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Caroline Jacobs'un Muhtesem Dönüsü
Caroline Jacobs is a wimp, someone who specializes in the suffering of tiny indignities in silence. And the big ones, too. But when the twinset wearing president of the local Parent Teacher Organization steps out of line one too many times, Caroline musters the courage to assert herself. With a four-letter word, no less.
Caroline's outburst has awakened something in her. Not just gumption, but a realization that the roots of her tirade can be traced back to something that happened to her as a teenager, when her best friend very publicly betrayed her. So, with a little bit of bravery, Caroline decides to go back to her home town and tell off her childhood friend. She busts her daughter out of school, and the two set off to deliver the perfect comeback . . . some twenty-five years later. But nothing goes as planned. Long buried secrets rise to the surface, and Caroline finds she has to face much more than one old, bad best friend.
THE PERFECT COMEBACK OF CAROLINE JACOBS is an enchanting novel about the ways in which our childhood experiences reverberate through our lives. It's the story of a woman looking to fix her life through an act of bravery, and of a mother and daughter learning to understand one another. Deceptively simple and highly engaging, this latest novel by Matthew Dicks is perfect for those of us who were last to be picked at sports, and for everyone who is thrilled not to be in high school any more.
Caroline's outburst has awakened something in her. Not just gumption, but a realization that the roots of her tirade can be traced back to something that happened to her as a teenager, when her best friend very publicly betrayed her. So, with a little bit of bravery, Caroline decides to go back to her home town and tell off her childhood friend. She busts her daughter out of school, and the two set off to deliver the perfect comeback . . . some twenty-five years later. But nothing goes as planned. Long buried secrets rise to the surface, and Caroline finds she has to face much more than one old, bad best friend.
THE PERFECT COMEBACK OF CAROLINE JACOBS is an enchanting novel about the ways in which our childhood experiences reverberate through our lives. It's the story of a woman looking to fix her life through an act of bravery, and of a mother and daughter learning to understand one another. Deceptively simple and highly engaging, this latest novel by Matthew Dicks is perfect for those of us who were last to be picked at sports, and for everyone who is thrilled not to be in high school any more.
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First published September 8, 2015
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About the author
Matthew Dicks
16 books1,151 followersMatthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something Missing, Unexpectedly, Milo, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, and the upcoming novels The Other Mother and Cardboard Knight, as well as the nonfiction Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life Through the Art of Storytelling. His novels have been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide.
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend was the 2014 Dolly Gray Award winner and was nominated for a 2017 Nutmeg Award in Connecticut. Matthew was also awarded first prize in 2016 and second prize in 2017 in the Magazine/Humorous Column category by the CT Society of Professional Journalists.
He is also the author of the rock opera The Clowns and the musicals Caught in the Middle, Sticks & Stones, and Summertime. He has written comic books for Double Take comics. He is a columnist for Seasons magazine and has published work in Reader's Digest, The Hartford Courant, Parents magazine, The Huffington Post, and The Christian Science Monitor. He was awarded first prize for opinion writing in 2015 by the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists.
When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary school teacher, a storyteller, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, a life coach, and a Lord of Sealand. He has been teaching for 20 years and is a former West Hartford Teacher of the Year and a finalist for Connecticut Teacher of the Year.
Matthew is a 35-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 5-time GrandSLAM champion whose stories have been featured on their nationally syndicated Moth Radio Hour and their weekly podcast. He has also told stories for This American Life, TED, The Colin McEnroe Show, The Story Collider, The Liar Show, Literary Death Match, The Mouth, and many others. He has performed in such venues as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Wilbur Theater, The Academy of Music in North Hampton, CT, The Bynam Theater of Pittsburgh, The Bell House in NYC, The Lebanon Opera House, Boston University, and Infinity Hall in Hartford, CT.
He is a regular guest on several Slate podcasts, including The Gist, where he teaches storytelling.
Matthew is also the co-founder and creative director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England. He teaches storytelling and public speaking to individuals, corporations, and school districts around the world. He has most recently taught at Yale University, The University of Connecticut Law School, Purdue University, The Connecticut Historical Society, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Miss Porter's School, The Berkshire School, and Graded School in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Matthew is the creator and co-host of Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes.
Matthew is married to friend and fellow teacher, Elysha, and they have two children, Clara and Charlie. He grew up in the small town of Blackstone, Massachusetts, where he made a name for himself by dying twice before the age of eighteen and becoming the first student in his high school to be suspended for inciting riot upon himself.
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend was the 2014 Dolly Gray Award winner and was nominated for a 2017 Nutmeg Award in Connecticut. Matthew was also awarded first prize in 2016 and second prize in 2017 in the Magazine/Humorous Column category by the CT Society of Professional Journalists.
He is also the author of the rock opera The Clowns and the musicals Caught in the Middle, Sticks & Stones, and Summertime. He has written comic books for Double Take comics. He is a columnist for Seasons magazine and has published work in Reader's Digest, The Hartford Courant, Parents magazine, The Huffington Post, and The Christian Science Monitor. He was awarded first prize for opinion writing in 2015 by the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists.
When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary school teacher, a storyteller, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, a life coach, and a Lord of Sealand. He has been teaching for 20 years and is a former West Hartford Teacher of the Year and a finalist for Connecticut Teacher of the Year.
Matthew is a 35-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 5-time GrandSLAM champion whose stories have been featured on their nationally syndicated Moth Radio Hour and their weekly podcast. He has also told stories for This American Life, TED, The Colin McEnroe Show, The Story Collider, The Liar Show, Literary Death Match, The Mouth, and many others. He has performed in such venues as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Wilbur Theater, The Academy of Music in North Hampton, CT, The Bynam Theater of Pittsburgh, The Bell House in NYC, The Lebanon Opera House, Boston University, and Infinity Hall in Hartford, CT.
He is a regular guest on several Slate podcasts, including The Gist, where he teaches storytelling.
Matthew is also the co-founder and creative director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England. He teaches storytelling and public speaking to individuals, corporations, and school districts around the world. He has most recently taught at Yale University, The University of Connecticut Law School, Purdue University, The Connecticut Historical Society, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Miss Porter's School, The Berkshire School, and Graded School in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Matthew is the creator and co-host of Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes.
Matthew is married to friend and fellow teacher, Elysha, and they have two children, Clara and Charlie. He grew up in the small town of Blackstone, Massachusetts, where he made a name for himself by dying twice before the age of eighteen and becoming the first student in his high school to be suspended for inciting riot upon himself.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 403 reviews
March 31, 2016
Lately I have been reading seemingly lighter novels with a serious undertone. The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs by Matthew Dicks fits this mold nicely. Caroline Jacobs is a forty year old, unassertive woman stuck working at JC Penney's portrait studio who willingly says ok to everything asked of her. This time it was volunteering for PTA events at her daughter Polly's school. Only this time, Caroline Jacobs has had enough of being unassertive and tells PTA head Mary Kate Rinaldi to f--- off. Totally out of character, everyone including Caroline is stunned.
The next day Polly defending her mother's honor punches Rinaldi's daughter in the nose. Rather than risk suspension, Caroline pulls Polly from school and drives nine hours to her mother's rural Massachusetts home. She desires to once and for all face her own teenage demons that have been haunting her for the last twenty five years. A mother- teenage daughter car trip bonding experience ensues.
It is rare, at least for me, that a male writer can develop female characters well. Matthew Dicks does a superb job developing the characters of Caroline, Polly, Caroline's mom Penelope, and high school friend turned nemesis Emily Kaplan. Without giving much away in this 200 page book, the mother-daughter tandem arrive in Massachusetts, meet Caroline's mother, her client George and boyfriend Spartacus, and seek out to find Emily Kaplan now Labonte.
I enjoyed how Polly, a sassy teenager and complete opposite of her mother, gives her mom the spunk she never knew she had in her, allowing her another lease on life. All of us probably wish we could go back and change one defining moment that shaped our adolescence, so kudos for Caroline for actually doing it. I have never read Dicks' books before and I look forward to trying out the others. Recommended to all looking for a lite, fun read.
The next day Polly defending her mother's honor punches Rinaldi's daughter in the nose. Rather than risk suspension, Caroline pulls Polly from school and drives nine hours to her mother's rural Massachusetts home. She desires to once and for all face her own teenage demons that have been haunting her for the last twenty five years. A mother- teenage daughter car trip bonding experience ensues.
It is rare, at least for me, that a male writer can develop female characters well. Matthew Dicks does a superb job developing the characters of Caroline, Polly, Caroline's mom Penelope, and high school friend turned nemesis Emily Kaplan. Without giving much away in this 200 page book, the mother-daughter tandem arrive in Massachusetts, meet Caroline's mother, her client George and boyfriend Spartacus, and seek out to find Emily Kaplan now Labonte.
I enjoyed how Polly, a sassy teenager and complete opposite of her mother, gives her mom the spunk she never knew she had in her, allowing her another lease on life. All of us probably wish we could go back and change one defining moment that shaped our adolescence, so kudos for Caroline for actually doing it. I have never read Dicks' books before and I look forward to trying out the others. Recommended to all looking for a lite, fun read.
September 9, 2015
My sincere thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-galley to be published September 8, 2015.
Matthew Dicks has a way with picking interesting subjects and presenting them in unusual ways so I was hoping for the usual off the grid read. The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs didn’t disappoint. Dicks takes us back to all the horrors of high school, especially if you were on the outside looking in.
Caroline, a quiet, meek soul blows up with a capital F at a PTO meeting. When her daughter, Polly comes to her defense by physically assaulting the PTO President’s daughter, suspension is threatened. Caroline breaks her daughter out of the principal’s office and with only the clothes on their backs sets off on a road trip back home to face the woman, once her best friend, who dumped her without a backward glance. What ensues is heartfelt, often funny and thought provoking, allowing Caroline a creative, if late, comeback and a stronger relationship with her daughter.
Matthew Dicks day job as a teacher brings credibility to scenes of school politics and student life. Assuming he was also once a student, that experience clearly helped shape his novel.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs (a perfect title) is a trip back in time that may dig up buried memories but may also offer a means to finally face them.
Matthew Dicks has a way with picking interesting subjects and presenting them in unusual ways so I was hoping for the usual off the grid read. The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs didn’t disappoint. Dicks takes us back to all the horrors of high school, especially if you were on the outside looking in.
Caroline, a quiet, meek soul blows up with a capital F at a PTO meeting. When her daughter, Polly comes to her defense by physically assaulting the PTO President’s daughter, suspension is threatened. Caroline breaks her daughter out of the principal’s office and with only the clothes on their backs sets off on a road trip back home to face the woman, once her best friend, who dumped her without a backward glance. What ensues is heartfelt, often funny and thought provoking, allowing Caroline a creative, if late, comeback and a stronger relationship with her daughter.
Matthew Dicks day job as a teacher brings credibility to scenes of school politics and student life. Assuming he was also once a student, that experience clearly helped shape his novel.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs (a perfect title) is a trip back in time that may dig up buried memories but may also offer a means to finally face them.
August 12, 2015
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is one of those perfect lighthearted novels with a serious undertone. The book opens with Caroline swearing at a popular mother at a PTO meeting. It turns out that this is a momentous event in Caroline's life, because up to that point she has been a mousy conflict avoider. This sudden change in temperament -- whether realistic or not -- leads Caroline to go back to her home town -- with her teenage daughter Polly in tow -- to confront a bully from her teenage years. What happens when she gets there turns out to be about more than confronting the bully, but it's nevertheless transforming. In the process, Caroline re-evaluates her past and her sense of who she is and her place in the world. The road trip also has a positive impact on Caroline's relationship with Polly -- which up until then involved Caroline tiptoeing around her apparent lioness of a daughter. It's a short well written book, and while it doesn't deal with any new issues, it's very readable and engaging. I especially liked the evolution of Caroline's relationship with her daughter -- Polly is a lovely contrarian -- the kind of daughter who would be frustrating as hell as a teenager but who would leave you confident that she will have no difficulty making her way in the world as an adult -- unlike Caroline who ends up making her way a bit later in life. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
May 17, 2015
"There's no great dividing line between being a kid and an adult. We're not all Catapillar's turning into butterflies. You are what you are. When you grow up, you may be more careful
than when you were a kid. You don't say what you think as much as you once did. You learn to play nice. But you're still the same person who did good things or rotten things when you were young. Whether you feel good about them or bad...whether you regret them. Well, that's a
different thing. But it's not like they disappear forever."
Caroline approached the world at a safe distance. She was an observer. A watcher. She was shy. She preferred small to large..... The background to the foreground.
After Caroline swears at another mother....(inappropriate offensive language), to a room filled with parents from her daughters High School...(completely against her own character),
Something begins to break open.... she wants to go back to her hometown - and confront her old friend that turned on her... became a bully. The worse kind of bully... a bully that smiles, abandons and isolates a friend.
After an incident at school the next day, with Caroline's daughter, Polly...
She pulls her daughter out of school... gets her in the car... and against her will, ( and without telling her husband or anyone of her plans)....they set out on a long car trip back to Caroline's home town.
During the car ride... mother and daughter begin to talk like they haven't in years. Mom tells her daughter a secret she has never told anyone...(part of it).
Polly has a few 'truthful' words she says to mom herself:
"Mom, someone could be chopping your hands and feet off with a better knife and you still wouldn't complain. I've never seen you lose your temper once. Not even with me, and I deserve it. A LOT." I love you, but you get walked over all the time and never say a word. "
This book is SOOOOO GOOD!!!! I read it in one sitting!!! I couldn't put it down..,
It starts out hilarious.... then becomes very heartfelt... then adventurous...
This is such a dynamite little journey, soooo enjoyable... charming ... and inspiring!!!!
If a movie is not made I will be shocked.
You'll meet an interesting group of characters: Caroline, and her daughter Polly. You'll meet Polly's dad... Carolyn's old friend..'turned bully'.... her nemesis. You'll meet Caroline's mother and her blind boyfriend, a parrot grieving client, and possibly an adulterous husband and his son and daughter.
I highly recommend this book to every single one of my female and male friends!!!!!!!!!
Thank You to the publisher and Netgalley! Thank you to Matthew Dicks....(very talented!!! I'll read anything you write!)
than when you were a kid. You don't say what you think as much as you once did. You learn to play nice. But you're still the same person who did good things or rotten things when you were young. Whether you feel good about them or bad...whether you regret them. Well, that's a
different thing. But it's not like they disappear forever."
Caroline approached the world at a safe distance. She was an observer. A watcher. She was shy. She preferred small to large..... The background to the foreground.
After Caroline swears at another mother....(inappropriate offensive language), to a room filled with parents from her daughters High School...(completely against her own character),
Something begins to break open.... she wants to go back to her hometown - and confront her old friend that turned on her... became a bully. The worse kind of bully... a bully that smiles, abandons and isolates a friend.
After an incident at school the next day, with Caroline's daughter, Polly...
She pulls her daughter out of school... gets her in the car... and against her will, ( and without telling her husband or anyone of her plans)....they set out on a long car trip back to Caroline's home town.
During the car ride... mother and daughter begin to talk like they haven't in years. Mom tells her daughter a secret she has never told anyone...(part of it).
Polly has a few 'truthful' words she says to mom herself:
"Mom, someone could be chopping your hands and feet off with a better knife and you still wouldn't complain. I've never seen you lose your temper once. Not even with me, and I deserve it. A LOT." I love you, but you get walked over all the time and never say a word. "
This book is SOOOOO GOOD!!!! I read it in one sitting!!! I couldn't put it down..,
It starts out hilarious.... then becomes very heartfelt... then adventurous...
This is such a dynamite little journey, soooo enjoyable... charming ... and inspiring!!!!
If a movie is not made I will be shocked.
You'll meet an interesting group of characters: Caroline, and her daughter Polly. You'll meet Polly's dad... Carolyn's old friend..'turned bully'.... her nemesis. You'll meet Caroline's mother and her blind boyfriend, a parrot grieving client, and possibly an adulterous husband and his son and daughter.
I highly recommend this book to every single one of my female and male friends!!!!!!!!!
Thank You to the publisher and Netgalley! Thank you to Matthew Dicks....(very talented!!! I'll read anything you write!)
October 14, 2015
Caroline Jacobs is not assertive. But when the president of the PTO belittled another member, Caroline snapped and dropped a f-bomb in the middle of the meeting. Caroline realizes that an incident from her teens helped mold her normally passive nature. Her best friend Emily rejected her in front of all her friends so she spent her high school lunch periods by herself in the school library.
Caroline no longer wants to be an invisible person so she and her daughter Polly take a trip to Massachusetts to finally confront Emily. Along the way Caroline and Polly talk and strengthen their relationship. Caroline also has to face other important problems when she returns to her hometown.
This is a humorous novel with the underlying serious subject of bullying. In an analogy, bullying is compared to a rocket that can draw an asteroid off its course by the pull of gravitational force. "If you nudge an asteroid off course by just a tiny bit and give it enough time, it will end up in an entirely different place. Life is no different. Nudge someone one way or the next and a person's life trajectory can change forever." The author, Matthew Dicks, has been an elementary school teacher for seventeen years so he's seen plenty of bullying and understands people's emotions. He's a good storyteller who knows how to combine funny moments with heartbreaking ones to create an engaging book.
Caroline no longer wants to be an invisible person so she and her daughter Polly take a trip to Massachusetts to finally confront Emily. Along the way Caroline and Polly talk and strengthen their relationship. Caroline also has to face other important problems when she returns to her hometown.
This is a humorous novel with the underlying serious subject of bullying. In an analogy, bullying is compared to a rocket that can draw an asteroid off its course by the pull of gravitational force. "If you nudge an asteroid off course by just a tiny bit and give it enough time, it will end up in an entirely different place. Life is no different. Nudge someone one way or the next and a person's life trajectory can change forever." The author, Matthew Dicks, has been an elementary school teacher for seventeen years so he's seen plenty of bullying and understands people's emotions. He's a good storyteller who knows how to combine funny moments with heartbreaking ones to create an engaging book.
September 11, 2015
"It was that moment, that very instant, that Caroline's idea was born. The boldest, craziest idea of her life. It wasn't a fully formulated plan. It wasn't even a fully formulated idea. But it was the beginning of an idea. The spark....Caroline Jacobs knew that if she didn't act now, she never would."
Matthew Dick's novel, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, is a charming, thoughtful and funny story about a journey of self discovery as a woman confronts the demons of her past.
“Passive was the word that described Caroline best. It was almost her way of life. Avoid conflict at all costs. Be aggressively agreeable whenever possible. Fly under the radar. Don’t stir the pot. Acquiesce and move on from difficult situations as quickly as possible, preferably with a smile.”
Caroline Jacobs surprises herself, and a crowd of PTA mothers, when she reacts to a hapless mother being bullied by an overbearing PTA mom with an explosive expletive, but it sparks a fire in the usually submissive Caroline that leads her to the doorstep of her former childhood best friend turned high school tormentor. With her recalcitrant teenage daughter in tow, Caroline heads to her hometown, determined to confront Emily Kaplan and say the things she should have said in the moment that changed everything, twenty five years earlier.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs offers an appealing mix of humour and emotional drama, exploring the themes of self discovery, friendship, bullying and fate.
"All I know is that I'm the same person I was in high school. I know a little more and I've done a little more, but I'm essentially the same person. I didn't suddenly become something different when I became an adult. And part of me is the result of what happened in the cafeteria that day and all those days after. A big part."
Like Caroline I avoid conflict whenever possible, and similarly I was betrayed by a friend in high school. Nearly thirty years later the memory still stings a little, and while I would never dream of confronting her, I admired and even understood Caroline's decision to do so. I think the author is right in suggesting that this type of incident can have a lasting effect, and this is especially true for Caroline since the incident is linked to the tragic death of her sister.
"Mom, she was the definition of a bully. Exclusion. Isolation. Behind-the-back bullshit. I should know. My generation is the expert on bullying. It's all we ever hear about."
Caroline's teenage daughter Polly is a wonderful foil to her meek mother. Though I'd personally be appalled if my daughter spoke to me in the same manner, she is wise beyond her years, and her blunt and outspoken nature is something to admire. I really enjoyed the development of the relationship between mother and daughter over the course of the novel.
Throw in a small cast of quirky supporting characters including Caroline's mother, her blind boyfriend, Spartacus, and a man mourning his pet parrot, a road trip, a runaway and a repentant bully, and The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is a hugely enjoyable read.
June 29, 2019
I love Caroline.
I love Polly.
I love Penelope.
I love Spartacus.
I love Matthew Dicks.
I love Monty Python.
I Even kind of love Emily.
This is Matthew Dicks' fourth novel. I've read and loved them all. In this story, Caroline has a bit of an epiphany and takes a roadtrip back to her childhood town to set things right. She drags along her surly daughter Polly. Then stuff happens.
Everything about this story rang true for me. I felt like I was taking a trip to my hometown and visiting my old high school. I love the author's way with words. Even something as simple as "wait up." Does anyone say that anymore? You spend all of your teen years trying to catch up. You're so afraid you're going to miss out on something. Everything is happening so quickly. Time is flying by. Everyone is changing. Just wait up.
I love Polly.
I love Penelope.
I love Spartacus.
I love Matthew Dicks.
I love Monty Python.
I Even kind of love Emily.
This is Matthew Dicks' fourth novel. I've read and loved them all. In this story, Caroline has a bit of an epiphany and takes a roadtrip back to her childhood town to set things right. She drags along her surly daughter Polly. Then stuff happens.
Everything about this story rang true for me. I felt like I was taking a trip to my hometown and visiting my old high school. I love the author's way with words. Even something as simple as "wait up." Does anyone say that anymore? You spend all of your teen years trying to catch up. You're so afraid you're going to miss out on something. Everything is happening so quickly. Time is flying by. Everyone is changing. Just wait up.
August 27, 2015
A few years ago I read and truly loved Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks. I was delighted with his "no frills" writing style, the honest and realistic descriptions and dialogues, and a creative, gripping plot. I knew that I'd be first in line for his next offering once it finally got published.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs (great title!!) is not as imaginative as Budo's adventures, but it still made for a compelling read. Knowing that Matthew Dicks' daytime job is teaching at a high school, it came as no surprise that his school life insights, e.g. descriptions of PTO meetings, bore an uncanny likeness to situations I've experienced myself, and great fun to read.
Caroline Jacobs, our introvert and unlikely heroine, is a very sympathetic character who surprises herself and her surroundings by cursing at the PTO leader, and following her outburst decides to step up and sort out a few issues in her family, starting with herself. What follows is a road trip with her teenage daughter including some very funny but also poignant mother-daughter interactions and conversations. There are also a number of encounters with blasts from the past that gave this reader enough food for thought about her own teenage years, regrets and lessons.
An excellent book for parents, and anyone with a teenage trauma to get over.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs (great title!!) is not as imaginative as Budo's adventures, but it still made for a compelling read. Knowing that Matthew Dicks' daytime job is teaching at a high school, it came as no surprise that his school life insights, e.g. descriptions of PTO meetings, bore an uncanny likeness to situations I've experienced myself, and great fun to read.
Caroline Jacobs, our introvert and unlikely heroine, is a very sympathetic character who surprises herself and her surroundings by cursing at the PTO leader, and following her outburst decides to step up and sort out a few issues in her family, starting with herself. What follows is a road trip with her teenage daughter including some very funny but also poignant mother-daughter interactions and conversations. There are also a number of encounters with blasts from the past that gave this reader enough food for thought about her own teenage years, regrets and lessons.
An excellent book for parents, and anyone with a teenage trauma to get over.
July 24, 2017
Great novel about facing trauma from the past, how it has shaped us, how others might be callously indifferent but it is still part of memory and coming of age - even as an adult. Very sensitive novel.
August 4, 2015
4.5 stars
Intensely shy and always eager to please, Caroline Jacobs is at her wits-end. Sick of seeing a mother, who is quite similar to Caroline, get bullied by the president of the PTO, Caroline finally lets out what she's been holding in and tells the president of the PTO to F*OFF during a meeting at her daughter's high school. This moment sparks Caroline to take her daughter, Polly, out of school and drive to her childhood home in Massachusetts to confront her former high school bully., Emily. It isn't until Caroline and Emily are reunited, that Caroline realizes she must face the shameful secrets from her past.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is a quick, emotional read. I was rooting for Caroline and enjoyed going on her journey of self-discovery.
Intensely shy and always eager to please, Caroline Jacobs is at her wits-end. Sick of seeing a mother, who is quite similar to Caroline, get bullied by the president of the PTO, Caroline finally lets out what she's been holding in and tells the president of the PTO to F*OFF during a meeting at her daughter's high school. This moment sparks Caroline to take her daughter, Polly, out of school and drive to her childhood home in Massachusetts to confront her former high school bully., Emily. It isn't until Caroline and Emily are reunited, that Caroline realizes she must face the shameful secrets from her past.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is a quick, emotional read. I was rooting for Caroline and enjoyed going on her journey of self-discovery.
February 6, 2016
The publisher offered me a download on Netgalley for a review of this book. I wish I could recommend it more heartily, especially since the first chapter showed so much promise. Caroline Jacobs loses her patience and lets her tongue get away from her at a PTA meeting. The build-up to this scene was fantastic as the author showed in just a few pages how shy and passive Caroline is, and how coolly bullying the PTA president is by contrast. Therefore, even though I had just met Caroline in the pages, I was still shocked when she opened her mouth and let the insults fly. I wanted to stand up and cheer. I read on eagerly, wondering what mess Caroline would find herself in in the coming days and months. Would it be awkward? Would she apologize? Would the other shy parents rally around her? Would the PTA press harassment charges?
I wish I could answer these questions, but sadly, the book took a different turn. Instead of Caroline facing up her actions, she essentially runs away from her situation as the day after her PTA debacle her daughter, Polly, is called before the principal of the school for socking the daughter of the PTA president her mother insulted the night before. The two bust out of school, and out of town for an impromptu mother-daughter road trip. Caroline has made the snap decision that her outburst of the night before has Something Mysterious to do with her past, and she is leaving her husband, her job, and her daughter's education and well-being behind to confront it. On the way to her childhood home she tells her daughter a long convoluted story about a bullying incident she endured when her childhood best friend wouldn't let her sit at her lunch table in high school. Polly is horrified on her mother's behalf, and goes on a rant about her mother was BULLIED by her best friend, even as her mother says over, and over, "Oh it wasn't so bad." However, if Caroline doesn't consider the actions of her friend as bullying, why does she let it affect her all these years later. I just didn't buy the whole "Oh, it wasn't bullying" schtick she was pulling on her daughter. To be it seemed a passive ploy to get her daughter to feel sorry for her, and to be outraged on her behalf. Which makes me want to smack Caroline across the face. Which makes me feel like a bully.
This turned out to be a theme that continued for the rest of the book. Polly constantly acts more mature, and more forthright than her grown mother, making it seem like she is the parent helping her child through a bad patch. She is so self-assured when dealing with her mother's sob stories that you can almost believe she is used to her mother's emotional instability because she deals with it on a regular basis. It made me feel terrible for Polly, to the point where I thought one of the characters calling Child Protective Services wouldn't have been out of order. I just grew to hate Caroline more and more, making me think that if I knew her in high school I would have made it a point to trip her in the hallway, and let the boys into the locker room while she was changing for gym. Take that future child abuser!
As the book progresses we learn more of Caroline's friendship with Emily, who would later refuse to sit with her lunch, and the death of Caroline's younger sister. We meet her mother, and some various other friends and relations that in no way help move the story along. Caroline never faces up to her outburst at the PTA, and never in any way deals with that particular situation, or its possible repercussions. Again, she allows her daughter to pick up the pieces of what she (Caroline) has broken. And again, I want to poke Caroline in the back of the head for the way she treats her daughter, and I want to poke the back of the head of her entire family for letting her get away with it.
I give it one star for the great beginning, and one star for being a quick, easy read.
I wish I could answer these questions, but sadly, the book took a different turn. Instead of Caroline facing up her actions, she essentially runs away from her situation as the day after her PTA debacle her daughter, Polly, is called before the principal of the school for socking the daughter of the PTA president her mother insulted the night before. The two bust out of school, and out of town for an impromptu mother-daughter road trip. Caroline has made the snap decision that her outburst of the night before has Something Mysterious to do with her past, and she is leaving her husband, her job, and her daughter's education and well-being behind to confront it. On the way to her childhood home she tells her daughter a long convoluted story about a bullying incident she endured when her childhood best friend wouldn't let her sit at her lunch table in high school. Polly is horrified on her mother's behalf, and goes on a rant about her mother was BULLIED by her best friend, even as her mother says over, and over, "Oh it wasn't so bad." However, if Caroline doesn't consider the actions of her friend as bullying, why does she let it affect her all these years later. I just didn't buy the whole "Oh, it wasn't bullying" schtick she was pulling on her daughter. To be it seemed a passive ploy to get her daughter to feel sorry for her, and to be outraged on her behalf. Which makes me want to smack Caroline across the face. Which makes me feel like a bully.
This turned out to be a theme that continued for the rest of the book. Polly constantly acts more mature, and more forthright than her grown mother, making it seem like she is the parent helping her child through a bad patch. She is so self-assured when dealing with her mother's sob stories that you can almost believe she is used to her mother's emotional instability because she deals with it on a regular basis. It made me feel terrible for Polly, to the point where I thought one of the characters calling Child Protective Services wouldn't have been out of order. I just grew to hate Caroline more and more, making me think that if I knew her in high school I would have made it a point to trip her in the hallway, and let the boys into the locker room while she was changing for gym. Take that future child abuser!
As the book progresses we learn more of Caroline's friendship with Emily, who would later refuse to sit with her lunch, and the death of Caroline's younger sister. We meet her mother, and some various other friends and relations that in no way help move the story along. Caroline never faces up to her outburst at the PTA, and never in any way deals with that particular situation, or its possible repercussions. Again, she allows her daughter to pick up the pieces of what she (Caroline) has broken. And again, I want to poke Caroline in the back of the head for the way she treats her daughter, and I want to poke the back of the head of her entire family for letting her get away with it.
I give it one star for the great beginning, and one star for being a quick, easy read.
February 14, 2016
Sometimes things that happen in our childhood, as adolescents, or high school, stay with us more than they should, hiding in that closet called "silly grudges" that we know we need to clean out someday, but keep putting it off just so it gives us that little edge, so when we get mad at something, anything really, we can point to it, use it as justification and rationalize with it to explain why we're so mad now. It comes in handy some times.
Caroline Jacobs thought so; every time she was put upon and didn't speak up for herself she thought, and said in her mind, well, "it's because that time in high school." She'd massage that hurt a little more and keep doing it the next time, and the next, until she was an expert. We all have some little story like this, we have to, it's part of growing up. I have a few, but the one I kept gnawing on, the silliest, was getting blamed for passing a note in 6th grade, and the girl who wrote it, and all her friends joined together and said yes, they saw me do it. I couldn't believe the blatant lie and dishonesty, why me. I denied it because I didn't do it. But the nun of our small Catholic school took me out in the hall and smacked my hands hard with a wooden ruler. This was about 1963, so yeah, they did this stuff. My tears were more from the betrayal than the pain. This girl, who was not a "popular girl" but rather quiet, ended up going to the same high school as I did. Fast forward to our 25th HS reunion and who do I run into, my elementary school accussor. We chat, blah blah blah, and then I ask her, why? She remembers, she laughs and says, "I'm not really sure why, I know I didn't want to get caught. Sorry."
That's it, no big deal, we were kids. Just like Polly tried to tell Caroline in some regards, that kids live in the moment for the most part. Emily Kaplan was really rude to Caroline, and it was high school. That does stick with you for awhile. But 20-30 years, give it up woman. Let that go.
Now her sister Lucy's death is a whole different story. But again, I think Polly is right here too. It was an accident. Bad timing sure, but no intent was ever there. Just kids doing stupid things with very unfortunate consequences. Caroline cannot blame herself.
The best part of this story is the mother- daughter relationship that put them back on speaking terms. we all know that it will get tested again. it will have its ups and downs, but it has broken through its most important barrier..
A great book, especially for Moms of teenagers. 4.5 stars.
Caroline Jacobs thought so; every time she was put upon and didn't speak up for herself she thought, and said in her mind, well, "it's because that time in high school." She'd massage that hurt a little more and keep doing it the next time, and the next, until she was an expert. We all have some little story like this, we have to, it's part of growing up. I have a few, but the one I kept gnawing on, the silliest, was getting blamed for passing a note in 6th grade, and the girl who wrote it, and all her friends joined together and said yes, they saw me do it. I couldn't believe the blatant lie and dishonesty, why me. I denied it because I didn't do it. But the nun of our small Catholic school took me out in the hall and smacked my hands hard with a wooden ruler. This was about 1963, so yeah, they did this stuff. My tears were more from the betrayal than the pain. This girl, who was not a "popular girl" but rather quiet, ended up going to the same high school as I did. Fast forward to our 25th HS reunion and who do I run into, my elementary school accussor. We chat, blah blah blah, and then I ask her, why? She remembers, she laughs and says, "I'm not really sure why, I know I didn't want to get caught. Sorry."
That's it, no big deal, we were kids. Just like Polly tried to tell Caroline in some regards, that kids live in the moment for the most part. Emily Kaplan was really rude to Caroline, and it was high school. That does stick with you for awhile. But 20-30 years, give it up woman. Let that go.
Now her sister Lucy's death is a whole different story. But again, I think Polly is right here too. It was an accident. Bad timing sure, but no intent was ever there. Just kids doing stupid things with very unfortunate consequences. Caroline cannot blame herself.
The best part of this story is the mother- daughter relationship that put them back on speaking terms. we all know that it will get tested again. it will have its ups and downs, but it has broken through its most important barrier..
A great book, especially for Moms of teenagers. 4.5 stars.
November 21, 2017
Caroline kendi halinde, fazlasıyla sessiz sakin bir kadın. Hatta öyle bir karakter ki biz ona 'pısırık' bile diyebiliriz. Hayatını hep bir düzen içinde sürdürmüş. Kendince mutlu bir evliliği var. Biraz uçarı olduğunu düşündüğü de bir kızı.
Bu sessiz kadın günün birinde okul aile birliği toplantısında kendisini bir anda bir kadına küfür ederken buluyor. Başkalarını şoka sokan bu hareketi Caroline'ı da fazlasıyla şoka sokuyor. Zira nerde onda böyle küfür edecek yürek.
Bu küfür Caroline'ın içinde kapalı tuttuğu şeylerin kapaklarının açılmasını sağlıyor. Ve anlık bir cesaretle kızını da alıp lisedeki anıları ile yani aslında Emily ile yüzleşmek için eski kasabasına dönüş yolculuğuna çıkıyor. Bu yolculuk onun sadece Emily ile değil aynı zamanda kendi pişmanlıkları ve kendisini sorumlu tuttuğu olaylar ile de yüzleşmesini sağlıyor.
Caroline karakterine hiç ısınamadım. Bu kitabın bir karakter gelişim kitabı olması gerekirdi. Yani o yolculuğun sonunda Caroline'ın en baştakinden daha farklı bir kadın olmasını bekledim ama bana göre hala aynı kadındı. Hiç değişmedi diyemem ama yeterince değişim göstermediğini düşünüyorum. Bu da beni rahatsız etti.
Kitapta en sevdiğim karakter hazırcevaplığı ile Polly oldu. Annesinin tam tersine fazlasıyla cesur ve özgüvenli bir kızdı. Kitapta başlarda annesi ile pek anlaşamadığından bahsedilse bile bence annesi için yaptığı şeyler fazlasıyla güzeldi.
Biraz duygusal biraz eğlenceli bir kitap okumak isterseniz göz atabilirsiniz. Benim beklentim daha yüksek olduğu için kitap benim açımdan ortalama bir kitap oldu.
Bu sessiz kadın günün birinde okul aile birliği toplantısında kendisini bir anda bir kadına küfür ederken buluyor. Başkalarını şoka sokan bu hareketi Caroline'ı da fazlasıyla şoka sokuyor. Zira nerde onda böyle küfür edecek yürek.
Bu küfür Caroline'ın içinde kapalı tuttuğu şeylerin kapaklarının açılmasını sağlıyor. Ve anlık bir cesaretle kızını da alıp lisedeki anıları ile yani aslında Emily ile yüzleşmek için eski kasabasına dönüş yolculuğuna çıkıyor. Bu yolculuk onun sadece Emily ile değil aynı zamanda kendi pişmanlıkları ve kendisini sorumlu tuttuğu olaylar ile de yüzleşmesini sağlıyor.
Caroline karakterine hiç ısınamadım. Bu kitabın bir karakter gelişim kitabı olması gerekirdi. Yani o yolculuğun sonunda Caroline'ın en baştakinden daha farklı bir kadın olmasını bekledim ama bana göre hala aynı kadındı. Hiç değişmedi diyemem ama yeterince değişim göstermediğini düşünüyorum. Bu da beni rahatsız etti.
Kitapta en sevdiğim karakter hazırcevaplığı ile Polly oldu. Annesinin tam tersine fazlasıyla cesur ve özgüvenli bir kızdı. Kitapta başlarda annesi ile pek anlaşamadığından bahsedilse bile bence annesi için yaptığı şeyler fazlasıyla güzeldi.
Biraz duygusal biraz eğlenceli bir kitap okumak isterseniz göz atabilirsiniz. Benim beklentim daha yüksek olduğu için kitap benim açımdan ortalama bir kitap oldu.
September 28, 2015
3.5 Stars
Received from Goodreads first reads giveaway.
This Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is a light hearted fast read that dealt with various subjects ranging from friendship, mother/daughter relationships, bullying, death, and grief.
How can all of these items be lighthearted? They are at the hands of Matthew Dicks.
Caroline utters a word at a PTA meeting that acts as a catalyst for the chain of events in the book. She has a strained (at best) relationship with her daughter and decides to "go home" after a meeting at her daughter's school.
The trip helps the two rebuild their relationship and help Caroline come to terms with two major events that occurred during her teenage years.
The book is sweet, nostalgic and touching. Fast paced and easy to read, this book doesn't disappoint.
Received from Goodreads first reads giveaway.
This Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is a light hearted fast read that dealt with various subjects ranging from friendship, mother/daughter relationships, bullying, death, and grief.
How can all of these items be lighthearted? They are at the hands of Matthew Dicks.
Caroline utters a word at a PTA meeting that acts as a catalyst for the chain of events in the book. She has a strained (at best) relationship with her daughter and decides to "go home" after a meeting at her daughter's school.
The trip helps the two rebuild their relationship and help Caroline come to terms with two major events that occurred during her teenage years.
The book is sweet, nostalgic and touching. Fast paced and easy to read, this book doesn't disappoint.
September 28, 2015
(Full disclosure: This book was given to me by my former editor, who is Mr. Dicks' current editor.)
The best description I can come up for PERFECT COMEBACK is that it's the best indie film I've seen this year. The characters are appealing, likably flawed, behaving believably, if not always admirably, and trying their level best. The story isn't big, but it doesn't have to be; a woman who has spent decades not speaking up for herself suddenly snaps in the face of a PTA mommy-bully and drags her impatient, bright, sullen teenage daughter back to her hometown to avenge her earliest friendship betrayal. I absolutely love the relationship between the mother and the daughter; it feels loving, prickly and plausible in just the right proportions. The resolution isn't earth-shattering, but you walk away smiling; all in all, a completely satisfying novel.
The best description I can come up for PERFECT COMEBACK is that it's the best indie film I've seen this year. The characters are appealing, likably flawed, behaving believably, if not always admirably, and trying their level best. The story isn't big, but it doesn't have to be; a woman who has spent decades not speaking up for herself suddenly snaps in the face of a PTA mommy-bully and drags her impatient, bright, sullen teenage daughter back to her hometown to avenge her earliest friendship betrayal. I absolutely love the relationship between the mother and the daughter; it feels loving, prickly and plausible in just the right proportions. The resolution isn't earth-shattering, but you walk away smiling; all in all, a completely satisfying novel.
July 8, 2015
I received an ARC from BookBrowse.com in exchange for a review which I have posted there. This is my third Matthew Dicks novel and I enjoyed it. When Caroline Jacobs utters a 4 word insult to the PTO president during a meeting, it seems to unleash 25 years of pent-up hurt and disappointment which she has been carrying since high school. After her own daughter gets in trouble, Caroline takes her and goes back home to confront her bully all these years later. Matthew Dicks writes the mother-daughter relationship very well, although the several of the other characters were not as fully realized. a quick read, I recommend it to fans of Mr. Dicks as well as those who imagine what it would be like to go back in time and confront whoever may have made your teen years miserable.
September 17, 2015
This was a fast paced and easy to read book about a 40 something woman deciding to take on some of the demons that have haunted her since high school.
The overall plot is a little bit wacky (as all of Matthew Dicks plots are) but it all felt very true to me and as a person who is very much like Caroline, it brought back some familiar feelings from high school.
I also love this one sentence more than anyone should: "...when you're forty, you're not supposed to be this stupid."
The overall plot is a little bit wacky (as all of Matthew Dicks plots are) but it all felt very true to me and as a person who is very much like Caroline, it brought back some familiar feelings from high school.
I also love this one sentence more than anyone should: "...when you're forty, you're not supposed to be this stupid."
October 27, 2016
Although it took me a few chapters to get into the story, Matthew Dicks approach to how a grown woman returns to her childhood home to face her "bully" turned out to be an interesting read. While the story is really about Caroline and her childhood friend, Emily, I felt myself really enjoying the characterization of Caroline 's daughter, Polly. Maybe in large part because I once taught a "Polly " who had a very similar relationship with one of her parents, very much like the book.
August 12, 2015
I'm a long time fan of Matthew Dicks so I was excited to see that he had a new novel coming on September 8, 2015! I wanted to go ahead and get this review out so that you can get this on your library hold list or add it to your buy soon list! It's such a charming and adventurous novel that I just loved! Such a sweet novel about self-discovery, mothers & daughter, family and going home!
This story centers around a woman who has always been a kind, sweet person who doesn't stand up for herself. Until she does. From the moment she finds her voice, the novel becomes an adventure of sorts with this woman and her teenage daughter going back to the woman's hometown. It's about becoming yourself and finding your voice. This one is very readable and engaging! It's a fairly quick read but a really fun and interesting one! I definitely recommend it!
This story centers around a woman who has always been a kind, sweet person who doesn't stand up for herself. Until she does. From the moment she finds her voice, the novel becomes an adventure of sorts with this woman and her teenage daughter going back to the woman's hometown. It's about becoming yourself and finding your voice. This one is very readable and engaging! It's a fairly quick read but a really fun and interesting one! I definitely recommend it!
July 7, 2015
Another enjoyable book from Matthew Dicks, who completely wowed me a few years ago with Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend--though Caroline can't really compete with Budo as a protagonist, I did read this book in a single evening and was sad when I reached the last page and had to part ways with the characters. There are some serious themes here (bullying, regret, loss) but the story thankfully never gets too bogged down in angst.
I think this will be a great choice for book clubs or for readers wanting a quick, quirky read that's both entertaining and poignant.
Note: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I think this will be a great choice for book clubs or for readers wanting a quick, quirky read that's both entertaining and poignant.
Note: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 6, 2016
This is the charming yet thought-provoking story of Caroline, a very shy woman who suddenly decides to stand up to the bullies in her life -- starting with the PTO chairwoman who browbeats people into volunteering their time. Next Caroline decides to go back to her hometown to tell off the bully from high school. Of course things do not go as planned, but the journey is well worth it -- at times hilarious, other times deeply touching. The relationship between Caroline and her fifteen-year-old daughter Polly is one of the best I have read in a long, long time. Don't miss this big-hearted novel.
September 14, 2015
I really liked this book. I loved how you were embraced and folded into the story immediately. Matthew Dick's writing was brilliant on so many levels. As a man to be able to make both Caroline and Polly so real was a feat in itself, plus he was able to develop Polly into an unlikeable teenager as well as a vulnerable and so lovable young girl.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs was not just another easy read due to all of the layers that are woven into the story.
As a very long ago high schooler I could actually feel the pain that Caroline felt on that doomed day in the cafeteria.
A very enjoyable read.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs was not just another easy read due to all of the layers that are woven into the story.
As a very long ago high schooler I could actually feel the pain that Caroline felt on that doomed day in the cafeteria.
A very enjoyable read.
October 13, 2015
He needs a proofreader!
November 15, 2020
Gozlentimi tam qarsilamasa da, oxuduqca yormayan, eylenceli, maraqli bir kitab idi
July 15, 2015
This is a book for all the wallflowers who grew up and had families...and are still wallflowers.
Caroline was always a very shy girl, then grew up into a shy adult. She is an amazing photographer, but works at Sears because she is too shy to show her photography to anyone. She has a teenage daughter who is *not* a wallflower, but Caroline doesn't know how to talk to her. Caroline has a fabulous husband and exactly one friend.
One day, the school calls, and Caroline must come get her daughter. Turns out her daughter punched the daughter of the PTA president Caroline told to f*** off. Something in Caroline snaps and she drives home to confront a woman who used to be her best friend.
And that's where I stop so I don't spoil the book.
So if you've ever wanted to confront someone from your past, if you've ever been shy, or if you love reading a great story, this book is for you.
Caroline was always a very shy girl, then grew up into a shy adult. She is an amazing photographer, but works at Sears because she is too shy to show her photography to anyone. She has a teenage daughter who is *not* a wallflower, but Caroline doesn't know how to talk to her. Caroline has a fabulous husband and exactly one friend.
One day, the school calls, and Caroline must come get her daughter. Turns out her daughter punched the daughter of the PTA president Caroline told to f*** off. Something in Caroline snaps and she drives home to confront a woman who used to be her best friend.
And that's where I stop so I don't spoil the book.
So if you've ever wanted to confront someone from your past, if you've ever been shy, or if you love reading a great story, this book is for you.
December 2, 2024
ay ağladım çok üzücü bi şey de yoktu ama NE ALAKA??????!
August 20, 2015
I’ve spent the summer reading a lot of adult fiction. This is somewhat unusual for me since the majority of my reading time is spent reading middle grades and YA books for work. When I have some downtime, I usually pick up adult fiction. So as I said, this summer I read a lot of adult fiction. All the books I’ve read were entertaining. Some had interesting plots, some had enjoyable characters, and some had writing that created beautiful images. They passed the time while I was waiting for an appointment or while I was riding the train to the City or while I was awake in the middle of the night. None of them were books I wanted to read in one sitting. None of them were books that I drank in in one big gulp, only to try to slow down and sip so the experience wouldn’t end. None of them were The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs by Matthew Dicks.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs was a book that captured me from page one. By the time, Dicks described the ladies knitting under the Race to the Top poster at the PTO meeting (his own personal tricoteuses), I was all in (I’d say hooked, but that would be a bad crochet pun). The writing within those opening pages is compelling. It creates a strong image, and I was immediately in that high school cafeteria witnessing Caroline Jacobs standing up and dropping an f-bomb. I could feel the cold molded plastic stool of the cafeteria table—quite possibly the most uncomfortable furniture known to human kind—under my butt and smell that unmistakable smell of school cafeterias—processed food and the lingering odor of too many teens crammed into too small a space. I could feel the tension in the air and see Mary Kate Dinali’s reaction to Caroline Jacobs. Mary Kate who “was well equipped for this sort of verbal combat.” Mary Kate the master of “conquering sidewalk fiefdoms, forging parental alliances, and coalescing suburban power.” Mary Kate the “Nave SEAL of PTO politics.” Mary Kate who was far more skilled at providing a comeback than Caroline Jacobs. And even though Caroline Jacobs launched the attack, I had enough information about her in the first two pages to care about her and feel a little sorry for her. I wanted to know her motivation for doing what she did at the PTO meeting. I wanted to know more about Caroline Jacobs. I wanted to be her friend.
In true Matthew Dicks form, he creates a quirky and flawed character that the reader simply falls in love with. There is a beautiful marriage of character and plot to create a wonderful entertaining novel. Like any great book, the plot is subtly yet complexly layered. This was a book I read in one sitting. It’s a book I want to discuss with someone. It’s a book that touched my heart and my soul.
I now have a “book hangover.” When I finished reading and came back to reality, I wasn’t in a PTO meeting or a small New England town or traveling on Rt. 95, I was back in my family room in NJ with my kitten curled up at my feet and my dog curled up in the bay window behind me.
Admittedly, and with full disclosure, I am a fan of Matthew Dicks’ writing. I’m a fan of Matthew Dicks (and cheer a little bit when one of his stories shows up on The Moth podcast). I’m also lucky to consider Matthew and his beautiful family among my friends. Does this have an impact on me as a reader? Yes and no. Yes, I’m friends with Matt, but if his writing sucked, I’d tell him. I’m a reader, and Matthew Dicks writes for readers. Yes, being a fan of his writing does influence my opinion. I have high expectations when I pick up something Matthew has written. Very high expectations. Just like I would for any author whose work I love. I was not disappointed. And you just set the bar a little higher for the next book, Matthew.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs was a book that captured me from page one. By the time, Dicks described the ladies knitting under the Race to the Top poster at the PTO meeting (his own personal tricoteuses), I was all in (I’d say hooked, but that would be a bad crochet pun). The writing within those opening pages is compelling. It creates a strong image, and I was immediately in that high school cafeteria witnessing Caroline Jacobs standing up and dropping an f-bomb. I could feel the cold molded plastic stool of the cafeteria table—quite possibly the most uncomfortable furniture known to human kind—under my butt and smell that unmistakable smell of school cafeterias—processed food and the lingering odor of too many teens crammed into too small a space. I could feel the tension in the air and see Mary Kate Dinali’s reaction to Caroline Jacobs. Mary Kate who “was well equipped for this sort of verbal combat.” Mary Kate the master of “conquering sidewalk fiefdoms, forging parental alliances, and coalescing suburban power.” Mary Kate the “Nave SEAL of PTO politics.” Mary Kate who was far more skilled at providing a comeback than Caroline Jacobs. And even though Caroline Jacobs launched the attack, I had enough information about her in the first two pages to care about her and feel a little sorry for her. I wanted to know her motivation for doing what she did at the PTO meeting. I wanted to know more about Caroline Jacobs. I wanted to be her friend.
In true Matthew Dicks form, he creates a quirky and flawed character that the reader simply falls in love with. There is a beautiful marriage of character and plot to create a wonderful entertaining novel. Like any great book, the plot is subtly yet complexly layered. This was a book I read in one sitting. It’s a book I want to discuss with someone. It’s a book that touched my heart and my soul.
I now have a “book hangover.” When I finished reading and came back to reality, I wasn’t in a PTO meeting or a small New England town or traveling on Rt. 95, I was back in my family room in NJ with my kitten curled up at my feet and my dog curled up in the bay window behind me.
Admittedly, and with full disclosure, I am a fan of Matthew Dicks’ writing. I’m a fan of Matthew Dicks (and cheer a little bit when one of his stories shows up on The Moth podcast). I’m also lucky to consider Matthew and his beautiful family among my friends. Does this have an impact on me as a reader? Yes and no. Yes, I’m friends with Matt, but if his writing sucked, I’d tell him. I’m a reader, and Matthew Dicks writes for readers. Yes, being a fan of his writing does influence my opinion. I have high expectations when I pick up something Matthew has written. Very high expectations. Just like I would for any author whose work I love. I was not disappointed. And you just set the bar a little higher for the next book, Matthew.
September 3, 2015
The Perfect Comeback Of Caroline Jacobs
By
Matthew Dicks
My " in a nutshell" summary...
Caroline abruptly uses a very very very bad word at a PTO meeting...a very very bad word. This is out of Caroline's character. She astounds and shocks herself. But...it feels good and actually is the beginning of a change in Caroline's life. But...the change is kind of shaky and rocky.
My thoughts after reading this book...
This little book simply took me by surprise! It was funny and soulful and sweet and sad. At first I thought it was going to be boring and preachy. But this author's clever writing made this book a lovely reading experience for me.
What I loved about this book...
I loved Polly...Caroline's snarky daughter. Their road trip...no luggage...no fresh unders...was so much fun! The scene in the hotel when Polly takes charge...highly entertaining. Spartacus...Caroline's mother's blind boyfriend...too funny! Even Caroline's mother's career...she runs a pet cemetery...very amusing.
What I did not love about this book...
Not much...I pretty much loved it all!
Final thoughts...
Readers who love a heartfelt fun cleverly written beautiful lively as well as lovely book...will love this one!
By
Matthew Dicks
My " in a nutshell" summary...
Caroline abruptly uses a very very very bad word at a PTO meeting...a very very bad word. This is out of Caroline's character. She astounds and shocks herself. But...it feels good and actually is the beginning of a change in Caroline's life. But...the change is kind of shaky and rocky.
My thoughts after reading this book...
This little book simply took me by surprise! It was funny and soulful and sweet and sad. At first I thought it was going to be boring and preachy. But this author's clever writing made this book a lovely reading experience for me.
What I loved about this book...
I loved Polly...Caroline's snarky daughter. Their road trip...no luggage...no fresh unders...was so much fun! The scene in the hotel when Polly takes charge...highly entertaining. Spartacus...Caroline's mother's blind boyfriend...too funny! Even Caroline's mother's career...she runs a pet cemetery...very amusing.
What I did not love about this book...
Not much...I pretty much loved it all!
Final thoughts...
Readers who love a heartfelt fun cleverly written beautiful lively as well as lovely book...will love this one!
September 13, 2015
“The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs” is story about a rather shy and reserved woman who unexpectedly breaks out of her shell at a PTA meeting. This triggers a set of events that lead her back to her hometown to face her past.
The beginning of the book was pure gold, and I’m fairly certain anyone who has ever dealt with the leaders of various youth and charity organizations has at one point wanted to tell them what Caroline did. Her search to change the way she handled things in the past is also very relatable. Who hasn’t wanted to confront a former bully as an adult? I absolutely loved that part as well as all of the main characters. We’ve all either been one of them or know them.
Unfortunately, I found that it seemed the novel would have been better suited as a novella or a short story. Many of the characters and details seemed like filler and were not well-developed. It dragged down the flow of what would otherwise have been a very well-written work.
Overall, “The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs” is a book that I can neither recommend nor not recommend. If it sounds like you may enjoy it, by all means give it a try.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The beginning of the book was pure gold, and I’m fairly certain anyone who has ever dealt with the leaders of various youth and charity organizations has at one point wanted to tell them what Caroline did. Her search to change the way she handled things in the past is also very relatable. Who hasn’t wanted to confront a former bully as an adult? I absolutely loved that part as well as all of the main characters. We’ve all either been one of them or know them.
Unfortunately, I found that it seemed the novel would have been better suited as a novella or a short story. Many of the characters and details seemed like filler and were not well-developed. It dragged down the flow of what would otherwise have been a very well-written work.
Overall, “The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs” is a book that I can neither recommend nor not recommend. If it sounds like you may enjoy it, by all means give it a try.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
November 30, 2015
I initially gave this three stars, but after sitting with the rating, I think four stars is more deserving. This book definitely hooked me in and didn't let up. I stayed up late to finish it.
The story is about Caroline Jacobs and the day she wakes up during a PTO meeting. She tells another mom to F&@* off and then throws caution to the wind.
The book then follows Caroline's friendship with her neighbor growing up and how the end of the relationship set her off course (or so she believes). The moments in high school feel real. Dicks captures perfectly the bullying that takes place. Girls can be so cruel.
This is a perfect book to read while traveling or to cozy up with on a cold day. You will most likely finish it in one sitting.
The story is about Caroline Jacobs and the day she wakes up during a PTO meeting. She tells another mom to F&@* off and then throws caution to the wind.
The book then follows Caroline's friendship with her neighbor growing up and how the end of the relationship set her off course (or so she believes). The moments in high school feel real. Dicks captures perfectly the bullying that takes place. Girls can be so cruel.
This is a perfect book to read while traveling or to cozy up with on a cold day. You will most likely finish it in one sitting.
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