Recession Proof

by Kimberly S. Lin

Sometimes going after what you want is the hardest thing you will ever do... Meet Helen. Smart, successful and obliviously trapped. For the past six years, Helen has given her life and her heart to her cushy corporate finance job and to Mark without question. However as the Recession sweeps the Nation, she is one of many left unemployed and with the burning question of what does she really want in life. RECESSION PROOF is a debut novel for anyone that has settled in their career and relationship but has discovered that what really matters in life is living it...

Genres: Chick Lit

358 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2011

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is living your life without passion in your career or relationship worth it? Would you be happy settling for less than what you really want? Is other people's views of your dreams as being unrealistic holding you back from fulfilling them and leaving you with self-doubt? What if everything you had and worked hard for suddenly disappeared, would you be able to pick up the pieces, and have the desire and drive to live your life the way you really want to? These are the questions that Helen Jennings faced in Recession Proof.

For the past six years, Helen Jennings has lived the successful professional career woman's lifestyle as a financial fund analyst in Los Angeles. For the same time period, she has been in an awkward relationship with her boyfriend Mark. In reality, she has been settling, and she is now feeling unfulfilled with her life choices. Her true passion has always been writing, but self-doubt led her to choose finance as her career choice. As for her relationship, she is unsure if Mark is really "The One." She's not really in love with him, and she suspects that he really isn't in love with her either, what keeps them together is that they are basically comfortable with each other. At a time when the nation is in the midst of a recession, life throws Helen a curve ball and turns her life upside down when she loses her job, and she realizes that being with Mark isn't enough, so they break up. Helen moves in with her best friend Sophie, and for a while she falls into a depression, she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, but she does know that she wants to be happy and have a fulfilling life. It is torture waking up everyday without a sense of purpose, the hours are spent filled with uncertainty. Finally, she picks herself up and decides that she is going to give writing a shot, even if it doesn't pan out, she wants to see where her dream is going to take her. What ensues is a two year journey of self-discovery for Helen. Along the way she has discovered that she finally knows herself, and has become that independent woman that she always wanted to be, and even though the road to happiness and life's fulfillment isn't a bed of roses, maybe she'll be able to have her dream career and find a man that just might be "The One."

At a time when our nation's economy has been in the midst of a prolonged recession, and times have been hard for so many people, Recession Proof is a novel that everyone can relate to. The storyline is very well written and gives so much food for thought, it begs the readers to take a good look at their own lives and question if they are really happy and fulfilled in the choices that they have made. I really loved Helen's story, as she went on her journey of self-discovery, I came along for the ride and saw so much of myself in her, it was like looking in the mirror. There is so much that the reader can learn from reading this debut novel by author Kimberly Lin. I think the ultimate message that one can take away from reading this novel is to NEVER SETTLE, and the following quote quite nicely sums up the title of this novel: "I suppose it's always scarier to risk pursuing something you really love and want because failure and rejection could be completely devastating. However, what makes life worth living is taking a stand for what you love and want whether it results in measurable success - a high-salaried career, a marriage or a new house with all the trimmings. There is no singular way to complete a task or solve a problem; in the same, there is no one way to live life. I have learned that I am the only supply of me, which is the most recession proof job I can possibly ever have." What a profound quote, thank you Ms. Lim for sharing Recession Proof with the world.

Disclaimer: At the request of the author and Chick Lit Plus (CLP), a Paperback edition of this book was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest review and participation in the virtual book tour event.


Virtual Book Tour Events: On Thursday and Friday, December 22-23, 2011, in association with Chick Lit Plus (CLP), Kimberly participated in the virtual book tour events with an Author Interview and Author Guest Post on Jersey Girl Book Reviews.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helen has a job that sucks the life out of her, a boyfriend of 6 years that is safe and does nothing else for her, that she doesn't even live with, and with no time for it is on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Something has to give, so she moves in with her boyfriend to see if that can save their relationship, her best friend is pregnant and her fiancé is sick, leading Helen to shift some of her focus away from work. Not long later she finds herself unemployed, boyfriend less, ands the support system for a single mother. But, Helen finds that she is finally happy and maybe it is time to consider what she wants and find a career that brings her happiness. So, Helen heads down that path fumbling in love on the way and considers waiving up a few times. But, with her friends and families support she can find and keep her own happiness.

I flew through this book. The characters and the writing style made me want to keep going so I could find out more, and how they were going to deal with the situation they were faced with now. Though there were times where you really wanted to be like, duh you shouldn't have done that or that is so cliche don't do it. But, overall those elements made the character seem real and were responses that would happen in real life. Though outside the situation when you see them happening you still want to say don't do it.

One of my favorite part about this book was how time passed in the book. It took place just over a year. And the breaks and then pickings up caught me for a moment the first few times but once I got use it it I could just go with ok, so three weeks/two month/ etc has passed and nothing really happened. The nothing happening was important as it showed the need for something to happen which is where we were picking up at something happening. Time frame is always something I struggle on in writing, so I could appricaate how it was used here. Also, since Helen went through some big changes it was nice to see those take place over a reasonable timeline rather than look I grew up and learned to x in the process of a month like plots can fall into sometimes.

Another, strong part if this plot was the supporting character. Yes, Helen is the main character and the one we expect to do the growth and change. But, I think all of the supporting characters learned something and did some growing in the plot and I appreciated that. Even if you had trouble relating to Helen change there was her sister's growth, her ex boyfriend figure stuff put, and more that you could also relate to. I give this book 4 stars and would suggest it to friends as a new way to look at chick lit, it is not oh my life is horrible/let's go shopping or win my ex back, but my life if just ok and I think I need more than that. It is hard to get to more than that, but have to try.

I was provided a copy of the book for review, but the summary and thoughts on the book are mine.

[Mary Gramlich · Rating 4 out of 5]

RECESSION PROOF by Kimberly S. Lin

How much do we have to give up in order to obtain what we want?

When you are riding the height of success at work you feel untouchable and that no one can replace you. Helen is right there in the cusp of a great career in Los Angeles that she hates, working for a company she does not respect, and feeling the brush of competition stabbing her in back. When the reality of unemployment provides her with the cold, hard truth of life Helen is in no way prepared to deal with it and has no idea where to go from here.

Helen does have the advantage of great friends and a supportive enough family but the man she thought was “the one” turned out to be a huge pile of number two. Helen finds herself living with her very pregnant best friend Sophie who has the ability to kick her butt at the right times and give her the space to decide the next step in her life.

When Helen emerges from her pity party she realizes that it may be time to go after the career she wants and not the one she settled for. She has financial concerns but an opportunity to have a job where every day she wakes up looking forward to going to a place where she wants to be. What Helen discovers on the road to her life altering change is that the person she is was so much more than she allowed herself to be. Helen also lets her heart go searching as well to find something amazing would come her way.

Kimberly Lin has written a book that is a voice for all of us who have been unemployed and found a new life. You follow Helen’s story as she learns how to stop standing on the sidelines and start living life to the fullest. The road that fate and destiny take you on is bumpy and full of potholes but once you learn to maneuver all that you find something pretty wonderful.

[Susan (The Book Bag) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about Helen's struggle over what she knows she 'should' do and what she wants to do, to be happy. I imagine that a lot of us struggle with a similar dilemma every day. When Helen loses her job, she has the perfect opportunity to remake her life, as well as having a great friend who is there for her and the resources to be able to take the time to 'figure it out'.

I marked a couple of great lines in the book that I want to share.

'My idea of a good time was always curling up with a book at a local coffee shop. What can I say? I committed to being a literary nerd.'

~~ Don't you just love that? And yes, I too am a literary nerd, or as some members of my family call some of the other members of my family - 'library nerds'. Personally, I don't see a darn thing wrong with that!!

'White is like a non-color. It's for people who don't know what they want.'

I think this is a very insightful comment. I'm not sure if it's true or not but it is very interesting to think about. I felt like white was maybe where Helen was at, at the beginning of the story.

But she does respond to this comment by saying 'I think it's the color of possibility or a clean slate.' That's a smart woman!

I really enjoyed reading Recession Proof. It is very well written and had great characters. Ms. Lin's writing made me feel like I knew Helen, Sophie, Mark, Nate. I became immersed in their lives and really came to care about how their lives turned out.

And I am wondering if this book just might be a little bit autobiographical. Ms. Lin started out in the financial world and then became a writer. Hmmm, maybe?

[Samantha March · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kimberly S. Lin is on tour with CLP Blog Tours and her novel Recession Proof. I really enjoyed this book because the topic is one that was and still is so heavy on the majority of people after the recession. The main character is Helen Jennings, a young professional who has been working her tail off as a financial fund analyst. She knows she doesn’t love her job or have any sort of passion for it, but it pays the bills and looks good on paper. Helen also feels like she is settling in her love life. She doesn’t have the spark with boyfriend Mark, but he’s a nice guy and they work well together. When Helen is let go from her job and struggles to find another in the struggling economy, she finally opens her eyes and decides she can’t let her life pass her by. Her and Mark break up, she moves in with best friend Sophie, and starts to focus on a career she loves – writing.

I saw a lot of myself in Helen, and I connected with her character right off the bat. The beginning was a bit awkward with her and Mark, who so clearly should not have been together, but I could understand why she wasn’t taking the leap and letting him go. Helen showed me that even if you spend years settling, you can still turn your life around and make situations happen that are positive. She was very inspiring to read about and I took a lot away from Recession Proof. The only real downfall to the story was some editing issues, especially lack of commas. For me, being an avid reader and editor, it was pretty obvious and

[Berenice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helen was trapped in her life and she still didn't know it, after dedicating her time to a job in finance that she didn't love and kept her away from her friends and family while being stuck in a relationship that was clearly going no where.
The twists and turns of life take Helen to a life with unemployment and being single in L.A. where she will have to find out what makes her happy and what dreams are worth following. The road to rediscovery is a bumpy one will Helen chicken out before she finds herself? or will she get to know the fruits of hard work, trusting yourself and following what you believe in?

This story moves a little slow at the beginning but be patient its all necessary so that we can comprehend Helen's personality and how she got stuck in her current predicament. One of the holes I felt that where left on the relationship of Helen and her not so good boyfriend Mark is that he talks about how he blames it on Helen that their relationship ended, when in fact they both weren't really in it 100%, and it was kind of disappointing that Helen never saw it and in my opinion got played.
I found Helen to be a character that was easy to relate to and I admire her courage for working in her dream even when a recession is closing opportunities that used to be there not so long ago. The love story in it felt refreshing and fun to read, the only thing that made it loose some points was the authors wish to leave everybody as friends and avoid big relationship problems at all cost.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read a Chick-Lit book i've falled in love with this hard in a long time! I gave myself plenty of time before my tour date to read this because i've been reading slower then normal lately (reading slump, blah...) and wanted to prepare myself. This book is 350 pages and normally (if I wasn't that invested in the story) It could take me 4-5 days to read, well I read this book in all of two sittings. I got so engrossed in the story and the characters that I couldn't put the book down and the hours seemed to fly right by.

This book had everything a good Chick-Lit should have; a strong female character, which is definitely the case with Helen, and a swoon-worthy love interest Nate ( oh swoon, swoon). I loved the relationship between the two of them and the twists and turns they faced and overcame as a couple. I enjoyed the fact that Helen really grew as a person in the novel and you were right there with her every step of the way.

If your looking for Chick-Lit at its finest, you need to check this book out. I'm so glad I was able to be a part of this tour, and for this being Kimberly's debut novel, I'm so excited to see what else she has in her writing arsonal. Her writing style was quirky, real, fun, and believable. I cannot rave about this book enough. It got me out of a pretty bad reading slump and was just what I needed a book to be. (P.S. for all my YA-lovers out there this book is Anna and the French Kiss of the Chick-Lit genre)

[Jencey/ · Rating 5 out of 5]

She wrote about the economy and how it can be a journey of personal growth.

Synopsis:
Helen is working in a job that she hates and has a steady boyfriend of six years. Her world should be wonderful and perfect. But is it? Helen has taken jobs and boyfriends more to please others. The pay is great but the experience sucks. Her job isn’t going as well as she thought. Then her steady boyfriend of six years Mark breaks up with her. Helen suddenly finds herself unemployed and deciding what steps to take next. What career will she choose next? Will she find happiness and fulfillment in her life? Could there be other surprises for Helen?

My Thoughts:
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I totally identified with Helen in her job search. I wish that we all had job experiences like Helen’s that turned out so perfect. I thought the book was written very well. I enjoyed the characters of Sophie and Nate. I didn’t enjoy as well the character of Helen because of her people pleasing issues. This can also be strength with being able to diversify the character with both strengths and weaknesses.
I thought the greatest message of this book is don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams. You never know where your job search might take you. Don’t be afraid to strike out on your own.
This book is one to check out.

[ILoveBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

You should aim for your own goal in life, no matter what that goal is. What happens what all of what you've worked so hard to accumulate vanishes? Do you smother yourself in self-doubt? The authors attempt to answer these questions in this book.



Helen finds herself free of a boyfriend, which isn't the worst thing, and free of a job-which is very bad. Instead of wallowing, Helen decides to figure out what she wants from life-both professionally and for her own enjoyment. She sets out to find what makes her tick, resulting in a book that will help others with similar questions or problems.



Helen is easy to relate to. The reader knows that Helen truly experienced everything she writes in this book. A reader with similar problems may commiserate and realize that all might not be lost. Helen's feelings and emotional turmoil are captured in this book eloquently, the reader will have no problem connecting to Helen. The other "characters"/people in the book will impact different readers in varying ways, they round out the book nicely though. This book is recommended to those worrying about or wondering about economic problems and what comes after the crash.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Recession Proof” is a provocative read that really captures the idea of living life to its fullest.
The story was captivating and written very well. I loved this author’s writing style and easy it was to relate to the character.
Helen is a smart successful woman, but soon loses everything because of the recession. I liked seeing how she dealt with a situation that is shared by many during the recession and how she grew as a person because of it. She is very easy to relate to and I found myself turning the pages in anticipation of what would happen next.
This is an amazing story that shows the true meaning of living and what really matters in life. I highly recommend this to anyone who ever felt stuck in life.

[Jessica Sinn (Books and Trouble) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun and engaging character-driven read. This talented new author proves her understanding of women’s relationships with a style that’s both snappy and heartfelt. Women will absolutely recognize themselves and their friendships on the pages. Fans of Emily Griffin, Jennifer Weiner and Jane Green will enjoy this introspective, sharply realistic and tenderly humorous novel. Don’t get comfortable because you won’t be able to put it down!

For the full review, go to Chick Lit Cafe: http://loonachicklit.wordpress.com/20...

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think everyone would agree that most of the time your idea of what would make you happy is different from what others expect of you. This book is about finding your happiness no matter the concequenses, whether it’s your job, your love life or your friends. At a little over 350 pages, it doesn’t seem that long, in fact it seemed like a short read due to the fact that the characters were engaging and the storyline was always interesting a had a steady flow.

I’d definitely recomend this one.

[Marcia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely no editing.

She used the phrases all the time and... no one speaks like that "she turned her jet black hair towards me" (that kind of thing - it's not an exact quote).

Unbelievable characters that I really didn't care for one bit.

I would have stopped reading sooner but I had no other fiction on the Kindle!

[Michelle Daily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book! The characters were fabulous, the storyline relatable. My only complaint would be the amount of errors in this book. Maybe hire a fresh set of eyes to assist in the grammatical errors.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it was so easy to read and follow!! I very rarely say I couldn't put a book down and this is one I just knew I had to keep reading...

I hope Kimberly writes more to this story, I'd definitely like to see what happens next.

[Kelley Cole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story was cute but sooooo many grammatical errors. Very distracting.

[Lore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come!