Title: Counting Stars
Author: Kathleen Long
Publication date: 2015
My Grade: A
My Review:
I actually picked this book up long before I got Changing Lanes, and didn’t realise till I started reading this one that they were by the same author. Like Changing Lanes, this is about a woman finding herself. There are similarities, but I think this book has more depth.
Bernie, the main character, is in her mid-forties, is a columnist (similar to Abby in Changing Lanes). She is struggling with trusting her heart when her long time boyfriend proposes and she is reminded how badly her first marriage went. She is also mourning the loss of her older brother who died of a sudden heart malfunction.
She decides to drag her mom, sister-in-law and best friend on a road trip based on her brother’s book of big landmarks that he always wanted to see. She hopes this will help them mourn. However things never go as planned, as her best friend skips out and puts her teenage daughter in her place.
The four women on this trip have different personalities, and different ways of getting through their mourning stages. Bernie struggles with trying to help and realising she can’t.
I enjoyed this book. The twists weren’t too surprising, but they made sense. Point of view (Bernie’s first person) limits what you can see, but you still see things changing slowly through the book. Its has good pacing, and the characters are developed enough that you can see why things are the way they are.
I think this book is better then Changing Lanes but it still has that idea of finding yourself, and knowing when to let go.
I also found out by looking at the Goodreads page for this novel that it is a sequel. It doesnt feel like you are missing anything from the first novel so I don’t think its necessary to read that one first. However, if you are like me and like to read things in order its called Chasing Rainbows.
Sokorra Lewis 