NEW RELEASE
You Take It From Here - Pamela Ribon (2012)
On their annual girls' vacation, Danielle learns best friend Smidge's lung cancer is back and this time, it's terminal. Smidge, ever the bossy one, proceeds to outline for Danielle how things are going to go, including her plan to have Danielle move into her house, marry her husband and raise her daughter after she's gone, keeping all of this a secret from Smidge's family, of course. Danielle is torn between granting her best friend's dying wish and being true to herself and the life she left Louisiana to live. When those closest to them begin to suspect something is up, Danielle decides it's time to finally take charge of the situation before it's too late. I found the premise of the book intriguing. How far would one go for a dying friend? However, even with several witty exchanges between Smidge, Danielle and those around them, I felt the story went on far too long without any significant plot until the very end of the book. I found Smidge to be an unlikeable character, even with everything she was going through, and hoped that by the end of the book, she would have redeemed herself with me. That was not the case. (LEK)
You Take It From Here, by Pamela Ribon, is about two friends dealing with a terminal illness. The summary says: "Practical, patient Danielle Meyers escaped her small Southern hometown as quickly as possible, landing herself in sunny Los Angeles as a successful homemaking consultant and recent divorcee. Her bossy, loud, impulsive best friend Smidge stayed behind in Ogden, Louisiana, and has succeeded quite soundly - wife, mother, karaoke superstar, social butterfly, and survivor of cancer. But when Smidge and Danielle reunite for their annual girls' vacation, Smidge reveals that the cancer is back and terminal, and Danielle vows to do anything to make the last bit of Smidge's life easier. And Smidge has just one favour that she wants to ask: She needs Danielle to move back to Ogden and take over Smidge's family after she dies, marrying Henry, and raising Jenny. When the friend you love 'the mostest' wants you to make her last wish come true, how do you say no?" You Take It From Here is out in July. This is the fourth novel from Ribon, a TV writer.