Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing Book Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Between the 40% and 70% mark of this book, I thought about quitting Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing several times. But, much like this novel’s protagonist, who doesn’t like to leave things unfinished, I have a self-destructive habit of finishing any book I start, no matter how tedious it becomes. Thankfully, the climax is quite nice & open-ended, versus just how unreadable the novel becomes in between.
More than anything, this novel is about Cleo McDougal repeating the same points over and over again—the world is tough for women, being a single mother is extremely difficult, and she isn’t a very good person. Okay, yes, we get it, Cleo—men have it easy & motherhood is hard. You don’t need to say it 200 times! Author Allison Winn Scotch doesn’t stick to the basics of writing: “show, don’t tell.” Ironically, Cleo McDougal, a senator aspiring to run for President, seems to have things conveniently fall into place for her all the time, despite her constant whining. The ambitious Cleo, in-fact, is the biggest villain of her life, courtesy some calculated mean moves & poor decisions.
“Cleo McDougal is not a good person. She does good, yes, but doing good and being good aren’t the same thing, now, are they?” – opening lines of the Op-ed.
The plot is pretty simple and the novel does begin on an interesting note – Senator Cleo McDougal wakes up to find out she’s gone viral after her estranged childhood best-friend writes a nasty opinion piece stating “Cleo McDougal is not a good person”, while also insinuating that her son could be from an affair with a professor. Cleo and her team spring into damage control mode, worried that public opinion might jeopardize her chances of running for President. Acting on her political advisor Gaby’s suggestion, Cleo heads to her hometown to publicly apologize to a former friend MaryAnne —on camera, of course. Gaby also encourages her to tackle a list of 233 regrets (yep, she’s got them all written in a diary) as a way to show the world she’s a fallible, relatable human. I won’t write about what those regrets are, if you’re planning on reading the book, because well, they are the only interesting bits in the story. This book is all about Senator McDougal stumbling through her personal life in an attempt to score brownie points on her political journey.
Author Allison Winn Scotch’s writing style is simple and easy to follow, but the narration gets frustratingly repetitive. The protagonist, Cleo McDougal, isn’t exactly likable—whether it’s how she handles her professional affairs or how she deals with her teenage son, Lucas, a lot of her behavior screams “red flag.” For example, while snooping on her kid might be something many parents give in to, Cleo takes it further by jumping to serious accusations based on assumptions and hearsay instead of just talking to him like a reasonable adult. The other characters don’t get enough space in the book to form strong opinions about them.
For a self-made lawyer-turned-politician, Cleo has surprisingly little tact—it feels like you’re reading about a teenager running for school elections, not a 37-year-old, shrewd woman who lost her parents early, got pregnant while still in law school, and worked tirelessly to balance being a single mom and a driven law student. Or at least, the author rarely shows readers the more likable sides of her character. If things work out in the end for Cleo, it’s because the other people in her life aren’t as narcissistic as her, and surprisingly quite forgiving and helpful. Good for Cleo.
Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing has a fun start and an emotional ending, but left me feeling plenty of ‘regret’ as I slogged through its boring middle sections.
Rating: 2 on 5 stars. The novel is also on Kindle Unlimited.
Read Next: Thoughts on ‘The Two Towers’ – The Lord of the Rings Part 2
Also Read: ‘The Easy Life in Kamusari’ – Book Review (Audio Version Below)
