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Rewind
Rewind
Because part of us will always be seventeen years old…
Karen Alexander lives in California and has it all- teenage children who allow her to be seen in public with them now and then, a successful architect husband who still kind of fits into his 'I Hate Maggie Thatcher' T-shirt, and a teaching career that she loves, especially in the school holidays.
And she has Carol, her Official Best Pal since their days of platform shoes, flicked out hair, lip gloss shoplifted from Woolworths, Ally’s Tartan Army, and dancing to ABBA and 'The Hustle' at the local disco.
Thirty-five years later, they are more concerned with finding a good foundation to cover the wrinkles, a reliable hairdresser to cover the grey, shoes which are stylish but comfortable, shapewear which gives them the semblance of a shape, and husbands who fall asleep on the couch.
Back in Scotland for a funeral and a cringe-worthy sixtieth birthday party, Karen runs into her teenage crush, Bobby Henderson, the former local punk rocker and all round bad boy who broke Karen’s sixteen-year-old heart by not noticing her.
When he walks into the party in his leather jacket and winks at her, Karen’s heart skips a beat like it was 1978. Is the first cut really the deepest? Has Karen spent the last thirty years with the wrong guy?
Can you rewind the tape of love, and if you can, should you?
Because part of us will always be seventeen years old…
Karen Alexander lives in California and has it all- teenage children who allow her to be seen in public with them now and then, a successful architect husband who still kind of fits into his 'I Hate Maggie Thatcher' T-shirt, and a teaching career that she loves, especially in the school holidays.
And she has Carol, her Official Best Pal since their days of platform shoes, flicked out hair, lip gloss shoplifted from Woolworths, Ally’s Tartan Army, and dancing to ABBA and 'The Hustle' at the local disco.
Thirty-five years later, they are more concerned with finding a good foundation to cover the wrinkles, a reliable hairdresser to cover the grey, shoes which are stylish but comfortable, shapewear which gives them the semblance of a shape, and husbands who fall asleep on the couch.
Back in Scotland for a funeral and a cringe-worthy sixtieth birthday party, Karen runs into her teenage crush, Bobby Henderson, the former local punk rocker and all round bad boy who broke Karen’s sixteen-year-old heart by not noticing her.
When he walks into the party in his leather jacket and winks at her, Karen’s heart skips a beat like it was 1978. Is the first cut really the deepest? Has Karen spent the last thirty years with the wrong guy?
Can you rewind the tape of love, and if you can, should you?
268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 9, 2017
20 people are currently reading
557 people want to read
About the author
Denise Allan Steele
1 book7 followers Hello Dear Readers,
I'm Denise , and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband and two large dogs.
My children are grown ( hooray!!) and making their way in their Millennial World, and my two wee grandsons make me laugh every day....One thinks he's Batman, and the other one thinks he's a bear...
I taught in primary schools in Scotland for many years before relocating to California, where I work with parolees entering the Community College system.
I decided to write 'Rewind ' when my hot-tubbing, drum-circling snow-boarding California teenagers asked me what it was like growing up in a small town in the west of Scotland in 'the olden days...."
I'm Denise , and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband and two large dogs.
My children are grown ( hooray!!) and making their way in their Millennial World, and my two wee grandsons make me laugh every day....One thinks he's Batman, and the other one thinks he's a bear...
I taught in primary schools in Scotland for many years before relocating to California, where I work with parolees entering the Community College system.
I decided to write 'Rewind ' when my hot-tubbing, drum-circling snow-boarding California teenagers asked me what it was like growing up in a small town in the west of Scotland in 'the olden days...."
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 13, 2017
Lovely story
I loved this book from start to finish ...
Great characters you can really identify with especially if you were born in Scotland in the 60,70s
Memories galore ...
I loved this book from start to finish ...
Great characters you can really identify with especially if you were born in Scotland in the 60,70s
Memories galore ...
August 11, 2017
Quick,enjoyable read. I liked the characters, but wished for a bit more ending
July 24, 2017
Ridiculously funny and heartwarming.
June 4, 2018
Rewind is a playful read full of wit and sparkle. A lively Scottish woman, Karen, returns to her home town and relives her teenage adventures with her best friend. When she visits a dreadful birthday party, her sexy teen crush makes a surprise appearance, and a play for her. Back home in California are her preoccupied, boring husband, her rebellious daughter, and a college-bound son. Is it time for a big change in Karen’s life?
You will never think of dour Scotts again after you read about the clowns Karen knows, who are still wearing clothes from the seventies and doing sing-alongs. Karen and her friends laugh until they cry, snotter, which might mean crying until snot runs out your nose, and generally all behave the way they did thirty years ago. Karen’s heart is in the right place though, even if she is a little nutty.
The only bad thing about this book is that it will make you crave copious amounts of hot chocolate and caramel sweet treats, because Karen is always raving about those.
You will never think of dour Scotts again after you read about the clowns Karen knows, who are still wearing clothes from the seventies and doing sing-alongs. Karen and her friends laugh until they cry, snotter, which might mean crying until snot runs out your nose, and generally all behave the way they did thirty years ago. Karen’s heart is in the right place though, even if she is a little nutty.
The only bad thing about this book is that it will make you crave copious amounts of hot chocolate and caramel sweet treats, because Karen is always raving about those.
September 8, 2017
I got a free copy of this from LibraryThing's EarlyReviewers.
If I hadn't gotten it for free, I probably wouldn't have finished it, even though it's very short. I just couldn't get interested in the characters, but since it was a really quick read, I still read it. Perhaps it's because the book took place in another country that I couldn't relate to the characters as much, but I don't think that's why this book didn't really grab my attention. It's okay, but it just wasn't really my thing.
If I hadn't gotten it for free, I probably wouldn't have finished it, even though it's very short. I just couldn't get interested in the characters, but since it was a really quick read, I still read it. Perhaps it's because the book took place in another country that I couldn't relate to the characters as much, but I don't think that's why this book didn't really grab my attention. It's okay, but it just wasn't really my thing.
August 16, 2017
Well of course I'm going to love it!!
dnf
August 23, 2017The beginning of the book immediately started in a light and quirky manner. Seventies songs being thrown at you like no tomorrow, outfits being described in detail and the mannerisms of youth back then immediately transport you to that time - yes, even if you weren't even born yet, because I sure wasn't.
At one point, Karen started to disappoint me by letting others walk all over her, changing the way she looks for them and accepting that her boyfriend treats her differently when others are near. Precisely at the moment that I wanted to curse her and have a little rant, she turned right around and proved to have a voice after all! Go Karen!
Up until halfway through the book Rewind had me snorting, laughing and rolling my eyes all at the same time. But then? Then it went downhill, hard and fast.
As Karen grows up, I noticed that I was completely distracted by the story at first and didn't notice how detached she sounds - since the whole book is from her point of view. The moment I started paying attention to that, I stopped enjoying it unfortunately.
Karen had highs, lows, was mad, sad and at times, happy but I simply did not feel it, at all.
I kept reading until about 73% in the book? That was the moment I gave up. I didn't feel it anymore. I'm not one to DNF a book easily, but since I couldn't connect with Karen and didn't lose myself in the story any longer, I couldn't get myself to read on.
If I had felt Karen better, I would've enjoyed it, but I just didn't. It could've been me, really. I'm not blaming it on the book or the author at all.
So unfortunately, this is going on my small DNF-pile to maybe reread and give it another shot some day. But I doubt it...
As such, I'm also not rating this book because it would be unfair to rate a book I haven't finished.
Kathy
I received this book through LibraryThing and am not being compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are entirely my own.
At one point, Karen started to disappoint me by letting others walk all over her, changing the way she looks for them and accepting that her boyfriend treats her differently when others are near. Precisely at the moment that I wanted to curse her and have a little rant, she turned right around and proved to have a voice after all! Go Karen!
Up until halfway through the book Rewind had me snorting, laughing and rolling my eyes all at the same time. But then? Then it went downhill, hard and fast.
As Karen grows up, I noticed that I was completely distracted by the story at first and didn't notice how detached she sounds - since the whole book is from her point of view. The moment I started paying attention to that, I stopped enjoying it unfortunately.
Karen had highs, lows, was mad, sad and at times, happy but I simply did not feel it, at all.
I kept reading until about 73% in the book? That was the moment I gave up. I didn't feel it anymore. I'm not one to DNF a book easily, but since I couldn't connect with Karen and didn't lose myself in the story any longer, I couldn't get myself to read on.
If I had felt Karen better, I would've enjoyed it, but I just didn't. It could've been me, really. I'm not blaming it on the book or the author at all.
So unfortunately, this is going on my small DNF-pile to maybe reread and give it another shot some day. But I doubt it...
As such, I'm also not rating this book because it would be unfair to rate a book I haven't finished.
Kathy
I received this book through LibraryThing and am not being compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are entirely my own.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews