Simply Op

Have you ever started a book and then not finished it? This book fell into that category for me. I was initially hooked by the first chapter- a narrative of an elderly grandfather embarking on a journey to pass away and his two granddaughters living separate lives. I would have really enjoyed that story. However, the plot line quickly morphed. It was not sequential. I could not follow the character development and/or relationship structures. For that reason, I am keeping this review short and moving on to my next read. 

There were points of truth and a sense of lostness that I resonated with. My favorite quote(s) in the book are included below: 
“Storytelling really does have the power to change lives.” 

“You are an independent girl, Nakia, and you can thrive anywhere, but there’s no need to force yourself into an untethered life,” she’d said. “You have people, you have family. You can come home and accomplish what you want to accomplish.” 

“But this was LA, where running into someone you knew was never as likely as it seemed, the city too large and true spontaneity curtailed by cars…” 

“Heartbreak finds people at every income level.”

“She wants to tell him that sometimes sunshine can be cruel. That cloudy days are a reprieve, and that the problem with LA, and maybe even the whole Southwest, is that inevitably the light breaks through, makes the day the same as all others, even when it has no right to such uniformity. Some days feel dark and the sky should allow for this, but it rarely does out there… I love LA but I don’t like it very much, she wants to say.” 

I have shared similar sentiments. Despite “living the dream,” I have experienced hurt. Despite loving CA, I also find that sometimes I hate it. I relate to the concept of being “untethered” because I have been away from home for so long, it no longer feels like I am rooted anywhere.