The Status of All Things

April 1, 2015
Jilted the night before her wedding, Kate learns her fiance, Max, is in love with her co-worker and close friend, Courtney, and wishes she had seen the signs in time. Liam and Jules have been Kate's best friends since college, and they stand by her after her aborted wedding. Jittery and confused, Kate can't resist checking her Facebook page, where dozens of congratulatory messages await her. She posts in her status, "I wish I could do the past month over." When she wakes up the next morning, it's a month earlier, Max is still with her, and she realizes she's been given the power to wish for whatever she wants. Can she keep Max and Courtney from falling for each other? Can she also help Jules, whose long marriage has grown stale, and Liam, who has bounced from girlfriend to girlfriend, none of them quite right? Can she help her mother let go of her bitterness over her parents' long-ago divorce? As she tries to ensure Max will be hers forever and those she loves will be happy, Kate begins to realize that nothing is really perfect and that life is ultimately beyond her control, even when she knows how things might turn out ahead of time. Fenton and Steinke (Your Perfect Life, 2014, etc.) veer into typecasting with some of the minor characters, such as Kate and Courtney's superskinny, fashion-forward, demanding boss and Liam's starlet girlfriend fresh from rehab and primed for a new scandal. The lessons Kate learns are nothing new, either. But the friendships at the heart of the story are realistic, the descriptions of affluent Southern California are deliciously escapist, and the be-careful-what-you-wish-for message is not overbearing. A good beach read, with enough to discuss for a book club looking for lighter fare.

June 15, 2015

Kate is a day away from her wedding, when her fiance leaves her for a friend. Social media-obsessed Kate, who only posts her best self online, is humiliated to confront her Facebook friends. Late one night, she posts that she wishes she could go back to before the breakup happened, and wakes up to find herself one month in the past. She realizes her posts are coming true, and she must use her time in the past to keep her fiance from leaving her again. Aided by her two best friends and a Facebook page that answers wishes, Kate has a lot to fix in 30 days. She is forced to decide if creating a picture-perfect life will lead to happiness, or if things unfold exactly as they should. VERDICT Fenton and Steinke (Your Perfect Life) put a new twist on modern-day women's fiction with this tale of time-travel in the age of Facebook. The integration of magical elements works surprisingly well in this witty story that is much more than a charming romance. A fun and fast read for fans of Meg Cabot and Jennifer Weiner.--Kristen Calvert Nelson, Marion Cty. P.L. Syst., Ocala, FL

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