Upended: A Novel

by Amanda Kabak

Maddie has everything the way she likes it. Her start-up, Mindful Management, is the work of her heart, and her business partner, Joe, the ideal complement to her talents. Of course she'd like to see her younger brother move past his barista stage and get serious, but brotherly obligation means she can work on him during their weekly diner dates. She doesn't like to think about her ex, the perfect Jane, but even if their breakup was painful, it was grown-up. The boxes are getting checked. Things are humming.



But then everything is turned upside down when Maddie survives a vicious attack by an unknown predator. The moment she opens her eyes in the hospital, it's as if her life starts up all over again on a brand-new day one-except this new timeline reveals that nothing in her old life was what it seemed. Everything Maddie thought she needed isn't turning out how she planned, and honestly, wasn't how she really liked it after all.

Genres: Romance

Kindle Edition

Published July 20, 2021

About the author

Amanda Kabak has had stories published in Midwestern Gothic, Harpoon Review, Perceptions Magazine, and other print and online periodicals. She was a recipient of the Betty Gabehart prize, issued by the Kentucky Women Writer's Conference, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Reviews

[Kexx · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read the first 15% and didn’t really ‘get it’ or gell with the writing. Skip read which confused me and read last 10% and still no connection. So thank you, sorry, but not for me. Loved her ‘Training for love.’

[Sheryl Kabak · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that the story central to Upended not only centers around the protagonist but also those in her inner circle is fascinating. Not only does Maddie begin to look at her life, making different choices as a result of a vicious attack, but those characters around her have their lives changed as a result as well. The ripple effect goes far beyond the main character, which makes this book a wonderful character study of a group when a life-changing event occurs to one person.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amanda Kabak's novel is beautifully crafted and compulsively readable. The story focuses on Madeline, a charming workaholic who is brutally attacked by a stranger, who seems to target Madeline for being a lesbian. Afterward, Madeline is completely unmoored, covering up the details of the attack, and reconsidering all the choices and compromises she has made to please others. But her life isn't the only one upended. Her reckoning forces those close to her, including her brother, Ethan, and a potential love interest, Zoe, to confront the ways they've been dishonest with others and with themselves. Kabak has a gift for creating characters and dialogue, and the people in the story collide with each other in fascinating and relatable ways. Kabak forces each character to sit with their discomfort until something new must emerge in their lives. I imagine this book will inspire self-reflection in readers much as it did for me.

[Ruth Lym · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life happens and choices present themselves…

What happens after a traumatic event? How is your world broken open? How do you see the person you were before in comparison to the person you are now? What choices do you make NOW about where to go with your life? And how do your choices affect all the people whose lives are tied with yours? Loved the flawed humanity of the characters.

[Stacey Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very well written, thought-provoking and unique. I really got to know the characters and was invested in the outcome. I look forward to reading the next book by this author.

[Bonni Hatfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminds me of my own family. Good illustration of realistic relationships. A proverbial bomb is dropped and everyone is forced to choose a fork in their road. Not a funny book but there is cheer and i cried a little.

[Wendi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Unexpectedly Wonderful and Thought Provoking!

Amanda, thank you for writing this book with so many perfectly imperfect characters and so many life lessons about living out your truth! So good!!! One of those books that you are sad when it ends because you want to keep hanging out with the characters.

[Jo Worrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was thought-provoking with excellent character development that really made it easy to step into the main characters’ shoes. I’m a little ashamed to say I haven’t much queer fiction and this really made me empathize and seek to understand more deeply the process of coming out and navigating life from a different starting point than my own. I really enjoyed this one and plan to read more by the same author.