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    Why Can't I Be You
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    Why Can't I Be You
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    Why Can't I Be You
    Audiobook8 hours

    Why Can't I Be You

    Written by Allie Larkin

    Narrated by Julia Whelan

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    At one time or another, everyone has wished they could be someone else. Exploring this universal longing, Allie Larkin follows up the success of her debut novel, Stay, with a moving portrait of friendship and identity.

    When Jenny Shaw hears someone shout "Jessie!" across a hotel lobby, she impulsively answers. All her life, Jenny has toed the line, but something propels her to seize the opportunity to become Jessie Morgan, a woman to whom she bears an uncanny resemblance. Lonely in her own life, Jenny is embraced by Jessie's warm circle of friends-and finds unexpected romance. But when she delves into Jessie's past, Jenny discovers a secret that spurs her to take another leap into the unknown.

    "Brilliant…. It's not until we've let go of who we think we should be that we can discover who we actually are." -Amy Hatvany, author of Outside the Lines

    "Allie Larkin's latest explores an intriguing question: What if you could shed your own life, and step into someone else's? Why Can't I Be You is a thoughtful and compulsively readable examination of identity, friendship, and trust-and what happens when all three spectacularly collide." -Sarah Pekkanen, author of These Girls

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateSep 1, 2013
    ISBN9781469287379
    Unavailable
    Why Can't I Be You
    Author

    Allie Larkin

    Allie Larkin is the internationally bestselling author of the novels, Stay and Why Can’t I Be You. Her short fiction has been published in the Summerset Review and Slice, and nonfiction in the anthologies, I’m Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship and Author in Progress. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, with her husband, Jeremy, and their fearful, faithful German Shepherd, Stella.

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    Reviews for Why Can't I Be You

    4/5

    76 ratings10 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Actually a kind of fun book in a "while you were sleeping" way. Girl shows up for a boring conference in a hotel, only to be mistaken for someone there for a high school reunion. Since she had never had real friends in High School due to a drunk mother, she falls into a charade of pretending that leads to love which leads to being outed in a terrible way which leads back to a different job and love again. Will read more by this author.
    • 4/5
      While racing to catch her plane to Seattle for a PR conference, Jenny's boyfriend (unexpectedly, at least to her) dumps her at the airport. In his haste to leave the awkward moment,he also takes her suitcase with him. On a plane to a place she has never been, Jenny is shocked, lost, and without a true friend. After checking into her hotel, a woman she has never met grabs her in a hug, mistaking her for Jessie, her long lost best friend from high school. WIth the high school reunion taking place in her hotel, Jenny soon finds that everyone mistakes her for Jessie, a very popular classmate with several very close friends. As she gets herself deeper in the hole of her own creation, Jenny becomes trapped between her desire to live Jessie's life with it's solid group of loving friends and her need to tell them the truth. I thought this was a fabulous twist on the time-travel/going back in time idea which has been used in other novels to give characters a second chance at the life they never had. If you've been to a class reunion, it is easy to see how this idea is actually very plausible, as classmates change appearances so easily. I thought this was a fun, though somewhat stressful book to read, as you knew how it would eventually end. A fun summer read, guaranteed to bring up some feelings of nostalgia for your old high school buddies.
    • 4/5
      Read for neighborhood book club and it was a 52 Weeks 52 Books 2014.13.

      Fun light read for the end of the year. Will check out the author's other titles.

    • 3/5
      Jenny Shaw has a pretty normal life. She has a job that she is good at with the prospect of a promotion in the air. She has (she’s quite sure) a soon to be fiancé, a business trip to get through and then, a romantic vacation to take. Sometimes, though, things just do not go as smoothly as they are planned. Stepping onto the elevator after checking into her hotel she hears someone call what she thinks is her name. She turns expecting to see someone she knows and is quickly swept into a case of mistaken identity. She could rectify the mistake with a few words, but finds she cannot. She would like to be someone else for a little while and besides who would it hurt?

      This book was fun. The characters were likable. Ms. Larkin manages to convince her reader that a group of seemingly intelligent people could truly convince themselves Jenny was their long-lost friend from high school. Jenny displays just the right amount of guilt and angst about her deception that the reader does not hate her for her deception. That angst is smoothly transferred to the reader. This made it a page-turner despite the fact at in the world of chick-lit, the outcome was a little predictable.
    • 4/5
      I wasn't sure this would live up to how much I enjoyed Larkin's first book, Stay. Once I suspended some disbelief, I was immersed in Jenny Shaw's world, both real and imagined. From the pop culture references to all the friends believable compatibility, I was drawn into the story and wanted to know what happened to everyone.
    • 4/5
      Exactly the read I was looking for to take a break from all the hardcore scholarly journals I've been reading lately. Funny, well-written, heart-warming, and what's more--I actually cared about the main character. My only problem? I wanted to shout at her the entire story. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN...etc, etc. And--you know how the story is going to end. It's cliche in that sense, but if it didn't work out that way, it wouldn't have been the read I was looking for either, so I'm divided in my liking of the ending. While I don't normally read novels such as this, I was definitely glad I gave this one a shot. I was engrossed from the first sentences on, and I just had to find out what was going to happen--EVEN THOUGH I knew what was going to happen, and even though I was so frustrated with the main character. That's what makes a good story, and what's when you know you've caught a great author.
    • 4/5
      What was the point of being a faithful, loyal girlfriend who put all her time and energy into planning for the future and supporting her boyfriend, only to have him run off with some remedial volleyball player? What was the point in living for tomorrow instead of today, of putting faith in people who would only let me down? Really, what was the point of being Jenny Shaw? - from Why Can’t I Be You, page 46 -Jenny Shaw is working at a PR firm in Rochester, NY and planning her future with the handsome Deagan. But when Deagan drops her at the airport for a conference trip to Seattle, he also drops a bombshell: he wants to explore things with another woman. In other words, he dumps Jenny, then drives away with her suitcase still in the trunk of his car. Devastated and without luggage, Jenny arrives at the Seattle hotel for her conference where, coincidentally, a high school reunion is also unfolding. While walking through the lobby, Jenny is mistaken for Jessie Morgan – a woman who looks a lot like Jenny but has disappeared from her hometown and the lives of her friends. Instead of correcting the mistake, the lonely Jenny decides to go with it. As Jessie’s friends pull her into their warm circle, Jenny begins to get a glimpse of what her life might have been like as someone else. But when some of Jessie’s darker secrets are uncovered, Jenny realizes life is not quite so simple.Allie Larkin’s second novel is filled with wonderful characters who remind us of the awkwardness of growing up and the necessity of friendship. Jenny has submerged her real desires and dreams to meet those of others – including her faithless boyfriend and alcoholic mother. When she is thrust into another person’s life, she begins to discover who she really wants to be.Reading Why Can’t I Be You was like stepping into a time machine to the past. I am much older than the character Jenny, yet so much of growing up is the same regardless of one’s age. And this is one of the strengths of Larkin’s writing – she creates characters who share universal experiences and motivations, characters who remind us of who we once were, characters who feel like our own friends.Why Can’t I Be You is a novel about friendship, but it is also a book that explores identity. It asks the central question: If you could step into someone else’s shoes, would you? For Jenny, the answer is yes – at least at first. But ultimately, the real question is: If you could change your life, what would it look like? Allie Larkin celebrates finding our genuine selves despite the pressure to be what others expect.This is a marvelous, funny, poignant novel which readers who love women’s fiction will adore. If you have not yet read Larkin’s work, I invite you to do so. I promise, you won’t regret it.Recommended.
    • 4/5
      Allie Larkin's latest book Why Can't I Be You? has just released and I have to tell you - I absolutely adored it! Jenny Shaw thinks she has a pretty good life. She doesn't love her job, but she thinks she's pretty good at it. And it looks like she's finally getting some recognition - she's being sent to a conference by her boss. Well, okay it's because her boss can't attend. And she's pretty sure her relationship with her boyfriend Deagan is about to go to that next level.....And it does, only it's not the level Jenny had envisioned. Deagan drops her off at the airport.....and drops her altogether, saying he needs to explore his feelings for another woman. Stunned, Jenny stumbles on the plane and heads to the conference. When she arrives at the conference centre, she thinks she hears someone calling her name....but they're saying Jessie. The woman is so glad to see 'Jessie' - she had no idea that she'd be attending the school reunion! And with that hug, our Jenny steps into someone else's past. It's been a number of years and they really do resemble each other - enough so that the group of friends from Jessie's past welcome her back into their circle. And though she knows she should come clean...."For a little while, I wanted to forget me."For this group of friends is warm and loving and fun - everything that Jessie realizes has been missing from her life. And with every day that goes by, it gets that much harder to admit the truth. Jenny was such a great character - she was the kind of person you'd like to really have as a friend. Larkin does a great job taking us on Jenny's journey to discover what she really wants and needs from her life. I laughed out loud, I empathized and I crossed my fingers, hoping for the best for Jenny. And for the rest of the cast as well. Larkin has also created a great group of supporting players, just as likable as Jenny.(And one is named Luanne!) I found myself often stopping to think about my own friends from high school as I turned pages. Yes, Why Can't I Be You definitely has chic lit elements, but it's much more than that. Larkin explores relationships - family, friends, co-workers and romantic all with a keen eye."Nothing is as it seems, and then you get older and get to decide if you want to go back and see everything the way it really is or if you just want to move on."Does she get found out? You'll have to pick up the book to find out. . I can totally see this book being made into a movie!
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. My first thought when I finished it was (1) I want book 2 and (2) I want this to be a movie or T.V. show. I instantly loved Jenny. Down on her luck and looking for a change she accidentally on purpose hops into the identity of "Jessie" and things quickly become complicated and fun! I had some stressful moments along side Jenny when she was negotiating herself in Jessie's life. With tenderness, humor, great characters and an unbelievably great story Why Can't I Be You has become a new favorite. Who doesn't love to laugh, be moved and escape into a story with characters you would love to know outside of the book. Plus the book's title comes from one of my all time favorite songs by one of my all time favorite bands the Cure!!! Larkin knows people and captured beautifully what is to feel like an outsiders and what it finally feels like when you fit! This is a hit all around and I rate it 5 stars!
    • 3/5
      Why Can’t I Be You by Allie Larkin was a pleasant enough book, especially for a genre I am not at all fond of, which is actually an awkward way of praising the author. It is a quick read, with some rather delightful characters and was perfect to tote around with me to read while I waited in doctor’s waiting rooms. Why Can’t I Be you is a lighter read, but not fluffy and is a great way to pass time and enjoy oneself while waiting.