Where'd You Go, Bernadette
Sitting front and center in the library, this book was calling to me. The cover with its crisp lines and that graphic face, the high reviews that it received and the twisted synopsis; I just had to give it a go. Perhaps I am a more traditional reader, a person who likes a character that they can relate to or even connect to, but I knew as I got into the first fifty pages of this book it wasn’t what hoped it would be. I thought that the book was too whiny, too jumbled, and then when I finished, I wondered what the real purpose was. Some readers thought the book was funny and I see how parts of it were but it seemed to be at the expense of someone else. Perhaps it was the mood I was in when I reading this book but I didn’t think it was funny. As far as the characters went, I can’t say I liked any of them which is out of character for me as I usually find someone to cheer for. The story is mainly told through a series of emails and notes which follows the family of Bee, Bernadette, and Elgin. Bee’s graduation present is a family trip to Antarctica which sends Bernadette off on a tangent. Add this stress to the issues with the neighbors and her recent award and she is just over her head. Bee’s been accepted into a boarding school and dad seems to be busy with his new job at Microsoft so everyone is moving in different directions. It’s surprising how much you don’t know about your own family and this family is in for a huge awakening. So many times, I wanted to put this book down but I thought perhaps I would find meaning or it would finally click for me. For other readers it did click and for you it might too.
