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154th out of 660 books
—
166 voters
29
by
Adena Halpern (Goodreads Author)
What if you closed your eyes, blew out the candles, and your wish came true?
Ellie Jerome is a young-at-heart seventy-five-year-old who feels she has more in common with her twenty-nine-year-old granddaughter, Lucy, than her fifty-five-year-old daughter, Barbara. Ellie's done everything she can to stay young, and the last thing she wants is to celebrate another birthday. So...more
Ellie Jerome is a young-at-heart seventy-five-year-old who feels she has more in common with her twenty-nine-year-old granddaughter, Lucy, than her fifty-five-year-old daughter, Barbara. Ellie's done everything she can to stay young, and the last thing she wants is to celebrate another birthday. So...more
Paperback, 280 pages
Published
June 15th 2010
by Touchstone
(first published September 1st 2009)
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Reviewed by hoopsielv for TeensReadToo.com
On her seventy-fifth birthday, Ellie takes the time to reflect on her life. She realizes that to the average onlooker, she's had it pretty good. She married a prominent lawyer and spent her days playing bridge at the country club and raising their daughter, Barbara.
Her husband passed away a few years ago and now Ellie lives in an apartment on her own. She goes out with friends and enjoys sitting on her porch. Yet Ellie longs for the life she never had, a...more
On her seventy-fifth birthday, Ellie takes the time to reflect on her life. She realizes that to the average onlooker, she's had it pretty good. She married a prominent lawyer and spent her days playing bridge at the country club and raising their daughter, Barbara.
Her husband passed away a few years ago and now Ellie lives in an apartment on her own. She goes out with friends and enjoys sitting on her porch. Yet Ellie longs for the life she never had, a...more
I first saw this book at a bookstore's bargain section and thought I'd write the title down for future reading. When I was at my local library recently, looking at the new fiction, the book jumped out at me a second time. So, I took it as a sign that I should check it out (especially considering that since I turn 30 in June, my fiance said that I better read it before then!).
I read this book very quickly over the span of 2 days. It was a light-hearted, fun read. I've always enjoyed movies that a...more
I read this book very quickly over the span of 2 days. It was a light-hearted, fun read. I've always enjoyed movies that a...more
I saw this in the bookstore and thought it was a clever idea. Last week I picked it up at the library to read it, even though I'd read another book by the same author and been irritated at the poor writing.
Once I finished it, I have pretty much the same thoughts. Really interesting concept, but not well written. It's clear the author is trying for a familiar, hey-we're-girlfriends-just-chatting kind of vibe, but it just doesn't quite work. Something about the descriptions, or lack thereof, is of...more
Once I finished it, I have pretty much the same thoughts. Really interesting concept, but not well written. It's clear the author is trying for a familiar, hey-we're-girlfriends-just-chatting kind of vibe, but it just doesn't quite work. Something about the descriptions, or lack thereof, is of...more
Did you ever wonder what would happen if a birthday wish really came true? That is the question answered in 29: A Novel by Adena Halpern.
In her acknowledgements at the end of the book, Ms. Halpern thanks, first and foremost, "...the amazing seventy-something women I interviewed for this book. Your generosity, honesty, and frankness were more than I could ever have asked for. I hope I've done you proud in creating a character that captures the best of who you are." I think the author accompished...more
In her acknowledgements at the end of the book, Ms. Halpern thanks, first and foremost, "...the amazing seventy-something women I interviewed for this book. Your generosity, honesty, and frankness were more than I could ever have asked for. I hope I've done you proud in creating a character that captures the best of who you are." I think the author accompished...more
This was a joyful, fun, witty, hilarious and amusing tale of a wish come true! Seventy-five-year-old Ellie Jerome makes a wish on her birthday to be 29 again, just for one day. A day later she wakes up and ‘poof’ there she is, a stunning beauty 29 years of age!!
The only one she can trust and confide in who will believe her is her own 29-year-old granddaughter Lucy. Once Lucy gets over the shock of really realizing that the gorgeous and
strikingly beautiful woman standing before her really IS her...more
The only one she can trust and confide in who will believe her is her own 29-year-old granddaughter Lucy. Once Lucy gets over the shock of really realizing that the gorgeous and
strikingly beautiful woman standing before her really IS her...more
Sometimes I come across an unexpected gem of a book. In this case, it's a book I never would have given the time of day had the publisher not sent it to me for review. I hadn't requested it, so I could have easily passed it over for the next book. But in the moment I picked it up, it seemed like the right thing to do. And it was.
Adena Halpern's novel, 29, is funny and charming. It's the story of a 75 year old woman, Ellie Jerome, who wishes on her birthday to be young again for a day. She longs...more
Adena Halpern's novel, 29, is funny and charming. It's the story of a 75 year old woman, Ellie Jerome, who wishes on her birthday to be young again for a day. She longs...more
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29: a novel is the third chicklit-style offering from Adena Halpern, an author with significant experience writing across a range of notable publications including Marie Claire, and The New York Times. While her newest novel draws on a familiar trope that has seen widespread coverage in both film and fiction, and suffers from an annoying-to-Google title that when placed in the right-hand side of the header makes the reader constantly think that they’re stuck on page 29, it’s nonetheless a worthw...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the trouble with having an ereader is that I download a billion books, but can't remember what they're about. That was the case with this book, I thought it was going to be about a woman on the cusp of thirty, who was worried that she hadn't accomplished all she should have in her twenties. (I don't know why I thought that, lol. Maybe it's because I wanted a book about someone more like me, especially since I read it a few days before I turned thirty, heh.)...more
Summer Book #6 This book was a cute "Freaky Friday"-esque novel. Ellie, a woman grudgingly celebrating her 75th birthday, shuts her eyes and wishes hard to be 29 for a day before she blows out her birthday candles. Guess what happens?
I sat out in the sun and read this whole book this afternoon - it was fluffy and funny, but I found the characters to be unbelievable, or at least flat. After reading the book I could describe the four main women characters to you in detail, but that is mostly beca...more
I sat out in the sun and read this whole book this afternoon - it was fluffy and funny, but I found the characters to be unbelievable, or at least flat. After reading the book I could describe the four main women characters to you in detail, but that is mostly beca...more
Ellie Jerome is celebrating her 75th birthday. Her daughter, Barbara, is only able to fit 29 candles on her cake, which is fine with Ellie, who really doesn't want to be celebrating anyway. It's not that she doesn't enjoy living, she just doesn't want reminders of her age. She envies her 25 year old grand-daughter, Lucy, whom she sees as someone living their life to their own rules.
As she blows out her candles, she wishes to be 29 again, just for one day. Imagine her surprise when that wish com...more
As she blows out her candles, she wishes to be 29 again, just for one day. Imagine her surprise when that wish com...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The novel 29 is a lighthearted book about an elderly woman getting her birthday wish and getting to be twenty-nine again for a day.
My favorite parts of this novel were those that dealt with the main character, Ellie, and her granddaughter Lucy. They had a lovely close relationship, and it was entertaining to see them interact both as a grandmother and granddaughter and then later as friends of the same age.
My least favorite parts were those dealing with the secondary characters: Ellie’s daughter...more
My favorite parts of this novel were those that dealt with the main character, Ellie, and her granddaughter Lucy. They had a lovely close relationship, and it was entertaining to see them interact both as a grandmother and granddaughter and then later as friends of the same age.
My least favorite parts were those dealing with the secondary characters: Ellie’s daughter...more
What if you closed your eyes, blew out the candles, and your wish came true?
Ellie Jerome is a young-at-heart seventy-five-year-old who feels she has more in common with her twenty-nine-year-old granddaughter, Lucy, than her fifty-five-year-old daughter, Barbara. Ellie’s done everything she can to stay young, and the last thing she wants is to celebrate another birthday. So when she finds herself confronted with a cake full of candles, Ellie wishes more than anything that she could be twenty-nine...more
Ellie Jerome is a young-at-heart seventy-five-year-old who feels she has more in common with her twenty-nine-year-old granddaughter, Lucy, than her fifty-five-year-old daughter, Barbara. Ellie’s done everything she can to stay young, and the last thing she wants is to celebrate another birthday. So when she finds herself confronted with a cake full of candles, Ellie wishes more than anything that she could be twenty-nine...more
While I enjoyed the last 1/4 of this book, most of the rest of it was just too light and lacked substance. It had a well-known theme for a book: what would you do if you could return to a time when you were younger? This theme has been addressed in multiple books and movies before. It had a slight difference: this book was about a 75-year-old woman who gets to be 29 again. In returning to that time, she gets to reexamine her life and her regrets. And in the end, she learns quite a bit about hers...more
Despite it being a chick-lit light and fun sort of a read Halpern manages to weave some interesting issues into the story. The relationship between the generations of women and the contrast in personalities was well done and shows that after a certain age, we need to stop seeing our parents/children as parents or children, that need to be taken care of, and instead as free thinking, individually minded, people. The book also suggests that it is probably a good thing that all our wishes don’t com...more
I thought this was a fun read. Considering how the semester went, I enjoyed the book because it was no-brainer and didn't delve so much into my psyche. Some things that irked me was when Ellie first realized she had her young body back all she could worry about was what her family and friends would have though and how could she switch back. If I had a second chance at to relive a moment in my life, I wouldn't hesitate what others thought and made the most of that time. Though it was typical chic...more
Since I turned 29 in early January, I wasn't too surprised that this was a birthday gift from my husband. 29 follows Ellie Jerome, a 75 year old woman who has regrets about the choices she has made in her life, on her birthday. Ellie has a strained at best relationship with her over-controlling daughter, but has a fantastic relationship with her grand-daughter, Lucy. The book takes place in Philadelphia, and Lucy is a trendy dress designer (who actually names her most popular dress after her gra...more
Ellie Jerome has regrets. Moments before blowing out the candles on her birthday cake, she realizes she has regrets. And not small, trivial regrets. No, they’re big. Did she marry the right man? Was she a good mother? What if she made different choices? What would her life be like now as she’s celebrating her 75th birthday?
If only she could go back in time. To her younger self…when she was full of life and the whole world was at her feet. Yes, if only she could rewrite her past. These are her la...more
If only she could go back in time. To her younger self…when she was full of life and the whole world was at her feet. Yes, if only she could rewrite her past. These are her la...more
29 by Adena Hapren
★★★
Ellie is a 75 year old woman who feels she is missing something in her life and is feeling particularly…old. So for her Birthday she wishes to be 29 for just one day. And surprise, surprise, she wakes up 29 years old. This isn’t the first time that a story is about the theme of going back in age nor is the best of the bunch.
The storyline was cute enough. It was the characters that really made it difficult for me to get into this book. I found the characters to be fairly flat...more
★★★
Ellie is a 75 year old woman who feels she is missing something in her life and is feeling particularly…old. So for her Birthday she wishes to be 29 for just one day. And surprise, surprise, she wakes up 29 years old. This isn’t the first time that a story is about the theme of going back in age nor is the best of the bunch.
The storyline was cute enough. It was the characters that really made it difficult for me to get into this book. I found the characters to be fairly flat...more
I read this book in three sittings. Warning: do not begin reading this late at night because you will lose sleep getting lost in this engaging story about a 75 year-old woman who wishes she was 29 for a day. The book follows her as she has her wish granted, but it's not a book that focuses on magic. She wished for something and got it--it's as simple as that and not much explanation is given. Instead the focus is on Ellie and the people in her life. The story is simple but fun and engrossing wit...more
Well, first of all when I stumble over a couple of spelling/typing errors in a book in the 21st century when we have access to all the technological tools to eradicate these errors I become somewhat... shall we say, disheveled?! This really irks me I guess. And this is what happened to me with this book. Don't authors have access to editors? staff? computers? spell check? The story itself--well just read it for yourselves. It is about a grandmother who makes a wish that comes true as a result of...more
What a pleasant surprise! Ellie is a 75 year-old woman (old, but spunky) who is just sick of it all. On her birthday, she makes a wish to be 29 again, just for a day. And behold- the next morning she is!
I bought this book as a discount book when Borders was going out of business. There wasn't much selection left, but I said I'd give it a try. The book sounded cute enough, but I figured it wouldn't be executed right and would end up being a complete disappointment. There it sat on my shelf for t...more
I bought this book as a discount book when Borders was going out of business. There wasn't much selection left, but I said I'd give it a try. The book sounded cute enough, but I figured it wouldn't be executed right and would end up being a complete disappointment. There it sat on my shelf for t...more
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What if? What if I could live my life over, what if I could chose another person to marry, what if I never had children, or different children, what if I had a better relationship with my mother, what if I had finished college? Fun things to ponder, nothing that can be done about it . . . unless I could be 29 again. Then the real question, would I really want to go back?
I thought this book was a fun read, made me think, and then let me down in a good way. At first I thought it spent a little to...more
I thought this book was a fun read, made me think, and then let me down in a good way. At first I thought it spent a little to...more
I thought this book about a peppy grandma who wants to be 29 again for one day would be a fun, lighthearted read. I had to put it down and move on. One of the characters (Barbara; the grandma's daughter) is portrayed as such a one dimensional hag for no apparent reason. There's no real understanding of who she is or why she's such a crabby person. The author has one of the other characters mention that she should never anger Barbara so many times I almost threw this book out the window. We get t...more
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I really hate it when I suggest a book to the book club and it turns out to be really lame. Thanks, 29, for putting me in that situation once again.
The plot was terrible and under-developed. There could have been so much potential with the idea of a 75 year old turning 29 again, but nothing exciting happened! It's just a bunch of crazy women running around a Philadelphia all day! Plus the moral of the story was really weak. I assume that the moral was to appreciate what you have (or had), but I...more
The plot was terrible and under-developed. There could have been so much potential with the idea of a 75 year old turning 29 again, but nothing exciting happened! It's just a bunch of crazy women running around a Philadelphia all day! Plus the moral of the story was really weak. I assume that the moral was to appreciate what you have (or had), but I...more
On a whim, I picked this book up from a bargain table from Borders for $2. I thought hey I am 29 and this book is titled 29 so I will go for it!
This was a very unique read. I can't say I was blown away but it was a cute, breezy, witty book. Ellie a 75 year old wishes she could be young again like her grandaughter and her wish comes true. When I first read the back of the book I though oh no why did I select this book, it is going to be geared toward old ladies but that was so far from the truth....more
This was a very unique read. I can't say I was blown away but it was a cute, breezy, witty book. Ellie a 75 year old wishes she could be young again like her grandaughter and her wish comes true. When I first read the back of the book I though oh no why did I select this book, it is going to be geared toward old ladies but that was so far from the truth....more
After her 75th birthday party, and lots of reflection on her life, Ellie wakes the next morning to find that her birthday wish has been granted - she is 29 again! Ellie is filled with regret over so many things in her life; she wonders if her deceased husband was really the love of her life, she is not close to her grown daughter Barbara, and worst of all, she is jealous of her 29 year old granddaughter. Will getting the chance to live as a 29 year old, even if just for one day, satisfy all the...more
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BREAKING NEWS: 20th Century Fox has just attained the rights to Adena's most recent novel, 29! Look for it in theaters soon!
Adena Halpern is the author of a memoir TARGET UNDERWEAR AND A VERA WANG GOWN- NOTES FROM A SINGLE GIRL'S CLOSET and the novel THE TEN BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE. Adena has also written for Marie Claire, Daily Variety and The New York Times. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree i...more
More about Adena Halpern...
Adena Halpern is the author of a memoir TARGET UNDERWEAR AND A VERA WANG GOWN- NOTES FROM A SINGLE GIRL'S CLOSET and the novel THE TEN BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE. Adena has also written for Marie Claire, Daily Variety and The New York Times. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree i...more
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