The Girl I Was

De: Jeneva Rose

Narrado por: Hillary Huber

Alexis Spencer thinks she has it all figured out. Even when life gets her down, she’s never too far away from another inspirational quote to rationalize her failures and ignore all her problems. Her boyfriend breaks it off, she loses her job, her closest friends are a distant memory, and her college debt is still as high as the day she left. In typical fashion, she blames the world for her problems, including her 18-year-old self who should have just tried harder and put their life on a better track.

After feeling sorry for herself, she goes on a bender to forget her problems and ends up blacking out. But this time she doesn't wake up at home; she isn't even in the right city; in fact, she isn't even in the right year. She’s back in her college town in the year 2002, and she thinks she's been given a second chance to do things over - that is, until she comes face-to-face with her unruly 18-year-old self, who goes by the name of Lexi because it's sexier.

Right from the get-go, she has to get acclimated to life in the early 2000s again, which has its ups (no Kardashians) and downs (no cell phone). Once she meets Lexi though, the hard part truly begins. First, Alexis must convince her that she is, in fact, from the future. Then she has to convince Lexi to let her live in the dorm with her. Finally, they must learn to get along and come to terms with the fact that, alone, they will never make things right, but together, they could change their life for the better.

©2021 Jeneva Rose (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Another good book

To me kinda started off a lil slow wasn't sure if I would like it but surprised me parts were kinda slow but in all a great book so far her books have caught my attention and haven't been disappointed to be able to go back and change and figure out what u really want and are well good loved it

So fun!

Loved this book, such a fun and heartwarming take on self forgiveness and second chances.

She’s turning into my favorite author

Another book that doesn’t disappoint. It’s especially interesting if you actually lived during the early 2000s brings me back 😊

Story was OK… Narrator was NOT!

For a while, I regretted this purchase. I think it’s probably a better book if you read it yourself as opposed to listening because the narrator was TERRIBLE. The voices she gave the characters were juvenile and sounded like spoiled high schoolers. I thought it was a YA book. It was very distracting and ruined most of the book for me. However, you do get to the last 3ish hours and begin to feel for/develop a connection to the character(s). I just wished I read it myself to give it a better rating.

Awesome book

If you are dealing with grief in any form this book will help with healing.

Funny and heart felt

This is probably best for a woman in their early 40s. I could not stop laughing about the lower back tattoo reference and pop culture of the early 2000’s. I wasn’t expecting this to pull on my heart strings but it did. Go give your mom a hug and listen to this!

Heartwarming

I loved this book on so many levels. The mom part touched me the most. I wasn’t sure where the story was going but the ending was great.

Easy Read

Easy read. Got me out of a slump. A tad bit predictable, but a fun read.

Unexpected and refreshing.

I enjoyed this book. It had an unexpected story line, but it was refreshingly funny and thought provoking.

Great concept, okay execution.

This story was engaging. Predictable, and hardly innovative, but engaging nonetheless. The best it has going for it was the realistic, grounded approach to the surreal situation, however the “Sisterification” of Alexis’ past self quickly sheered them into two completely separate characters that ultimately negates the novelty of having two versions of the same character. I wasn’t a fan of the instant “sisterly” dynamic, and I felt it was inappropriate given the situation. They only felt like the same person when the plot needed it. I realize people can change a lot in 17 years. But they hardly acted like they believe they were the same person. I believe that was part of the intent, which is why I don’t like it. It’s too common a trope to treat doubles like siblings, as I belive it stems from writers being unwilling and uninterested to explore the shared identity dynamic. As for what it was, it picks up in the middle, the “family arc” which if it was the whole book, it would easily break 4/5.

Andrew also felt way too romanticized, and I don’t like how he is the main emphasis over anything else. He felt very shallow, and underdeveloped. If there were more flash backs of him peppered in, then it might have fixed this issue, but other than that, be felt like a plot devise more than an actual character. I would love to see this author try their hand at a story with two copies of the same character again, where they don’t skirt around the shared identity aspect, and don’t go for the sisterification trope. I belive it would make for a fantastic story.

This one has heart, intent, just faltering on execution, earning it the 3/5 stars. I’d recommend this to other people.