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Leaving Unknown
“Mixing humor with tender moments, Reichs creates an enjoyable journey with wonderful writing and likable characters.”
— Library Journal From the author of The Best Day of Someone Else’s Life comes Leaving Unknown —a funny and touching story of a young woman who, while traveling across country, finds herself stuck in the true middle of nowhere, a.k.a. Unknown, Arizona. Great writing comes naturally to Kerry Reichs (she’s the daughter of New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs, whose Temperance Brennan forensic mysteries inspired the TV series Bones ). With Leaving Unknown, Kerry has penned a bittersweet modern-day Odyssey that readers of Kristin Gore, Jennifer Crusie, Meg Cabot, and Jennifer Weiner will absolutely adore.
— Library Journal From the author of The Best Day of Someone Else’s Life comes Leaving Unknown —a funny and touching story of a young woman who, while traveling across country, finds herself stuck in the true middle of nowhere, a.k.a. Unknown, Arizona. Great writing comes naturally to Kerry Reichs (she’s the daughter of New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs, whose Temperance Brennan forensic mysteries inspired the TV series Bones ). With Leaving Unknown, Kerry has penned a bittersweet modern-day Odyssey that readers of Kristin Gore, Jennifer Crusie, Meg Cabot, and Jennifer Weiner will absolutely adore.
358 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
53 people are currently reading
1280 people want to read
About the author
Kerry Reichs
12 books69 followersKerry Reichs graduated from Oberlin College and Duke University School of Law and Institute of Public Policy. She practiced law in Washington, D.C. for several years until she took a sabbatical and discovered that sabbaticals agree with her. She now writes full time, splitting her time between Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, and is still trying to convince her two cats that driving across country is fun. Kerry has been in twelve weddings, has never married, and never worn any of those dresses again. The Best Day of Someone Else's Life is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
December 12, 2021
dnf @ 47%
April 21, 2010
The truth is, the enjoyment of a book is only relevant, for the most part, in that moment. There are many books I read that I become so disappointed in and give up on, that I'll later return to in desperation of something to read. This revisit finds the book compelling, able to hold my interest. Likewise, a great book on the first reading can become trite and annoying upon revisiting it, making me wonder about my taste level. It's all relative, in what we are currently experiencing and what piques our interest now. Because I'm anal, I want the ability to rate a book every time I re-read it, because, outside of my absolute known favorite books that have withheld the test of a hundred reads or more, my feelings about a book often change. That diatribe aside, I will tell you...
In the first part of the book, I wasn't as into the story, the main character grated on my last nerve. In the second part of the story, when revelations unfold, I began to understand (and appreciate!) the quirks the main character had that had me wanting to climb out of my skin while reading in the first part. How very schizophrenic of me.
In the first part of the book, I wasn't as into the story, the main character grated on my last nerve. In the second part of the story, when revelations unfold, I began to understand (and appreciate!) the quirks the main character had that had me wanting to climb out of my skin while reading in the first part. How very schizophrenic of me.
February 9, 2016
“Go and wake up your luck” - Persian Proverb
This was not a very good luck charm after all which is really a shame because Maeve’s sassy personality, a cockatiel pet bird, a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner car named Elsie on a road trip of self-discovery is just begging it for a chance to happen. By the time I turned over the first 65 pages, though, I ran out of luck.
As soon as she hit the Unknown, Arizona mark on her map, the story became too chick-litty for me. The whole point of the road trip was to take charge of her life but instead everything falls on her lap: a house, a job, a best friend, a boyfriend, a surrogate boyfriend, a new hobby and a place to call home… and she keeps on whining about her rotten luck!
She takes a 360 degree turn from quirky to downright annoying and reminded me a lot of Jess from the tv show New Girl in that too much quirkiness can become irritating. Also, it was pretty convenient there was a hot doctor in town on demand to take care of her hypochondriac tendencies until she could finally be with an equally hot bookstore owner. And how could this be without some heroic act to make her feel like a real part of the community? Just give her the key to the town already, why don’t you?
I’m glad she decided to leave because it got better at the last part of the book or at the very least I liked that Maeve finally stood her ground and gained independence even though it was ill-timed and short-lived. The chance encounter with Noah and what ensued was done nicely and I really liked the parts about Cameron. Unfortunately, this was done as matter-of-factly with no satisfying background history; And I loved the symbolism of the Kachinas which are these eight figures Maeve was supposed to leave along the way on her journey to life.
Taking into consideration all the good elements of the book, I think this could’ve been so much more than just your average chick-lit novel.
Sadly, it wasn't.
I call dibs on Elsie, though.
December 7, 2014
DNF at page 98. This was too quirky for me. Honestly, the best part of the story was the main character's pet cockatiel. I almost read on to see what happened with the bird, but I couldn't put myself through it. I guess I judged this book by its cover, and let me tell you, the cover is much nicer than what you'll find inside. I plan to donate my copy and maybe someone else will appreciate its quirk?
March 11, 2010
Maeve Connolly is very flighty. She seems to find it very difficult to stay in any place for too long a time. Maeve is also impulsive and seemingly has a lot of bad luck, and on an impulse she decides to drive across America from North Carolina to LA to see her friend Laura. Maeve sets off on her journey along with her bird Oliver and soon finds herself visiting some relatively obscure (and fantastically named) towns across America. However, Maeve’s bad luck doesn’t seem to have left her and she ends up stranded in Unknown, Arizona when her car Elsie breaks down. As the townsfolk of Unknown rush to help Maeve on her quest to get her car fixed, Maeve finds herself becoming part of the community. However Maeve begins to fall for her boss Noah and her only option appears to be to run again…
The Good Luck Girl is Kerry Reichs’s second book and after posting about it on the site in August, I wasn’t all that bothered about reading it. Yes, it sounded interesting but I wasn’t a huge fan of the cover. However once the paperback release was confirmed for this year and I saw it had a new cover I decided to buy it for myself to see what I thought of the book. The fact I managed to pick it up for half price off helped immensely, too! It’s been sitting on my shelf for a month or so and I finally decided to read it.
The book begins just before Maeve’s impusive road trip across America. We learn that she’s always been slightly impulsive and that she finds it difficult to hold down a job of any sort. At first it seems mildly confusing as to why exactly Maeve is so impulsive and flighty, but as the book progresses secrets are revealed and it all, sort of, makes sense. After being fired by both her job and her family, Maeve decides that she needs to become a new Maeve. She needs to prove to everyone that she can finish something she’s started and that she can make her parents proud of her. So begins Maeve’s roadtrip across America. Before Maeve leaves, her mother gives her 8 kachinas (Budda-type figurines) to commit to a place that Maeve feels something for.
As Maeve sets off on her journey, she ends up in a multitude of funny-named towns across America including Okay, Oklahoma and Uncertain, Texas. However after her car, Elsie, breaks down, Maeve finds herelf stuck in Unknown, Arizona. However being stuck in Unknown isn’t as bad as Maeve fears and she soon finds herself at the heart of the community. She makes some great friends and finds herself a job in the bookstore as well as discovering she has a passion for photography. The months in Unknown roll by and rather than feeling restless and fidgedty, it seems that Maeve actually loves living in Unknown. Things are going well for her, until she begins falling for her boss Noah and Maeve does the only thing she knows how to do… she leaves, bound for LA and Laura.
The Good Luck Girl has an incredibly interesting plot but for the first 100 pages I just couldn’t get into the book. I liked Maeve, sure, but for some reason the book just didn’t grab me. It could well have been because I just didn’t have the time to pick the book up and really immerse myself in it. My frustration with the book got so bad that I told myself that if I hadn’t finished it within the week I would throw it away. It was an irrational thought and I sat down on Saturday night intent on immersing myself fully in the book and giving it a fair shot. Once I got myself stuck into the book I found myself enjoying it so much more. I actually feel bad now for giving it such a hard time because I enjoyed the book immensely.
The characters of The Good Luck Girl are fantastic. Maeve is a fabulous leading character and I absolutely adored her. She’s a bit of a hypocondriac but that all adds to her fantastic character. Even when I was struggling with the book I still adored Maeve. She is very well-rounded and her flighty-ness makes absolute sense when we learn what Maeve has been through. Maeve’s family make appearances from time to time (mostly via phone calls) and they also seemed incredibly nice. It appears that Maeve’s sister Vi is the main character in Kerry’s first book which is interesting! It’s actually the community spirit of Unknown who make the book for me. Ruby, Bruce, Child, Busy, April, Tuesday and Noah all become friends with Maeve and they’re all such wonderful characters. I really loved Noah, Maeve’s boss at The Little Read Book and the man Maeve thinks she’s falling in love with. The relationship between Maeve and Noah was fantastic and I hugely enjoyed their rapport.
Reichs’ writing seems to be really different to most chick lit writers but I can’t put my finger on why. It seems more grown up somehow and it’s hugely refreshing. I like Reichs’ writing style and it flowed really well. What Reichs did best though was bringing Unknown, Arizona to life. I felt as if I was really there and the community spirit of the town really shone off the pages. I could totally see why Unknown appeared to capture Maeve’s heart as it completely captured mine, too! I very rarely manage to imagine what a place is like when reading about it but with Unknown I could see it very easily. Reichs has done a fantastic job there and the book really captured me.
As you can tell I really enjoyed The Good Luck Girl. At first it seems like a light-hearted read but there are some issues there hidden below the depths which are revealed as the book progresses and I enjoyed unravelling it all. Maeve is a fantastic heroine with a fantastic story and I really really loved the book. It may well have taken me a week to read the book but once I settled down into the story I thoroughly enjoyed it and raced to the end. In the end, The Good Luck Girl turned out to be a very satisfying read and one I will undoubtedly read again.
The Good Luck Girl is Kerry Reichs’s second book and after posting about it on the site in August, I wasn’t all that bothered about reading it. Yes, it sounded interesting but I wasn’t a huge fan of the cover. However once the paperback release was confirmed for this year and I saw it had a new cover I decided to buy it for myself to see what I thought of the book. The fact I managed to pick it up for half price off helped immensely, too! It’s been sitting on my shelf for a month or so and I finally decided to read it.
The book begins just before Maeve’s impusive road trip across America. We learn that she’s always been slightly impulsive and that she finds it difficult to hold down a job of any sort. At first it seems mildly confusing as to why exactly Maeve is so impulsive and flighty, but as the book progresses secrets are revealed and it all, sort of, makes sense. After being fired by both her job and her family, Maeve decides that she needs to become a new Maeve. She needs to prove to everyone that she can finish something she’s started and that she can make her parents proud of her. So begins Maeve’s roadtrip across America. Before Maeve leaves, her mother gives her 8 kachinas (Budda-type figurines) to commit to a place that Maeve feels something for.
As Maeve sets off on her journey, she ends up in a multitude of funny-named towns across America including Okay, Oklahoma and Uncertain, Texas. However after her car, Elsie, breaks down, Maeve finds herelf stuck in Unknown, Arizona. However being stuck in Unknown isn’t as bad as Maeve fears and she soon finds herself at the heart of the community. She makes some great friends and finds herself a job in the bookstore as well as discovering she has a passion for photography. The months in Unknown roll by and rather than feeling restless and fidgedty, it seems that Maeve actually loves living in Unknown. Things are going well for her, until she begins falling for her boss Noah and Maeve does the only thing she knows how to do… she leaves, bound for LA and Laura.
The Good Luck Girl has an incredibly interesting plot but for the first 100 pages I just couldn’t get into the book. I liked Maeve, sure, but for some reason the book just didn’t grab me. It could well have been because I just didn’t have the time to pick the book up and really immerse myself in it. My frustration with the book got so bad that I told myself that if I hadn’t finished it within the week I would throw it away. It was an irrational thought and I sat down on Saturday night intent on immersing myself fully in the book and giving it a fair shot. Once I got myself stuck into the book I found myself enjoying it so much more. I actually feel bad now for giving it such a hard time because I enjoyed the book immensely.
The characters of The Good Luck Girl are fantastic. Maeve is a fabulous leading character and I absolutely adored her. She’s a bit of a hypocondriac but that all adds to her fantastic character. Even when I was struggling with the book I still adored Maeve. She is very well-rounded and her flighty-ness makes absolute sense when we learn what Maeve has been through. Maeve’s family make appearances from time to time (mostly via phone calls) and they also seemed incredibly nice. It appears that Maeve’s sister Vi is the main character in Kerry’s first book which is interesting! It’s actually the community spirit of Unknown who make the book for me. Ruby, Bruce, Child, Busy, April, Tuesday and Noah all become friends with Maeve and they’re all such wonderful characters. I really loved Noah, Maeve’s boss at The Little Read Book and the man Maeve thinks she’s falling in love with. The relationship between Maeve and Noah was fantastic and I hugely enjoyed their rapport.
Reichs’ writing seems to be really different to most chick lit writers but I can’t put my finger on why. It seems more grown up somehow and it’s hugely refreshing. I like Reichs’ writing style and it flowed really well. What Reichs did best though was bringing Unknown, Arizona to life. I felt as if I was really there and the community spirit of the town really shone off the pages. I could totally see why Unknown appeared to capture Maeve’s heart as it completely captured mine, too! I very rarely manage to imagine what a place is like when reading about it but with Unknown I could see it very easily. Reichs has done a fantastic job there and the book really captured me.
As you can tell I really enjoyed The Good Luck Girl. At first it seems like a light-hearted read but there are some issues there hidden below the depths which are revealed as the book progresses and I enjoyed unravelling it all. Maeve is a fantastic heroine with a fantastic story and I really really loved the book. It may well have taken me a week to read the book but once I settled down into the story I thoroughly enjoyed it and raced to the end. In the end, The Good Luck Girl turned out to be a very satisfying read and one I will undoubtedly read again.
November 8, 2018
Leaving Unknown - PG13/R
Trigger: death, cancer
Violence: none
Language: fewer than 80, including deity. Fewer than 10 Fbombs.
Sex: intimated as they wake together, descriptive kissing
I LOVED this book!! I rarely buy paper books, but I'm going to buy this so I can redact some of the language and share it with my friends. This is a fresh, clever, loving yourself, loving others, and falling in love story. This writer is TALENTED. My best friend died of cancer. This was awesome for me.
Trigger: death, cancer
Violence: none
Language: fewer than 80, including deity. Fewer than 10 Fbombs.
Sex: intimated as they wake together, descriptive kissing
I LOVED this book!! I rarely buy paper books, but I'm going to buy this so I can redact some of the language and share it with my friends. This is a fresh, clever, loving yourself, loving others, and falling in love story. This writer is TALENTED. My best friend died of cancer. This was awesome for me.
October 27, 2015
I QUIT. This book does just not do it for me. I appreciate the message of going on a trip to find yourself and the irony in finding it in "unknown" but the story line was completely unrealistic and naive to me. Unfortunately I have another book that I DNF. Good news is that I only paid a dollar for the book so I did not lose much.
May 8, 2013
Loved, loved, loved. I would read it over and over again.
June 16, 2013
Couldn't make myself finish this book, the main character was so annoying, so irresponsible, and the whole story line was lame!
September 18, 2019
I first read The Good Luck Girl at least eight years ago: it was one of the four stories in a prized volume of Readers' Digest Select Editions I was handed down as a child, and I read it over and over again. For one, Readers' Digest didn't supply it with a stereotypically chick-lit-esque cover a-la-paperback edition. For another, My thirteen-year-old self was very taken by its quirk, its novel writing style, and even its central romance. It was one of my favourite books.
Reading this book again after years, I can't say that some of the charm hasn't waned. However, despite having outgrown the genre, I realised there's a lot in this book to hold to high regard, and how much it influenced the quirks in my personality.
Maeve Connelly's story begins as that of a flighty middle child who graduates college at 25; believes in retail therapy; is constantly late for work; and who eventually loses her bartending job because of it. Deciding to step back on her inertia, she decides to leave her home in Charlotte and begin again in Los Angeles: specifically with running a marathon. When Elsie, her antique Plymouth Roadrunner breaks down at the no-stoplight town of Unknown, Arizona; she has to stop shop, save up and figure out her way ahead on her own — with the ready wit of her pet cockatiel, Oliver, for company. Between Unknown and Venice Beach, Los Angeles; she grows in innumerable ways; grapples with and learns to let go of the crabs of her past.
The Good Luck Girl is, in many ways, a formulaic piece of fiction written for female audiences: it has a Mary Poppins-esque level of things working out into happy endings. Maeve gets it all — the perfect life, the perfect boyfriend (and even the perfect replacement boyfriend). Some scenes and characters are also per formula (think Beth, Noah's girlfriend). While it talks about issues on Native American reservations at length, there is little other political engagement. However, this book has a lot more substance to it than it appears: it deals with overcoming grief, post-traumatic stress, and everything else that accompanies the dark cloud of Cancer. It also goes from a distinctly American model of consumer-capitalism to a more organic form of happiness (albeit much romanticised) in a small town. It is not a book that demands much of the reader, but is wonderfully destressing and carefree. Much of its merits are indescribable unless one reads the book itself, but I am willing to try.
Reichs writes an outrageously humourous book on a subject like Cancer: the amount of amusing trivia in The Good Luck Girl — its unending quirks — are what make it truly enjoyable. Everything; from Elsie and Oliver, the kachinas, well-named towns like Sugar Tit and Unknown with even better named businesses like Up Market ("owned by Patrick and Jenny Up"), the interesting characters and the thoroughly amusing narration loaded with puns and literary references; makes this book endearing. Secondly, this book features two of my favourite things: an independent bookstore ( called "The Little Read Book") and a children's story. It also features a principal male character whose vocation is to write books (who, in my mind, and for no apparent reason, will forever be played by Zach Roerig). Knee socks are appreciated. Photography is a crucial element. While Reichs gives Maeve a stupid tattoo, she also ridicules the superficiality of Page 3 and Hollywood glamour.
Indeed, it is not a very serious work of fiction. However, The Good Luck Girl is a very good work of fiction, and pretty exceptional for the genre it is located in. It is funny and insightful, and full of life. Despite having outgrown many habits this book gives into, I am glad I grew up reading it. I might even habitually pick it up again in a few years — it demands being read, and then agian.
Reading this book again after years, I can't say that some of the charm hasn't waned. However, despite having outgrown the genre, I realised there's a lot in this book to hold to high regard, and how much it influenced the quirks in my personality.
Maeve Connelly's story begins as that of a flighty middle child who graduates college at 25; believes in retail therapy; is constantly late for work; and who eventually loses her bartending job because of it. Deciding to step back on her inertia, she decides to leave her home in Charlotte and begin again in Los Angeles: specifically with running a marathon. When Elsie, her antique Plymouth Roadrunner breaks down at the no-stoplight town of Unknown, Arizona; she has to stop shop, save up and figure out her way ahead on her own — with the ready wit of her pet cockatiel, Oliver, for company. Between Unknown and Venice Beach, Los Angeles; she grows in innumerable ways; grapples with and learns to let go of the crabs of her past.
The Good Luck Girl is, in many ways, a formulaic piece of fiction written for female audiences: it has a Mary Poppins-esque level of things working out into happy endings. Maeve gets it all — the perfect life, the perfect boyfriend (and even the perfect replacement boyfriend). Some scenes and characters are also per formula (think Beth, Noah's girlfriend). While it talks about issues on Native American reservations at length, there is little other political engagement. However, this book has a lot more substance to it than it appears: it deals with overcoming grief, post-traumatic stress, and everything else that accompanies the dark cloud of Cancer. It also goes from a distinctly American model of consumer-capitalism to a more organic form of happiness (albeit much romanticised) in a small town. It is not a book that demands much of the reader, but is wonderfully destressing and carefree. Much of its merits are indescribable unless one reads the book itself, but I am willing to try.
Reichs writes an outrageously humourous book on a subject like Cancer: the amount of amusing trivia in The Good Luck Girl — its unending quirks — are what make it truly enjoyable. Everything; from Elsie and Oliver, the kachinas, well-named towns like Sugar Tit and Unknown with even better named businesses like Up Market ("owned by Patrick and Jenny Up"), the interesting characters and the thoroughly amusing narration loaded with puns and literary references; makes this book endearing. Secondly, this book features two of my favourite things: an independent bookstore ( called "The Little Read Book") and a children's story. It also features a principal male character whose vocation is to write books (who, in my mind, and for no apparent reason, will forever be played by Zach Roerig). Knee socks are appreciated. Photography is a crucial element. While Reichs gives Maeve a stupid tattoo, she also ridicules the superficiality of Page 3 and Hollywood glamour.
Indeed, it is not a very serious work of fiction. However, The Good Luck Girl is a very good work of fiction, and pretty exceptional for the genre it is located in. It is funny and insightful, and full of life. Despite having outgrown many habits this book gives into, I am glad I grew up reading it. I might even habitually pick it up again in a few years — it demands being read, and then agian.
July 29, 2016
Als ich den Klappentext des Buches gelesen habe wusste ich, dass ich dieses Buch lesen muss. Vor einigen Jahren kam mir nämlich mal der Plot zu einer Geschichte in den Sinn, welcher sich ganz ähnlich liest, wie dieser Klappentext. Da ich jedoch weiß, dass ich nicht zur Schriftstellerin tauge, habe ich den Plot zwar aufgeschrieben, aber nie weiter ausgearbeitet. Nun war ich natürlich sehr gespannt darauf, welche Idee Kerry Reichs hatte und wie sie diese Idee umgesetzt hat.
Maeve, die Protagonistin, war mir bereits nach wenigen Seiten sympathisch und ist mir im Laufe er Geschichte richtig ans Herz gewachsen. Sie ist herrlich skurril mit ihren Kniestrümpfen und ihrem Vogel, Oliver. Zudem ist sie herzlich, offen und auch verletzbar und sensibel. Doch auch die anderen Darsteller haben mir gut gefallen, da die Autorin sie wirklich liebevoll dargestellt hat. Teilweise sind sie stereotyp, was jedoch irgendwie gut zur Geschichte passt.
Teilweise schafft die Autorin eine heile-Welt-Atmosphäre. Einerseits finde ich dies unrealistisch und es hat mich etwas gestört. Andererseits habe ich mir beim Lesen bewusst gemacht, dass dieses Buch in einer Gegend der USA spielt, in welcher auch ich die Menschen als offen, freundlich und hilfsbereit kennengelernt habe. Dadurch wirkt das erzählte auch wieder realistischer. Desweiteren relativiert sich diese heile-Welt-Atmosphäre auch dadurch, dass man merkt, dass Maeve in ihrer Vergangenheit schwere Zeiten durchgemacht hat und nicht immer alles schön und leicht für sie war.
Die Autorin beschreibt Menschen, Orte und Landschaften sehr detailliert und es hat mir Spaß gemacht, diese Beschreibungen zu lesen. Besonders die Beschreibung eines Buchladens, welcher eine größere Rolle in der Geschichte spielt, hat mir gut gefallen. So einen Buchladen hätte ich auch gerne.
Die erzählte Geschichte war wesentlich tiefgründiger, als ich vorab erwartet habe. Damit hat mich die Autorin positiv überrascht. Maeves Krebserkrankung in der Vergangenheit spielt eine große Rolle. Denn auch wenn es ihr inzwischen wieder gut geht, hat sie noch mit den emotionalen und psychischen Nachwirkungen einer solchen Erkrankung zu kämpfen. Dies wird von der Autorin für mein Empfinden recht sensibel behandelt und insgesamt finde ich die Geschichte mutmachend. Denn die Geschichte macht Mut zu kämpfen, nicht aufzugeben, und sich einen eigenen Platz im Leben zu suchen. Die Suche nach dem eigenen Platz im Leben und somit auch ein bisschen nach der eigenen Identität spielt nämlich eine weitere große Rolle in der Geschichte.
Der Schreibstil der Autorin ist recht locker und leicht. Gekonnt spielt sie mit den Gefühlen des Lesers, so dass ich lachen und weinen und manchmal auch beides gleichzeitig musste. Zudem ist das Buch voller kleiner Weisheiten und kluger Worte, so dass meine Ausgabe nun einige Markierungen, Zettelchen und Eselsohren hat, damit ich diese Stellen schnell wieder finde.
Fazit:
Auf gut Glück von Kerry Reichs hat mich positiv überrascht, da die erzählte Geschichte tiefgründiger und emotionaler ist, als ich vorab erwartet hatte. Die Charaktere sind toll dargestellt und teilweise herrlich skurril, was ich gerne mag. Insgesamt ist das Buch wie eine schöne bunte Decke, in welche man sich gerne einkuschelt und die Geschichte hinterlässt ein warmes Gefühl in der Herzgegend.
Maeve, die Protagonistin, war mir bereits nach wenigen Seiten sympathisch und ist mir im Laufe er Geschichte richtig ans Herz gewachsen. Sie ist herrlich skurril mit ihren Kniestrümpfen und ihrem Vogel, Oliver. Zudem ist sie herzlich, offen und auch verletzbar und sensibel. Doch auch die anderen Darsteller haben mir gut gefallen, da die Autorin sie wirklich liebevoll dargestellt hat. Teilweise sind sie stereotyp, was jedoch irgendwie gut zur Geschichte passt.
Teilweise schafft die Autorin eine heile-Welt-Atmosphäre. Einerseits finde ich dies unrealistisch und es hat mich etwas gestört. Andererseits habe ich mir beim Lesen bewusst gemacht, dass dieses Buch in einer Gegend der USA spielt, in welcher auch ich die Menschen als offen, freundlich und hilfsbereit kennengelernt habe. Dadurch wirkt das erzählte auch wieder realistischer. Desweiteren relativiert sich diese heile-Welt-Atmosphäre auch dadurch, dass man merkt, dass Maeve in ihrer Vergangenheit schwere Zeiten durchgemacht hat und nicht immer alles schön und leicht für sie war.
Die Autorin beschreibt Menschen, Orte und Landschaften sehr detailliert und es hat mir Spaß gemacht, diese Beschreibungen zu lesen. Besonders die Beschreibung eines Buchladens, welcher eine größere Rolle in der Geschichte spielt, hat mir gut gefallen. So einen Buchladen hätte ich auch gerne.
Die erzählte Geschichte war wesentlich tiefgründiger, als ich vorab erwartet habe. Damit hat mich die Autorin positiv überrascht. Maeves Krebserkrankung in der Vergangenheit spielt eine große Rolle. Denn auch wenn es ihr inzwischen wieder gut geht, hat sie noch mit den emotionalen und psychischen Nachwirkungen einer solchen Erkrankung zu kämpfen. Dies wird von der Autorin für mein Empfinden recht sensibel behandelt und insgesamt finde ich die Geschichte mutmachend. Denn die Geschichte macht Mut zu kämpfen, nicht aufzugeben, und sich einen eigenen Platz im Leben zu suchen. Die Suche nach dem eigenen Platz im Leben und somit auch ein bisschen nach der eigenen Identität spielt nämlich eine weitere große Rolle in der Geschichte.
Der Schreibstil der Autorin ist recht locker und leicht. Gekonnt spielt sie mit den Gefühlen des Lesers, so dass ich lachen und weinen und manchmal auch beides gleichzeitig musste. Zudem ist das Buch voller kleiner Weisheiten und kluger Worte, so dass meine Ausgabe nun einige Markierungen, Zettelchen und Eselsohren hat, damit ich diese Stellen schnell wieder finde.
Fazit:
Auf gut Glück von Kerry Reichs hat mich positiv überrascht, da die erzählte Geschichte tiefgründiger und emotionaler ist, als ich vorab erwartet hatte. Die Charaktere sind toll dargestellt und teilweise herrlich skurril, was ich gerne mag. Insgesamt ist das Buch wie eine schöne bunte Decke, in welche man sich gerne einkuschelt und die Geschichte hinterlässt ein warmes Gefühl in der Herzgegend.
November 5, 2010
Initially, Maeve irked me. Her lack of responsibility and flakiness rode my every last nerve. In fact, I had shelved the book after 40 pages. Then one night, that was the only book within reaching distance that I hadn't finished, so I picked it up again. After around page 90, Maeve is still a flake, but she is much more endearing. Read a little further, and things start to fall into place. She is one of the most dynamic protagonists in chick lit, hanging out in one of the quirkiest, yet sweetest, settings.
I just couldn't give this book the fifth star because of a few minor detail that bothered me so much that I thought my eyeballs would itch. There is a reference to "Kool & the Band," which even my teenagers know is supposed to read "...Gang." Then, a character tries to score Justin Timberlake tickets on KROQ, which doesn't play contemporary pop. Minor details, yes, but I like music just as much as I like books and I listen to KROQ when I roll through L.A. Just saying.
I read this book in around 8 hours, which bums me out because I usually prefer to savor the flavor, rather than gulp and entire plot in one sitting. Regardless, I can hardly wait to sink my teeth into her other novels.
I just couldn't give this book the fifth star because of a few minor detail that bothered me so much that I thought my eyeballs would itch. There is a reference to "Kool & the Band," which even my teenagers know is supposed to read "...Gang." Then, a character tries to score Justin Timberlake tickets on KROQ, which doesn't play contemporary pop. Minor details, yes, but I like music just as much as I like books and I listen to KROQ when I roll through L.A. Just saying.
I read this book in around 8 hours, which bums me out because I usually prefer to savor the flavor, rather than gulp and entire plot in one sitting. Regardless, I can hardly wait to sink my teeth into her other novels.
June 21, 2010
Thoroughly enjoyable! At times highly emotional. Leaving Unknown is overall, a very good story, with quirky, entertaining characters. The plot is unique, and well thoughtout.
I found myself laughing as I read, and at other times crying. Maeve takes us on a journey to self-discovery that I found to be pretty inspiring. Maeve is far from the typical twenty-something single girl. She's faced some major struggles in her life. But what I found interesting was that Reich creates Maeve's character as not being at all forthcoming with those struggles. You initially get the impression that Maeve is just unmotivated and scatterbrained, which you discover she absolutely is not.
A bonus that I loved about Leaving Unknown was that Maeve and her family are from Charlotte, which is my hometown, and turns out also the author's hometown.
I found myself laughing as I read, and at other times crying. Maeve takes us on a journey to self-discovery that I found to be pretty inspiring. Maeve is far from the typical twenty-something single girl. She's faced some major struggles in her life. But what I found interesting was that Reich creates Maeve's character as not being at all forthcoming with those struggles. You initially get the impression that Maeve is just unmotivated and scatterbrained, which you discover she absolutely is not.
A bonus that I loved about Leaving Unknown was that Maeve and her family are from Charlotte, which is my hometown, and turns out also the author's hometown.
April 16, 2009
This is the story of Maeve, an flaky and impulsive young woman who decides to take a trip across the USA, stopping off at places with the most bizarre names. Her only redeeming feature appears to be the affection she has for Oliver, her white cockatiel.
When her car breaks down in a small town called Unknown, Maeve is forced to stay for some weeks. She makes friends, and discovers that she can't keep running away from some painful episodes in her past.
It could have been a big cliche, but somehow it worked. The book was well-written, with a light style that made some thought-provoking revelations and flashbacks all the more believable.
I started out by wondering if I'd have any sympathy for Maeve, but as the book progressed I liked her more and more.
Recommended.
When her car breaks down in a small town called Unknown, Maeve is forced to stay for some weeks. She makes friends, and discovers that she can't keep running away from some painful episodes in her past.
It could have been a big cliche, but somehow it worked. The book was well-written, with a light style that made some thought-provoking revelations and flashbacks all the more believable.
I started out by wondering if I'd have any sympathy for Maeve, but as the book progressed I liked her more and more.
Recommended.
February 10, 2011
Leaving unknown is a funny ,poignant novel about finding yourself. Maeve Connelly's epic road trip is taking her through every colorfully named tiny town in America. On her way to meet her friend Laura who she hasn't seen since she was eleven years old. But they recently reconnected on Facebook. Laura invited her to visit her in L.A. So since Maeve just graduated college' lost her bar tending job ' and her parents basically said time to grow up and decide what to do with your life. She sold all her belongings in a yard sale and started her back roads trip in Elsie her tempamental car along with Oliver herfoul mouthed Cockatiel as her only traveling companion. Will she make it or will she end up staying in some small town with an amusing name.?
March 20, 2018
DNF. Got to page 75.
Irresponsible, reckless and dependent college student with useless degree who doesn't know what to do with her life, can't get up on time to get a job to pay the bills because parents will pay them, decides to leave her mess to go cross country in a POS car that hasn't been serviced or checked out in advance to stay with a childhood friend who vaguely gives invitation (which you know is just idle blather) with bird in tow. Girl camps out and never once complains about lack of toilet or shower. Unrealistic.
Along the way, a series of financial problems, which you knew would happen, are worked through by repaying the kindness of strangers by stealing their stuff. Unlikeable character and atrocious dialogue.
Irresponsible, reckless and dependent college student with useless degree who doesn't know what to do with her life, can't get up on time to get a job to pay the bills because parents will pay them, decides to leave her mess to go cross country in a POS car that hasn't been serviced or checked out in advance to stay with a childhood friend who vaguely gives invitation (which you know is just idle blather) with bird in tow. Girl camps out and never once complains about lack of toilet or shower. Unrealistic.
Along the way, a series of financial problems, which you knew would happen, are worked through by repaying the kindness of strangers by stealing their stuff. Unlikeable character and atrocious dialogue.
April 10, 2010
I gave this a four because after I got into it, I couldn't put it down. It took me till about bage 70 to really get to the point where I loved Maeve and gave a crap about what happened to her. There's a surprise twist reason for Maeve's airheadedness that you don't find out till the middle. Surprises that answer questions are always enjoyable when they don't seem contrived and this one didn't. Reich's characters were a bit predictable but still very appealing and realistic. The story was a good, lighthearted, fun one and I found myself looking for little snippets of time in which to read.
February 15, 2017
This was a surprising delightful read. The character, Maeve, is complex, at first her inability to make decisions annoyed me, but she grew on me like a friend you get to know better. Her adventures cross country made me want to get into my car and drive, just to get there. The characters were nicely developed and entwined into Maeve's story. The attention to detail in this book added to my reading pleasure, you could tell a lot of research went into this book. This is one that will stay with me for quite some time, where at the end, you feel like you left your friends behind.
April 27, 2014
Un roman où se mêlent humour et émotion. Certaines scènes sont très drôles, les personnages hauts en couleurs. Plus on avance et plus l'intrigue se charge en émotion avec des révélations poignantes. Mais voilà, je n'ai pas réussi à entrer complètement dans l'histoire. Je me suis parfois ennuyée, et à d'autres moments les phrases défilent rapidement. Une belle histoire mais qui n'a su me captiver totalement.
July 19, 2014
18/20
En bref, l'auteur nous plonge dans une superbe quête. On apprend à connaitre les personnages au fur et à mesure, on voir évoluer Maeve, on la voit se livrer, nous donner les clés pour la comprendre et l'aimer. Les personnages secondaires sont géniaux, une mention spéciale pour Oliver le perroquet mais aussi pour tous les habitants de Coin-perdu. Une très belle histoire !
http://www.leslecturesdemylene.com/20...
En bref, l'auteur nous plonge dans une superbe quête. On apprend à connaitre les personnages au fur et à mesure, on voir évoluer Maeve, on la voit se livrer, nous donner les clés pour la comprendre et l'aimer. Les personnages secondaires sont géniaux, une mention spéciale pour Oliver le perroquet mais aussi pour tous les habitants de Coin-perdu. Une très belle histoire !
http://www.leslecturesdemylene.com/20...
June 24, 2017
A beach read that I liked in spite of myself. Over the top quirky characters, with unremitting, clever, folksy, pun-filled, and completely unrealistic dialogue. One certainly can't take the characters, or rather caricatures, seriously (although there is a serious element to the story.) The ending was completely predictable, but even so, I couldn't help but enjoy the story.
January 29, 2013
Shallow, self-conscious writing. Predictable. Main character and eventual love interest are unbelievably vapid characters, even with the silliest cancer survivor back story ever woven in. Two stars for several memorable supporting characters and the parrot.
July 4, 2014
This novel is the story of Maeve, a woman on a road trip, with a secret, who breaks down in a tiny town. I wanted to like it, but there were too many characters and too many unnecessary side plots. I got about 100 pages from the end and gave up.
April 12, 2016
Well, I'm in the minority of people who have given this book a "meh" rating and actually finished reading the whole thing.
I felt that the twist came out of left field and was an effort to make Maeve more sympathetic...which to me was a cheap ploy.
I felt that the twist came out of left field and was an effort to make Maeve more sympathetic...which to me was a cheap ploy.
July 23, 2015
Finally!!! A great summer beach read!
November 26, 2021
3,5*
Primeiro dos quatro livros da seleção da Reader's Digest. Demorei muito pra reencontrar desde que li há quase dez anos. Prepara que vem texto.
Já vou começar dizendo que foi uma leitura muito leve, fiz várias marcações porque me identifiquei com certos pensamentos de contemplação da protagonista. Como eu lembrava só de um (1) detalhe desse livro, tive um pouco de medo de não gostar agora que sou adulta. Mas uma coisa que eu tinha certeza era que o povo tava sendo amargo de graça nas resenhas. Pois quem DNF antes da metade se lascou, perdeu o desenvolvimento da personagem e o carisma dos personagens de Unknown.
Maeve Defense Squad ativado: É muita falta de consideração desmerecer todo processo de luto e cura (literalmente) de Maeve nesse livro. É claro que várias atitudes infantis e mesquinhas dela (precisamente coisas ditas em discussões) me incomodaram, mas eu vou cobrar uma personagem perfeita? Eu hein. O comportamento dela tem motivo e desenvolvimento, sim! mas ela não precisa perder todos os defeitos pra ser uma boa pessoa. Por isso mesmo eu me pegava relevando esses pequenos incômodos por toda jornada que dificultou a comunicação e a demonstração de sentimentos.
Outra coisa relacionada a perfeição é (meu d como vocês são chatoooooooooos) cobrar drama e perigo só porque se passa na estrada. Vi uma pessoa falando dela não mencionar banho????? Já ouviu falar em elipse???? (e que talvez estadunidenses simplesmente não se preocupem mesmo? podre). Eu curti bastante ela encontrando pessoas boas e acolhedoras numa cidade tranquila (tudo que envolve Unknown pra mim é maravilhoso, são pessoas genuinamente cativantes). Como se eu já não me preocupasse naturalmente com uma mulher viajando sozinha e se instalando num lugar que ela não conhece. E o livro é sobre sorte, né, mesmo que tenha várias citações sobre nossas capacidades, é a primeira vez que as coisas (pelo menos a maioria) dão certo pra Maeve. Não dá pra ficar feliz por ela? E daí que é besta ela ir atrás de uma coisa incerta? O desespero pra ter o controle da própria vida nos leva a muitas decisões difíceis, resta saber como vamos lidar com o resultado depois. E esse é o desenvolvimento de Maeve.
A única parte que me fez revirar os olhos foi a insinuação da "branca salvadora" num vilarejo cheio de pessoas não-brancas. Pra mim não precisava disso, mas talvez fosse inevitável, visto que o destaque se dá naturalmente graças às incríveis qualidades da visitante (revirei os olhos de novo).
No geral, gostei muito, tava precisando de um livro assim essa semana. Tô feliz que consegui essa seleção e ela é só minha. Mal posso esperar pra ler o resto.
Primeiro dos quatro livros da seleção da Reader's Digest. Demorei muito pra reencontrar desde que li há quase dez anos. Prepara que vem texto.
Já vou começar dizendo que foi uma leitura muito leve, fiz várias marcações porque me identifiquei com certos pensamentos de contemplação da protagonista. Como eu lembrava só de um (1) detalhe desse livro, tive um pouco de medo de não gostar agora que sou adulta. Mas uma coisa que eu tinha certeza era que o povo tava sendo amargo de graça nas resenhas. Pois quem DNF antes da metade se lascou, perdeu o desenvolvimento da personagem e o carisma dos personagens de Unknown.
Maeve Defense Squad ativado: É muita falta de consideração desmerecer todo processo de luto e cura (literalmente) de Maeve nesse livro. É claro que várias atitudes infantis e mesquinhas dela (precisamente coisas ditas em discussões) me incomodaram, mas eu vou cobrar uma personagem perfeita? Eu hein. O comportamento dela tem motivo e desenvolvimento, sim! mas ela não precisa perder todos os defeitos pra ser uma boa pessoa. Por isso mesmo eu me pegava relevando esses pequenos incômodos por toda jornada que dificultou a comunicação e a demonstração de sentimentos.
Outra coisa relacionada a perfeição é (meu d como vocês são chatoooooooooos) cobrar drama e perigo só porque se passa na estrada. Vi uma pessoa falando dela não mencionar banho????? Já ouviu falar em elipse???? (e que talvez estadunidenses simplesmente não se preocupem mesmo? podre). Eu curti bastante ela encontrando pessoas boas e acolhedoras numa cidade tranquila (tudo que envolve Unknown pra mim é maravilhoso, são pessoas genuinamente cativantes). Como se eu já não me preocupasse naturalmente com uma mulher viajando sozinha e se instalando num lugar que ela não conhece. E o livro é sobre sorte, né, mesmo que tenha várias citações sobre nossas capacidades, é a primeira vez que as coisas (pelo menos a maioria) dão certo pra Maeve. Não dá pra ficar feliz por ela? E daí que é besta ela ir atrás de uma coisa incerta? O desespero pra ter o controle da própria vida nos leva a muitas decisões difíceis, resta saber como vamos lidar com o resultado depois. E esse é o desenvolvimento de Maeve.
A única parte que me fez revirar os olhos foi a insinuação da "branca salvadora" num vilarejo cheio de pessoas não-brancas. Pra mim não precisava disso, mas talvez fosse inevitável, visto que o destaque se dá naturalmente graças às incríveis qualidades da visitante (revirei os olhos de novo).
No geral, gostei muito, tava precisando de um livro assim essa semana. Tô feliz que consegui essa seleção e ela é só minha. Mal posso esperar pra ler o resto.
June 7, 2016
2015/12/27
I've now read this book 5 times. This is weird. What I said before still stands.
I wasn't feeling really good for a big part of the year. In December I finally caved to open this book again because Maeve is the closest I have to a doppelgänger in the literally world. Not that I'm tall and gorgeous and able to run a marathon but I do run, love colourful socks and braided hairstyles. I didn't battle cancer but saw the handiwork of cancer up close.
This is my comfort book when I feel lost because in the beginning Maeve is lost but she manages to find herself by the end and it always gives me hope because if she can manage to pull herself together, so can I. Eventually. One day.
This was the first time I didn't cry whatever that says about me. I'm always worried that lack of emotion means something is wrong with me though it probably isn't. I just knew what was coming.
The characters in this book are some of my absolute favourites, especially Tuesday. I'd love to hang out with her.
I had completely forgotten about the gay tattooist couple Maeve befriends in LA so there is that. Sadly, they're not more prominent in the story. And also, I read this book before Kerry's latest book "What You Wish For" came out and I was surprised we got a short glimpse at one of the characters - Dimple - in here. Apparently that's a thing the author does which I really like because Maeve was a secondary character in "The Best Day Of Someone Else's Life".
After I closed the book, I held it tight to my heart for a while. I sometimes do that with books that means a lot to me. This book has gotten me through some of my worst times and I will forever be indebted to it. So here is a quote that stuck with me on this reread:
"I also believe it's reasonable that young girls who have had bad things happen through no fault of their own might believe in bad luck."
2012
Here I am, contemplating whether I’m going to start reading this book again, tonight, the only ‘problem’ being that I already read it 3 times, two of them in the last 2 weeks. Don’t get me wrong, I looooove reading, it’s just that I almost never re-read books (except the one time I re-read Pride and Prejudice), because of all the yet unread books out there and on my shelves.
THE book is “The Good Luck Girl” by Kerry Reichs (also known as Leaving Unknown in the US), in case you were wondering :-) Kerry is the daughter of famous crime novel writer and forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs who’s novels the TV show Bones is based upon. The book I’m kinda obsessed about is Kerry’s second novel featuring the protagonist Maeve Connolly, side character in the first novel “Best Day of Someone Else’s Life”. At first I was reluctant to buy the kind of follow-up book, because Maeve didn’t seem to be that great a character from my first impressions, but the comments on Amazon made me buy it nonetheless. And I’m glad I did! This was in August.
Maeve is 26 years old and at first it appears as if she is just sloppy, living on her parents charity. She finished college but doesn’t have a clue what to do next, especially after losing her bar-tending job. But after 60 pages or so I was hooked, although it takes about another 100 pages to truly understand why Maeve is the way she is now. That being, her having had leukemia when she was a freshman in college and losing her best friend and treatment buddy to this disease.
She decides to take a road trip to California with her bird Oliver in her vintage car to revive an old friendship and to prove to herself that she can indeed finish something she has set her mind to, only to find herself stranded in rural Arizona, because her car breaks down close to the town of Unknown. There, she is forced to stay until her car is repaired, which takes much longer than initially anticipated but is not at all unwelcome. Maeve has to find a job which she does in the town’s only bookstore, owned by handsome Noah also known as a famous children’s book author. Of course she falls in love with him throughout the book and it takes them until the end to find their happiness, it is a great journey for her character. Maeve becomes an inspiration to Noah, who eventually writes her her own book “The Girl who Could” which for me may be the simple greatest thing to do.
All the supporting characters add to make Unknown appear to be the greatest town to be living in, because they are a rather small community and thus know and care for each other.
So why is it, that I’ve read this book three times now? – I am not completely sure, but Maeve just seems such a great character, specially after you learn, why she put her life on hold for so long. It has helped me understand my mom a little bit better (it hasn’t made me much more patient so far, I guess nothing will do that to me). Not that she has leukemia, but brain cancer with a way worse prognosis than the girl in this book. I have always moved away when I read the word ‘cancer’ in a story description long before she was diagnosed. And I haven’t changed much in that way, except for this particular book. Having to live with someone who is currently fighting a war against his or her own body is not as terrible as having to do it yourself, but it still is horrible.
I go through a lot of emotions Kerry Reichs addresses in her book, and it feels good to see I am not alone. I am not comparing myself to a cancer patient here, but just the idea of leaving everything behind and going on a road trip, destination nowhere, is a dream, especially when I feel overwhelmed by everything; the pressure of exams, finishing my university degree, not knowing what to do after graduation and not knowing when your mom is going to die or if treatment will work on her. My love for traveling may also have contributed to my obsession with this book, in which sadness is turned into happiness throughout 390 pages. I cried a lot while reading, especially when Reichs describes Maeve’s feelings upon losing her best friend while simultaneously fighting the same disease. I suppose I cannot truly explain my draw to this book, it just makes me feel warm and happy inside when I really feel crappy about everything. It leaves me in awe, because I will probably never find this man who will dedicate a whole book to me, or any similar outburst of creativity. And I will probably also not become an author myself, although I was always drawn to writing and have tried my hand at several stories, all of whom are not really noteworthy.
To finish this, I know that Maeve is only a fictional character, and I am not the kind of girl who fell in love with a boy band member when I was growing up, I would love to be friends with her. We both share a lot of interests like photography, colorful socks and a love for books and eating. I’m also familiar to the urge to run sometimes in order to get rid of all the tension inside of yourself, so I will probably pick up this book soon again to loose myself in it!
I've now read this book 5 times. This is weird. What I said before still stands.
I wasn't feeling really good for a big part of the year. In December I finally caved to open this book again because Maeve is the closest I have to a doppelgänger in the literally world. Not that I'm tall and gorgeous and able to run a marathon but I do run, love colourful socks and braided hairstyles. I didn't battle cancer but saw the handiwork of cancer up close.
This is my comfort book when I feel lost because in the beginning Maeve is lost but she manages to find herself by the end and it always gives me hope because if she can manage to pull herself together, so can I. Eventually. One day.
This was the first time I didn't cry whatever that says about me. I'm always worried that lack of emotion means something is wrong with me though it probably isn't. I just knew what was coming.
The characters in this book are some of my absolute favourites, especially Tuesday. I'd love to hang out with her.
I had completely forgotten about the gay tattooist couple Maeve befriends in LA so there is that. Sadly, they're not more prominent in the story. And also, I read this book before Kerry's latest book "What You Wish For" came out and I was surprised we got a short glimpse at one of the characters - Dimple - in here. Apparently that's a thing the author does which I really like because Maeve was a secondary character in "The Best Day Of Someone Else's Life".
After I closed the book, I held it tight to my heart for a while. I sometimes do that with books that means a lot to me. This book has gotten me through some of my worst times and I will forever be indebted to it. So here is a quote that stuck with me on this reread:
"I also believe it's reasonable that young girls who have had bad things happen through no fault of their own might believe in bad luck."
2012
Here I am, contemplating whether I’m going to start reading this book again, tonight, the only ‘problem’ being that I already read it 3 times, two of them in the last 2 weeks. Don’t get me wrong, I looooove reading, it’s just that I almost never re-read books (except the one time I re-read Pride and Prejudice), because of all the yet unread books out there and on my shelves.
THE book is “The Good Luck Girl” by Kerry Reichs (also known as Leaving Unknown in the US), in case you were wondering :-) Kerry is the daughter of famous crime novel writer and forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs who’s novels the TV show Bones is based upon. The book I’m kinda obsessed about is Kerry’s second novel featuring the protagonist Maeve Connolly, side character in the first novel “Best Day of Someone Else’s Life”. At first I was reluctant to buy the kind of follow-up book, because Maeve didn’t seem to be that great a character from my first impressions, but the comments on Amazon made me buy it nonetheless. And I’m glad I did! This was in August.
Maeve is 26 years old and at first it appears as if she is just sloppy, living on her parents charity. She finished college but doesn’t have a clue what to do next, especially after losing her bar-tending job. But after 60 pages or so I was hooked, although it takes about another 100 pages to truly understand why Maeve is the way she is now. That being, her having had leukemia when she was a freshman in college and losing her best friend and treatment buddy to this disease.
She decides to take a road trip to California with her bird Oliver in her vintage car to revive an old friendship and to prove to herself that she can indeed finish something she has set her mind to, only to find herself stranded in rural Arizona, because her car breaks down close to the town of Unknown. There, she is forced to stay until her car is repaired, which takes much longer than initially anticipated but is not at all unwelcome. Maeve has to find a job which she does in the town’s only bookstore, owned by handsome Noah also known as a famous children’s book author. Of course she falls in love with him throughout the book and it takes them until the end to find their happiness, it is a great journey for her character. Maeve becomes an inspiration to Noah, who eventually writes her her own book “The Girl who Could” which for me may be the simple greatest thing to do.
All the supporting characters add to make Unknown appear to be the greatest town to be living in, because they are a rather small community and thus know and care for each other.
So why is it, that I’ve read this book three times now? – I am not completely sure, but Maeve just seems such a great character, specially after you learn, why she put her life on hold for so long. It has helped me understand my mom a little bit better (it hasn’t made me much more patient so far, I guess nothing will do that to me). Not that she has leukemia, but brain cancer with a way worse prognosis than the girl in this book. I have always moved away when I read the word ‘cancer’ in a story description long before she was diagnosed. And I haven’t changed much in that way, except for this particular book. Having to live with someone who is currently fighting a war against his or her own body is not as terrible as having to do it yourself, but it still is horrible.
I go through a lot of emotions Kerry Reichs addresses in her book, and it feels good to see I am not alone. I am not comparing myself to a cancer patient here, but just the idea of leaving everything behind and going on a road trip, destination nowhere, is a dream, especially when I feel overwhelmed by everything; the pressure of exams, finishing my university degree, not knowing what to do after graduation and not knowing when your mom is going to die or if treatment will work on her. My love for traveling may also have contributed to my obsession with this book, in which sadness is turned into happiness throughout 390 pages. I cried a lot while reading, especially when Reichs describes Maeve’s feelings upon losing her best friend while simultaneously fighting the same disease. I suppose I cannot truly explain my draw to this book, it just makes me feel warm and happy inside when I really feel crappy about everything. It leaves me in awe, because I will probably never find this man who will dedicate a whole book to me, or any similar outburst of creativity. And I will probably also not become an author myself, although I was always drawn to writing and have tried my hand at several stories, all of whom are not really noteworthy.
To finish this, I know that Maeve is only a fictional character, and I am not the kind of girl who fell in love with a boy band member when I was growing up, I would love to be friends with her. We both share a lot of interests like photography, colorful socks and a love for books and eating. I’m also familiar to the urge to run sometimes in order to get rid of all the tension inside of yourself, so I will probably pick up this book soon again to loose myself in it!
December 30, 2017
Sometimes I really like a book, and I don't know exactly why. This is one of those books. At first the main character, Maeve was getting on my nerves. She seemed really irresponsible and almost to be taking advantage of her parents who seem to have supported her through the many (more than it should have) years it took her to get through college. Then Maeve takes off with her cockatiel traveling from home in North Carolina to visit an old friend in LA in her ancient car, passing through many small towns with unusual names, and taking pictures along the way. Then she breaks down just outside Unknown, New Mexico and ends up stuck there for months waiting on the local mechanic to get back from vacation, and then for the appropriate parts to be located. In the meantime she finds a place in the community, working in the local bookstore, developing and printing pictures (apparently pre-digital pictures) and dating the handsome local doctor. Then you realize she is just quirky, and for a good reason. I loved her relationships with the people of Unknown. Although I hated that she ended up going on to LA, I respected her reasons, and even in LA she manages to get herself once more back on her feet. There's a nice happy ending just to finish it off, and by then I'm so pleased for her! I read a review which mentioned the author's repeated use of a number of words and phrases, but honestly I didn't notice, so it didn't bother me in the least. So in summary, a feel-good story about a nice young woman, coming of age perhaps a bit late, but in a community of great people (with maybe a few grinches just for contrast).
April 17, 2013
4.25 stars.
For the first part of Leaving Unknown, I thought that I definitely enjoyed The Best Day of Someone Else’s Life better. This book just seemed a bit lighter-weight to me, it might be because there was a larger cast of characters involved in the companion novel, this isn’t really a sequel, even though it occurs after the events of the previous book, and that some of their lives and events were intertwined making it a more involved story, I even thought maybe it had more to do with the main character, Maeve, not being as strong a character as her sister, Vi. Then, about halfway through the book, that changed for me and I actually think I liked Maeve’s story even more than her sister, Vi’s.
In that story, Maeve was the flighty sister, the one who’s still in college after seven years, is late for everything and who’s unable to pay her bills on time, often relying on her family to bail her out. She starts out in pretty much the same fashion here, though she’s just graduated from school and is about to be fired from her job at a bar, prompting her to make the decision to drive to L.A. to stay with an old friend, Laura, and find work out west. So after dealing with her life in North Carolina, she packs up and heads westward, documenting her travels the way she always does, with pictures. However, after some adventures, she hits a bump in the road and, because of car troubles, finds herself stranded in a small town for the foreseeable future. This is where Maeve’s story truly begins.
I really loved this story, the different places and people we get to meet and the different situations Maeve finds herself in. I really felt that she grew as a character here and learned that she had to depend on herself and figure out what she wanted out of life and to do all of this, she really needed to start living, something that began with her decision to leave her home and everything and everyone she knew.
For some reason Reichs has to give her main protagonists quirky little character traits, which I just find annoying. Here, it was Maeve’s propensity for throwing out rhymey little quips, such as “Knock, knock, J. Alfred Prufrock,” “I have a plan, Stan,” and so on, which got to be grating and seemed childish. Once in a while is okay, but she just loved doing it too much for my taste.
Samuel was pretty one-note. We know he’s American Indian, nice, seemingly funny, hot and a doctor. That’s it. We never really get to know him and the fact that Maeve hooks up with him after only knowing him for, what, a few days at most and going on one date with him, seemed a bit slutty or desperate. And not a smart idea if it’s such a small town and everyone knows everyone else’s business. Then, we eventually find out what is basically the motivating factor in making Maeve act the way she does towards everything. Unfortunately, before I started this book I read in a review what that was so there was no surprise in the reveal for me, but it was well done, thankfully didn’t come at the very end and really explained a lot about her, even why she hooked up with Samuel so quickly.
There were the requisite oddball, small town characters in April and Busy, and I liked Ruby and Bruce, they were very cute together and I couldn’t fathom why they divorced and kept expecting them to reunite at some point.
I liked Tuesday, Noah’s employee at the bookstore, quite a bit but feel that she wasn’t given enough to do and that she should’ve had a bigger role in the book. Not that she didn’t end up becoming important to Maeve, it’s just that we were told about their interactions and that they hung out, we didn’t actually get to see them together too much.
I did find it quite unbelievable that the local mechanic would really be gone for months at time as I don’t know how he could stay in business or afford to be gallivanting around for so long with no income. I would also imagine that most townspeople would be pissed he wasn’t around since the only other mechanic is so far away and even if you don’t have car troubles, most people would probably go to him for oil changes or at the very least inspections. Yet we wouldn’t have had a story if he hadn’t, so I guess a little suspension of disbelief is required here.
I loved Noah. While we got to know a lot about him through his conversations with Maeve, I kind of would’ve loved to have had some chapters from his point of view. I mean, a smoking hot bookstore owner who’s also a successful children’s author? If he starts writing YA or adult novels, he’ll be the perfect man. Except, you know, for the fact that he’s not real. I really loved the part of the story toward the end, when and I loved how it motivated her to move forward with her life.
I’m not going to give anything away, but I loved the fact that Maeve wasn’t in Unknown for the entire book. Not that I didn’t love that town and would move there myself in a heartbeat if it, and especially Noah, actually existed, but it made all of Maeve’s actions and the events that occurred later more believable and, though I wouldn’t have looked at her any differently had she decided to , doing so definitely allowed her to say that she accomplished what she set out, even if the journey wasn’t exactly the one she had mapped out.
I also thought Reichs did a great job handling Maeve’s secret and conveyed her fears and feelings in a very realistic way. The flashbacks that were interspersed throughout the book were a great addition as they gave us a lot of insight into Maeve’s past. I also liked the fact that her family was in this quite a lot, actually more than I expected, though mostly through phone calls and the aforementioned flashbacks. These bits, along with the scenes with Noah and Maeve, were my favorite.
This book was a great read and only got stronger as it went on. I’d recommend Leaving Unknown to anyone who’s looking for a light, funny, fast read with terrific characters and a nice plot. I’d love to read more about this family, whether it’s through a book about Maeve and Vi’s brother, Brick, or a secondary character in either of the novels and would definitely enjoy taking another trip to Unknown again soon!
For the first part of Leaving Unknown, I thought that I definitely enjoyed The Best Day of Someone Else’s Life better. This book just seemed a bit lighter-weight to me, it might be because there was a larger cast of characters involved in the companion novel, this isn’t really a sequel, even though it occurs after the events of the previous book, and that some of their lives and events were intertwined making it a more involved story, I even thought maybe it had more to do with the main character, Maeve, not being as strong a character as her sister, Vi. Then, about halfway through the book, that changed for me and I actually think I liked Maeve’s story even more than her sister, Vi’s.
In that story, Maeve was the flighty sister, the one who’s still in college after seven years, is late for everything and who’s unable to pay her bills on time, often relying on her family to bail her out. She starts out in pretty much the same fashion here, though she’s just graduated from school and is about to be fired from her job at a bar, prompting her to make the decision to drive to L.A. to stay with an old friend, Laura, and find work out west. So after dealing with her life in North Carolina, she packs up and heads westward, documenting her travels the way she always does, with pictures. However, after some adventures, she hits a bump in the road and, because of car troubles, finds herself stranded in a small town for the foreseeable future. This is where Maeve’s story truly begins.
I really loved this story, the different places and people we get to meet and the different situations Maeve finds herself in. I really felt that she grew as a character here and learned that she had to depend on herself and figure out what she wanted out of life and to do all of this, she really needed to start living, something that began with her decision to leave her home and everything and everyone she knew.
For some reason Reichs has to give her main protagonists quirky little character traits, which I just find annoying. Here, it was Maeve’s propensity for throwing out rhymey little quips, such as “Knock, knock, J. Alfred Prufrock,” “I have a plan, Stan,” and so on, which got to be grating and seemed childish. Once in a while is okay, but she just loved doing it too much for my taste.
Samuel was pretty one-note. We know he’s American Indian, nice, seemingly funny, hot and a doctor. That’s it. We never really get to know him and the fact that Maeve hooks up with him after only knowing him for, what, a few days at most and going on one date with him, seemed a bit slutty or desperate. And not a smart idea if it’s such a small town and everyone knows everyone else’s business. Then, we eventually find out what is basically the motivating factor in making Maeve act the way she does towards everything. Unfortunately, before I started this book I read in a review what that was so there was no surprise in the reveal for me, but it was well done, thankfully didn’t come at the very end and really explained a lot about her, even why she hooked up with Samuel so quickly.
There were the requisite oddball, small town characters in April and Busy, and I liked Ruby and Bruce, they were very cute together and I couldn’t fathom why they divorced and kept expecting them to reunite at some point.
I liked Tuesday, Noah’s employee at the bookstore, quite a bit but feel that she wasn’t given enough to do and that she should’ve had a bigger role in the book. Not that she didn’t end up becoming important to Maeve, it’s just that we were told about their interactions and that they hung out, we didn’t actually get to see them together too much.
I did find it quite unbelievable that the local mechanic would really be gone for months at time as I don’t know how he could stay in business or afford to be gallivanting around for so long with no income. I would also imagine that most townspeople would be pissed he wasn’t around since the only other mechanic is so far away and even if you don’t have car troubles, most people would probably go to him for oil changes or at the very least inspections. Yet we wouldn’t have had a story if he hadn’t, so I guess a little suspension of disbelief is required here.
I loved Noah. While we got to know a lot about him through his conversations with Maeve, I kind of would’ve loved to have had some chapters from his point of view. I mean, a smoking hot bookstore owner who’s also a successful children’s author? If he starts writing YA or adult novels, he’ll be the perfect man. Except, you know, for the fact that he’s not real. I really loved the part of the story toward the end, when and I loved how it motivated her to move forward with her life.
I’m not going to give anything away, but I loved the fact that Maeve wasn’t in Unknown for the entire book. Not that I didn’t love that town and would move there myself in a heartbeat if it, and especially Noah, actually existed, but it made all of Maeve’s actions and the events that occurred later more believable and, though I wouldn’t have looked at her any differently had she decided to , doing so definitely allowed her to say that she accomplished what she set out, even if the journey wasn’t exactly the one she had mapped out.
I also thought Reichs did a great job handling Maeve’s secret and conveyed her fears and feelings in a very realistic way. The flashbacks that were interspersed throughout the book were a great addition as they gave us a lot of insight into Maeve’s past. I also liked the fact that her family was in this quite a lot, actually more than I expected, though mostly through phone calls and the aforementioned flashbacks. These bits, along with the scenes with Noah and Maeve, were my favorite.
This book was a great read and only got stronger as it went on. I’d recommend Leaving Unknown to anyone who’s looking for a light, funny, fast read with terrific characters and a nice plot. I’d love to read more about this family, whether it’s through a book about Maeve and Vi’s brother, Brick, or a secondary character in either of the novels and would definitely enjoy taking another trip to Unknown again soon!
August 11, 2018
I generally like books with quirky characters (Fanny Flagg, Louise Penny, Anne Tyler, for example). This certainly had those! It was a nice story about a young woman growing up.
However, I understand why some of the other reviewers found it a bit irritating. I thought the focus on the kneesocks and pulling her braids was very irritating, and wondered at that point if the book was meant to be a YA book (or younger). Those two things would have been great in a kid's picture book, but almost made me give up without finishing. I felt like maybe the author didn't quite know which age group to write for. It can be a fine line between "quirky" and "irritating" and Maeve had more than one toe of her rainbow kneesocks over that line.
But the book did have some great moments. For instance:
"... what causes success?"
"Carefully designed hard work and always stretching beyond your abilities. Continually focusing on your weakest elements and trying to improve them. Those who persevere are high achievers. The key lies in knowing what you deeply want."
Also:
" Oliver and I walked over the soft white sand down to the water. I sat cross-legged and watched the mesmerizing roll of the waves. I felt the sun on my face, smelled the salt... I breathed. I didn't take a picture. I didn't frame the scene. I was the scene. Breath, light, warm, sand. I wasn't on the outside. I was the center of everything. Breathing. Feeling."
And of course, I loved Oliver!
However, I understand why some of the other reviewers found it a bit irritating. I thought the focus on the kneesocks and pulling her braids was very irritating, and wondered at that point if the book was meant to be a YA book (or younger). Those two things would have been great in a kid's picture book, but almost made me give up without finishing. I felt like maybe the author didn't quite know which age group to write for. It can be a fine line between "quirky" and "irritating" and Maeve had more than one toe of her rainbow kneesocks over that line.
But the book did have some great moments. For instance:
"... what causes success?"
"Carefully designed hard work and always stretching beyond your abilities. Continually focusing on your weakest elements and trying to improve them. Those who persevere are high achievers. The key lies in knowing what you deeply want."
Also:
" Oliver and I walked over the soft white sand down to the water. I sat cross-legged and watched the mesmerizing roll of the waves. I felt the sun on my face, smelled the salt... I breathed. I didn't take a picture. I didn't frame the scene. I was the scene. Breath, light, warm, sand. I wasn't on the outside. I was the center of everything. Breathing. Feeling."
And of course, I loved Oliver!
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