If You Were Here
A Novel
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3.8 • 138 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Watch a video The fiction debut of the New York Times bestselling author of My Fair Lazy.
Told in the uproariously entertaining voice readers have come to expect from Jen Lancaster, If You Were Here follows Amish-zombie-teen- romance author Mia and her husband Mac (and their pets) through the alternately frustrating, exciting, terrifying-but always funny-process of buying and renovating their first home in the Chicago suburbs that John hughes's movies made famous. Along their harrowing renovation journey, Mia and Mac get caught up in various wars with the homeowners' association, meet some less-than-friendly neighbors, and are joined by a hilarious cast of supporting characters, including a celebutard ex- landlady. As they struggle to adapt to their new surroundings- with Mac taking on the renovations himself- Mia and Mac will discover if their marriage is strong enough to survive months of DIY renovations.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
House-proud? For Mia and Mac, it's more like house-crazed after they're forced into a hunt for a better, safer, and more perfect home by a crazed landlady and a firebombing graffiti moron. So begins the laugh-out-loud travails of this smart if hapless Chicago couple she a writer of John Hughes inspired teenage angst set among the Amish, and he, an impossibly forgiving partner. Lancaster keeps the action fast and funny with a big, rollicking cast Mia's grandma Babcia, who runs a Polish cleaning lady syndicate; best friends Tracey and Kara, who share Mia's adoration of all things John Hughes; neighbors from hell; and, of course, Hughes himself, who, when not cited, is spoken to by Mia as she struggles through home renovation, career maintenance, and regular ol' relationship stuff. It helps to know the oeuvre of the prolific Breakfast Club genius, but it's innocence that Lancaster is mostly concerned about in this rambunctiously related (it's footnoted) yarn about finding a home and making it your own.
Customer Reviews
Good
Good but not awesome
Great book
This was a wonderful book. Being a child of the 80's and an hgtv addict, there were so many different levels that I could relate to the characters. I also enjoyed that the general writing style of Ms. Lancaster was consistent with her other books.
If You Were Here
Love Jen Lancaster, but I prefer her books where she is the main character. I found myself skimming in this book. Not quite as funny as the others I have read.