The copy on which my review is based is a German copy published in March 2013, called "Wie Tyler Wilkie mein Leben auf den Kopf stellt und was ich dagegen tun werde" ("How Tyler Wilkie turns my life upside down and what I will do about it").
To someone on the outside, Grace Barnum seems to have it all: a dreamjob that pays well, a loving, steady boyfriend with an intention to marry, parents that love her and friends that care.
But when Grace meets Tyler Wilkie, the young and charming musician that walks her neighbor's dogs, her world comes crashing down and Grace realizes that a lot of the things she does in life aren't to make herself happy, but to please
-amongst others- her mother. She starts questionning her decisions and choices, her lifestyle and the way she has had her future all mapped out.
Grace is responsible.
Tyler Wilkie is anything but that.
And he is about to turn her world upside down.
Grace changes her ways, and finally stops putting what she really wants last. She quits the job she has been unhappy with, and pursuis a less-paying, but more satisfying occupation. She second-guesses her relationship with her boyfriend/fiancé and makes decisions that won't please everyone around her. But Grace isn't the only one that changes - Tyler's life, too, takes a turn when he gets the chance to sign with a label and is suddenly in the spotlight.
The reader gets to follow the story from Grace's point of view, learns about her life, Tyler's life - their lives togehter, as well as apart.
Opposites attract, they say, and the story of Tyler and Grace makes it obvious that they also compliment and complete one another. Sometimes, the unknown is all we need to find ourselves - and while Grace might say that Tyler has turned her life upside down... I'd say he just shook it up enough to make things fall into all the right places.
Several things about this book caught my interest when I first picked it up from a store back in April last year:
1. I was in Hamburg, Germany, for school and was on a really low budget, so I searched their "damaged goods basket" - due to little holes in the backcover and the last couple of pages, I got this book for only 2,50€. At the original price of 9,99€, I would have most probably walked past it and on to the "English books" section, as I am no fan of translated books - SO much gets lost in translation, I'd rather read a book in the language it was originally written and published in.
2. The blurb immediately caught my attention, starting with "Stell dir vor, jemand schreibt den Soundtrack deines Lebens. Jemand, der dich liebt." ("Imagine someone who loved you wrote the soundtrack to your life."). It right away made it sound like a super cute story.
3. In addition to #2, the book has a QR-Code on its back which is supposed to enable you to listen to the songs that one of the protagonists, Tyler, writes for Grace. Being a lover of both books and music, as well as a huge fan of Colleen Hoover's "Maybe Someday" that comes with its own soundtrack provided by Griffin Peterson, I thought I might have found a book similar to it...
4. It had a sparkly "Must Read!" staff-recommendation sticker on the cover. I mean... come on, how bad can a book be if recommended by the store?
5. It came with two playlists - one sporting songs by musician Lee Morgan, "aka Tyler", as well as one that lists songs important to Grace and Tyler, songs mentioned at one point or another as the story unfolds.
The Aftermath:
1. It took me a almost nine months to get through this book. Granted, it's 512 pages, but it wasn't because I am a slow reader - on the contrary, it just took me an eternity to get hooked. Hooked-ish, even. I had already read about half of the book by the time I finally got to a point where I wanted to read on... and then, towards the end, I again started to loose interest. Talk about a story's climax (no pun intended).
2. Was the story cute? - Yes. No. I mean... yes. Yes, it was. Somewhat. And at points even a lot. But... not the kind of cute that makes me think Oh God, I shouldn't be reading this in public - I think I'm gonna cry! or Awwwww - please, please, pleeeease don't let this story end! ... mhno, this book and I, we just didn't hit it off enough to have that kind of relationship. At the same time though, I have to say that the book did have its very funny moments - so it would definitely get more points for humor than cuteness!
3. The QR-Code on the back of my book lead me to the publisher's website (Fischer Verlag). I did find links to listen to two of the songs on there - but those links were broken. The only alternative offered was buying the songs on itunes; I wish there had been a direct option (via the QR code or a listed URL - an easy, lazy way for the reader, if you want to put it that way) to listen to the songs online, without having to buy them if one wants the "full book and music experience". You can, however, search for the songs on YouTube and listen to (most of) them there, as Lee Morgan has shared them on his channel. Thank you Lee Morgan! Another big thank you to the author herself, who has also shared the songs on her website. The QR-Code not working really is the publisher's fault, but as I said - it would have been a nice and lazy way to listen to the songs (-;
[And yes, I hang my head in shame - my love for Colleen Hoover might have given me unrealistically high expectations regarding the whole concept, but... but... big sigh. It would have been nice, had it been closer to what I had expected - but believe me when I say that the rest of my review is nothing but my opinion on this book, disregarding my CoHo-induced at-first-sight interest in it.]
4. We all like different things - and that's good! If we all liked all the same things, the world would be one boring place to be. One can't judge a recommendation - someone else's taste - but one can't judge a book by a stranger's sparkly sticker either! (;
5. As I said before, it would have been nice to have easy access to all of Ty's songs while reading the book, as I do believe that that would have made it easier to fully feel the story. It simply would have set the mood a little differently. Grace's and Ty's Playlist is to remain unjudged - but I really did like that the author included the list in the end of the book. It's definitely a plus for anyone who likes music.
Altogether, I would like to give this book a 3.5/5, and am - despite of my mixed feelings regaring the book - looking forward to reading more from Sumners in the future. I might also go and pick up an English copy at some point, because parts of the book really did make me wonder just how much had gotten lost in translation... maybe I would have found some of the chemistry I missed had I actually read the "original" version.
Find the German version that I read here on amazon.
Find the English version here on amazon.
Visit Shelle Sumners on facebook and/or her website.
Visit Lee Morgan on youtube to listen to some of Tyler Wilkie's songs.
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