“Life is not a romance novel,” Joy Talley’s sister tells her, reminding her that the romance novels her teen niece Ruthie and Joy share an interest in are not like real life. But Joy’s life does read a bit like one of those fun quirky romance novels. It’s not formulaic, but it combines a strong heroine who has a choice to make regarding love, which basically boils down to banking on her past and her future.
Waking Up Joy does read a bit like a romance novel, not the bodice-ripping variety, but the sweet offbeat type. The Talleys are nothing if not quirky. Joy’s family assume she tried to hang herself when she ends up swinging by a rope off the roof of her house, which lands her in the hospital in a coma. In actuality, she was using the rope to keep herself safe while she peered into the chimney, trying to find a mysterious lost charm.
The coma makes her think, not only about her family but her own life, taking care of the family home and honoring her mother’s legacy.
The charm provides the suspense in the story. We don’t know what it is or why she and her high school boyfriend hid it 20 years ago, but the suspense builds as Joy alludes to what happened at the creek that day. Everything unfolds nicely, in a pace that kept me reading. I loved Joy and her sisters and watching her figure out how she was going to make peace with her past and what direction she wants her future to go into.
If you like a little romance, a little fun, a little mystery in a clean novel, I can recommend Tina Ann Forkner’s novels to you. See the recommended reads below for more info.
Read author Tina Ann Forkner’s guest post 5 Books to Read with your Teenage Daughter. And look out for her contribution to On Reading, a tribute to readers, posting Sunday.