Bee idolizes her mother, Bernadette. She's a creative, free-spirited woman with strong opinions about nearly everything - fellow mothers at Bee's school (gnats), traffic patterns in Seattle (idiotic), the Microsoft facility where he husband works (the compound). She's generally so aggravated by the world around her that she prefers to keep to herself, even hiring a remote assistant in India to handle her personal affairs. But she's Bee's best friend and greatest champion, so when Bee accomplishes a major goal and claims her reward (a trip to Antarctica), Bernadette agrees and begins planning in earnest despite all of her [totally hilarious] reservations about going so far with so many other people. As the plans, and Bernadette's life around them, become more and more complicated, the entire trip lies in peril. Will Bernadette follow through with the trip? Will their lives unravel before they can leave? What humorous antics will Bernadette get up to next?
Why It's Worth Reading:
Where'd You Go, Bernadette is the funniest book I've read in a long time! As a reader, I will try anything and I've read my share of serious, strange, and macabre. So it's a perfectly delightful change of pace to read a book that both has meaning and wisdom to impart, yet does so with such honest humor. It's not a book that is funny for the sake of funny. You laugh because you can relate - you've found yourself in a similarly awkward, odd, or ridiculous situation and Bernadette's sarcastic take on it makes it hilarious in retrospect. Despite Bernadette and her action being the star of the show, my highly insightful & intelligent book club (with whom I read this novel) all agreed that Bee's voice was our favorite. Her honest, childlike responses to her mother's actions provide nearly as much humor with an increased level of truth. If all of this isn't enough to make you run out and grab this book, add in that it's a quick read. The modified epistolary style (a collection of emails, notes, etc. gathered by Bee as evidence of her mother's experiences) makes for an engaging, exciting, "just one more chapter" read.
Book Details:
ISBN: 9780316204262
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Publication Date: April 2, 2013
Source: Library
Awards: Alex Award 2013
Do We Own a Copy?: on order for Fall 2015