I Liked My Life

It’s been two weeks since Maddy jumped off the roof of the Wellesley College library, leaving behind a husband, Brady, and a teenage daughter, Eve. Narrating from beyond the grave, Maddy continues to watch over (and exert influence on) her family in the hope that she can help them move past their grief. She’s even picked out a new wife for Brady: Rory, an elementary school teacher who survived a terrible tragedy of her own. Although Rory does indeed strike up a connection with both Eve and Brady in the months that follow, father and daughter will have to find their own paths and reconnect with each other in order to move forward. Brady delves into a family secret from his own past; Eve copes with her emotions through peeks at her mother’s diary and becomes inspired to find a voice of her own. As Fabiaschi employs ever more convoluted narrative machinations to hide a big twist at the end, the story loses the emotional impact it needs to maintain a connection with the reader. As such, it’s hard to grieve along with Eve and Brady, and the disparate plot elements don’t fully come together. (Jan.)