Review: The Gap Year – Sarah Bird

From the widely praised author of The Yokota Officers Club and The Flamenco Academy, a novel as hilarious as it is heartbreaking about a single mom and her seventeen-year-old daughter learning how to let go in that precarious moment before college empties the nest.

In The Gap Year, told with perfect pitch from both points of view, we meet Cam Lightsey, lactation consultant extraordinaire, a divorcée still secretly carrying a torch for the ex who dumped her, a suburban misfit who’s given up her rebel dreams so her only child can get a good education.

We also learn the secrets of Aubrey Lightsey, tired of being the dutiful, grade-grubbing band geek, ready to explode from wanting her “real” life to begin, trying to figure out love with boys weaned on Internet porn.

When Aubrey meets Tyler Moldenhauer, football idol–sex god with a dangerous past, the fuse is lit. Late-bloomer Aubrey metastasizes into Cam’s worst silent, sullen teen nightmare, a girl with zero interest in college. Worse, on the sly Aubrey’s in touch with her father, who left when she was two to join a celebrity-ridden nutball cult.

As the novel unfolds—with humor, edge-of-your-seat suspense, and penetrating insights about love in the twenty-first century—the dreams of daughter, mother, and father chart an inevitable, but perhaps not fatal, collision . . .

Series:
Release Date: July 17, 2012
Publisher: Gallery Books
Source: Provided by Publisher
Reviewer: Joelle
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

I had a hard time getting through this book. It was well-written, but I think it hit too close to home for me in some aspects. I could really identify with Cam in the fact that she feels out of touch with her teenage daughter. She has the same concerns and worries that I think we all have for our kids. In those respects, this story made me uncomfortable–only because I am feeling many of the same emotions regarding my own daughter. It didn’t help matters that the story’s most significant events took place on my daughter’s and my birthdays! (Bird dated the pages of the novel told on a sort of timeline with flashbacks.)

I did enjoy that the story was told from both perspectives–Cam’s (mom) and Aubrey (daughter). Readers will have some insight as the story progresses, but Bird doesn’t give much away until the end. You will be in suspense until the last page! Bird also does a good job at tapping into all of our parenting insecurities. Poor Cam is constantly second guessing every decision she has every made and how they now affect her daughter’s life. I could totally relate to Cam in that aspect too! I also appreciated Cam’s sense of humor. There were definitely some laugh out loud moments to make up for the pages I struggled with! Good balance, Sarah Bird!

While I struggled with this book at times, I did enjoy it overall. I could relate to the characters and I think I can take a lot away from the story from Aubrey’s perspective. I need to remember that teenager’s point of view when dealing with my own daughter. I would definitely recommend this book–especially for those of you who have been blessed with teenaged daughters! Happy reading!