I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

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Seventeen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She's really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That's the only way to explain her cold, manipulative mother, distant stepfather, and good-for-nothing brother; Bronwen must have been switched at birth, and she can't wait to get back to her real family.Then she meets Jared. He's sweet, funny, everything she wants-and he has the family Bronwen has always wanted too. When he proposes four months after they meet, she says yes. But as the wedding day approaches, Bronwen begins to wonder if Jared is truly what she needs. And if he's not, she has to ask: What would Phoebe Lillywhite do?
from borders.com

Beth says 3.5 Stars...

This book was rather divisive for me. There were some things that I really liked about it, and other things I simply didn't. I think that McCahan has a good deal of talent as far as pure prose is concerned. The town felt delightfully realistic, not contrived at all. An issue that I often have with realistic fiction is that some authors try to be too real and end up completely missing the mark. The setting of this book felt true to life, impressive for a first showing. The pacing was also well done with the book keeping a constant tempo throughout. The plot begins where I had my issues, however well paced it was. The crux of the book is that Bronwen ends up defining herself by her relationship. I shall not get on my special soapbox *again*, but it's something that really bothers me.

That brings me to Bronwen. I REALLY didn't like her. I found her to be weak and lacking in a fully formed identity. While some girls may relate to her issues and faults, I didn't and instead found them to be irritating. I will say that her voice was very fully formed and distinctive, with her character well drawn as well. However, none of this made me like her. That was my fundamental issue with the book. It would have been very good if I'd actually found the main character tolerable, but, alas, that was not the case. I found Jared to be rather blah; a nice guy, but lacking the smolder needed to carry the role of leading man.

Again, I'm very divided when it comes to this book. It's obvious that McCahan has talent, but I intensely disliked the main character, whose point of view the story is told from. Additionally, I was not a fan of the ending, but I shan't say more to spoil it. This will hit the spot perfectly for those who love romances and stories of girls struggling to find themselves.
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