Book Review: This is How It happened

This is How It Happened by Jo Barrett

The book's title poses the theme. This IS how it all happened, although we are not certain at first what "it" is supposed to be until the twist of plot in the final chapters.

In the meantime, the reader assumes that when Madeline Piatro spits out the vow, "I'm gonna kill him!" she is just ticked off at her ex-fiance for dumping her.

Alternate chapters offer flashbacks of her experience from Day 1: Girl Meets Boy. By the time we realize the situation is much more complex than Boy Dumps Girl, we share empathy with her cause, laugh at the efforts of her friends to cheer her up, and finally cheer her on as she devises a clever plan of retribution that involves hiring a "hit man" for the dirty work.

The book wasn't what I had expected. I had expected it to be funny and it was downright hilarious in many places. But I was wrong in thinking this was just another piece of chick lit with a shallow plot and even more shallow characterization. The events drew me in to Madeline's circumstances and anguish in such a way that I eventually felt outraged with her when her life's dream was ripped away from her.

I felt with her the injustice she faced and equally admired her chutzpah when she masterminded a plot that brought about resolution in an unexpected but satisfactory way.

I won't give away more than that because I sincerely believe you will enjoy reading this book.

My only warning is about the obligatory language sprinkled throughout the book. It does not use these terms in a grossly crude manner, and sex is only a topic not the focus in the story. As the author points out on the front cover, this is not a love story. It is not a romance, a mystery or a thriller. It is a story which develops a character to maturity through the angst of love lost. If you must catalog it, call it revenge fiction.

This is How It Happened
Jo Barrett, author
A Avon: An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers: 2008

US $13.94 Canada $16.50

ISBN 978-0-06-124110-9

Cover design by Laura Klynstra

294 pages soft cover book