If You Were Here
Jen Lancaster

NAL / PENGUIN
March 2012 / ISBN: 978-0-451-23668-5
Fiction/Humor
Amazon

Reviewed by Laura Hinds

Jen Lancaster is a New York Time Bestselling Author of several non-fiction books about her life. She's a very funny woman with a unique writing style that appeals to both men and women. "If You Were Here" is her foray into the world of fiction.

The novel tells the story of Mia and Mac and their struggles with buying a dream house in the suburbs. They want to get away from gang members in the city and a neighborhood that has become a nightmare to live in. Finding a house isn't the easiest thing to do, but they do finally find a fixer-upper. Once the house is theirs, their ongoing problems seem to multiply like ants at a picnic, and the result is a hilarious story.

I wouldn't label this as "chick-lit" as others might because I think the book will amuse anyone who has had to deal with a move to a house that requires more money and energy than they imagined. Perhaps the term "modern day muddle" would be appropriate for the genre since it contains house repairs, marriage, relationships and humor all mixed.

As I said above, the story is hilarious, and if you haven't read Lancaster's memoirs, you will enjoy every page. However, for long time fans of Lancaster's previous works, or if you follow her blog or Facebook accounts, you may find yourself scratching your head at this being "non-fiction." While there certainly elements of it that are non-fiction, such as new characters, new situations and some over-the-top events, it seemed to me that it was thinly veiled stories from her real life. People, places, and pets were only slightly changed. Their names perhaps have one letter different from those in her life. To give her credit, however, Lancaster does provide an author's note at the beginning of the book acknowledging that the story was inspired "by our adventures in suburban real estate." She continues, "We did not purchase the house in this book. We moved elsewhere. This didn't occur. (Yet.)"

I still love Lancaster's writing style and do highly recommend the book as it is well worth the read. Yet a bit of me is disappointed because I'd rather have read this story as a memoir. Ah, but I did that, in her blog. Most of it. (So far.)