On the eve of her thirty-ninth birthday, Maggie Piper doesn't look, act, or feel much different than she did at twenty-nine, but with her fortieth birthday speeding towards her like a freight train, she wonders if she should. The fear of a slowing metabolism, wrinkling of her skin, and the ticking of her biological clock leaves Maggie torn between a desire to settle down like most of her similarly-aged peers and concern that all is not perfect in her existing relationship. When a spontaneous request for a temporary "break" from her live-in boyfriend results in a "break-up," Maggie finds herself single once again and only twelve months from the big 4.0. In the profound yet bumpy year that follows, Maggie will learn, sometimes painfully, that life doesn't always happen on a schedule, there are no deadlines in love, and age really is just a number.
Meredith Schorr, best-selling author of light women's fiction, digs deep in her newest novel and raises the age old issue of the 'proverbial clock' that haunts many women, in a way that is refreshing and sassy no matter your age or relationship status.
41. We all have that age, that number that is a
jolt to realize is approaching. Maggie Piper, the spunky heroine of
Meredith Schorr’s new sensational book, How Do You Know?, realizes that number for her is thirty-nine and she begins to worry that she has
missed out on something bigger and better. As the thought of "is she settling" looms, she makes a brazen decision that backfires when she requests a temporary break from her live-in boyfriend, Doug. Doug takes it one step further and makes it permanent, leaving Maggie alone and forced to reevaluate her life and her choices. As she finds the grass is
definitely not greener, she starts to sort through life’s
true meanings and not going by the society view of where a woman should
be at a certain age.
It is no secret that Meredith Schorr is one of my absolute favorite authors. She brings strong characters with every book she puts out. This is no different. Maggie Piper is smart, witty, and just the right amount of flawed in action and thinking,that you feel that you can identify with her. The supporting cast of characters are just as fun, with a strong message of ‘girl power’ in Maggie and her girlfriends, a family that is both dysfunctional and loving, and a couple of love interests that make you both melt in the “aww” moment and want to throw something at them.There is no doubt that this is going to be another big success for Meredith and you will not regret reading this lovely book.
That number for me, by the way, is 41. Everything that I had promised myself would happen by 40 had not completely happened and as 41 started to loom closer and closer, I got a little crazy. But in the end, age is nothing but a number.
