipping info.

  15. Don says

    February 28, 2013 at 9:47 am

    Good one for the wife.

  16. June says

    March 1, 2013 at 1:48 pm

    Another great sounding story line, thanks

  17. Christina says

    March 2, 2013 at 11:10 pm

    Not something that I could ever do, but at least one of my friends would try.

  18. Anita Yancey says

    March 3, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    I loved your review. Even though I feel sorry for the character of Jenny I don’t think she should have lied. But it does make for an interesting story. I would like to read the rest to find out if Jenny ends up with Fish. Thanks for this chance to win it.

  19. Benita says

    March 4, 2013 at 1:28 pm

    Thanks for the great review. This is a novel I won’t miss.

  20. Chuck says

    March 4, 2013 at 4:10 pm

    Good review on this book, thanks

  21. Van says

    March 6, 2013 at 10:57 am

    Thank-you for the chance to read this one.

  22. Carolyn says

    March 6, 2013 at 3:59 pm

    Sounds like a good one. Thanks!

  23. Laura Kay says

    March 7, 2013 at 7:56 am

    I found your website from TLC and was reading one of your other reviews, but I checked out your giveaways page 🙂

    Why Can’t I Be You seems like a good read.

  24. Beth C says

    March 7, 2013 at 11:44 am

    Sounds like a good book and I like the Pacific Northwest setting.

  25. Staci A says

    March 7, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    It sounds like a fun book to read!

  26. Garrett says

    March 8, 2013 at 10:33 am

    Will pass on to my sister.

  27. Lori D. says

    March 10, 2013 at 10:25 am

    Would like to read this book.

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