The Good Part, Sophie Cousens

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens: 26-year-old Lucy is frustrated - she isn't making progress at work, she's broke, and her dating life is less than good. After one particularly difficult night, she stumbles into a corner store and makes a wish on a wishing machine that she could skip to the good part of her life. The next morning, she wakes up in a beautiful house with a handsome husband, cute kids, and the job she's been wanting. Oh, and she seems to be 16 years older than the day before. Did she really skip ahead to her future, or could she have just forgotten the time in-between? And if she skipped ahead, is that really what she wants?

I've heard good things about this book, and I was happy to say that it exceeded my expectations! Lucy was such an entertaining main character that it was so easy to root for. In some movies or books where the main character jumps to the future or switches bodies with someone, they have a couple funny instances where they don't know what to do and then they transition seamlessly to the role in such a short period of time before learning some big life lesson. But Lucy has a lot more struggles and adjustments in her new life that just makes it seem more realistic.

I also liked that this story focused on so many relationships. Yes, while a major relationship is the one with her (new-to-her) husband, a lot of the story focuses on how she views herself and her life. But there's also the relationship with her friends, her children, her parents, and a few other side characters. These relationships and the focus on Lucy's life outside of her relationship with her husband make Lucy's character more well-rounded and interesting. The story flew smoothly, and I found myself wishing there was even more to read as I got closer to the ending. Overall, this was a fun read with applicable lessons for lots of different readers.

Did you like "The Good Place"? What books are on your TBR for this year?