Lenny’s a bit of a mess at the moment. Her best friend, Lou, recently passed away after a battle with cancer, and her death has left Lenny feeling completely lost. She’s avoiding her concerned parents, the apartment she shared with Lou, and the list of things she’s supposed to do to help her live again. The only thing she can do is temporary babysitting gigs, and luckily, she just landed a great one, helping overworked, single mom Reese and her precocious daughter, Ainsley. It’s not perfect: Ainsley’s uncle, Miles, always seems to be around, and is kind of... a huge jerk. But if Lenny acts like she has it all together, maybe no one will notice she’s falling apart.
Miles sees right through her though. Turns out, he knows a lot about grief and, surprisingly, he offers her a proposition. He’ll help her complete everything on her “live again” list if she’ll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the Lou has left behind, but she begins to spend more time with Miles, Lenny is surprised to discover that, sometimes, losing everything is only the first step to finding yourself, and love, again. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)
Grief comes in all shapes and sizes, which was explained and highlighted well within Promise Me Sunshine. Lenny’s experience is the more obvious example, given she’s just lost her best friend Lou–the person she felt knew her better than anyone; her soul mate. The other characters that Lenny interacts with are also dealing with various forms of grief, all for different reasons, and it worked well with Lenny’s backstory and the means in which she’s trying to move on and fulfill the promises she’s made to Lou. In so many ways she tries to assist Miles, Ainsley, and Reese, without realizing just how much they’re helping her to live.
The road isn’t easy, though. I thought the portrayal of grief was realistic and honest. When Lenny avoids the places she’d frequent with Lou, I understood that feeling. When she has something to share and wants to tell the person closest to her, I felt the pain Lenny feels in not being able to share with Lou. It was definitely relatable. Although Lenny and Miles initially get off on the wrong foot, he has a lot of knowledge in the grief department and imparts his wisdom while giving her the space she needs to find herself again, no matter how long it might take or where that might lead her.
I thought it was interesting that there’s a point where Lenny is in a place where she feels she can really open up to Miles and potentially develop a romantic relationship with him, but Miles takes a step back and won’t allow it–not yet, anyway. He doesn’t think she’s ready to take that step, and I’m still trying to unpack that. I’m not sure if it was a way to continue with the slow burn of the relationship–friends turned lovers–or if it was a means where we see that Miles has a lot of restraint and can wait until there’s proof that Lenny is truly ready for a relationship with him. I guess maybe I felt ready before he did, as the reader.
The writing style was consistently witty and sharp, with great dialogue that didn’t sugarcoat or make anything overly flowery or perfect. Working through grief is never easy or perfect, and I felt Lenny’s journey reflected that well. I really enjoyed the experience and message within Promise Me Sunshine–that it’s okay to grieve. And it’s okay to live and love again.
Thanks to Penguin Random House for the book in exchange for an honest review.
Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.
Listen to this book on Speechify!
No comments:
Post a Comment