If You Were Here

If You Were Here is Jen Lancaster's first attempt at fiction. I have previously read all of her memoirs and blogged about the majority of them too. These include Bitter is the New Black, Such a Pretty Fat, etc. and so on. I think there are 5 in total. Because I am a fan of her quick-witted tongue and she can usually get a laugh out of me, I picked up If You Were Here expecting the same results.

Mia, an author in Chicago, and her husband Mac have decided it is time to purchase their very first home. After years of renting, they have finally become fed up with the state of their current neighborhood and their landlord. Mia has an unhealthy obsession with John Hughes movies, a theme that carries throughout the book. When she realizes the house used as Jake Ryan's home in Sixteen Candles is on the market, she must have it....no matter what condition it's in. The rest of the story centers around the trials and tribulations of home improvement, and rebuilding. Mia and Mac's relationship is tested as their battle of wills come to a boil. Helping them through their journey is crazy cast of characters including a foreign grandma, shady contractors, overbearing friends, and the grave of John Hughes, which Mia visits regularly.

I wanted to like this really badly. As I said, Lancaster's memoirs always entertained me. As I was reading, I tried to decide if I would have liked Wish You Were Here more had I never read those memoirs. Mia was only a slightly veiled fictional version of Jen herself. It had some funny moments but I almost gave up a few times. The only reason I didn't was because I wanted to be able to write about it here and didn't think it fair to do so if I hadn't stuck it out for the entire book. You can skip this one. Sticker to her memoirs instead.

Rating: * 1/2