15 August 2016

Do You Remember the First Time? by Jenny Colgan

Do You Remember the First Time? by Jenny Colgan
Series: No
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: April 11th 2013
Source: Bought



Life doesn’t have a rewind button. Ever wished it did?

As her best friend Tashy cuts into her wedding cake, 32-year-old Flora realises she is disillusioned with life. Suddenly, her well-paid job, cosy flat and stable relationship with sensible Olly don't amount to a whole lot. Flora wants to be 16 again. She closes her eyes and wishes. Her wish has come true.

Waking up the next morning is a shock. But now Flora has the chance to right some wrongs. Trading crows feet for pimples, love handles for a torso Britney Spears would kill for and dull dinner parties for house parties where White Lightning and snogging are the order of the day, Flora revels in a life where things are far less complicated and just much more… FUN.

It's not all laughs though. Will what she does change the future? How can she get back to the present and her ordinary life? And does she even want to?

Do You Remember the First Time? was an 'on a whim' purchase because it was on offer for kindle. The storyline sounded extremely intriguing and unusual, so I just had to get it. And it turned out to be a pretty enjoyable read!

Flora is beginning to realise she is unhappy with her life. Her job and her relationship with Olly aren't making sense to her any more. So,, when her best friend Tashy cuts her wedding cake, Flora closes her eyes and wishes she was sixteen again. The next morning, Flora wakes up and she's sixteen again! But, it's only her, her mother and her father that have changed ages. Everyone else in Flora's life stay the same, and Flora has jumped back a month before Tashy's wedding. Flora has a second chance to change her life, but what does she want to do? And will Flora get back to the present, or will she be stuck to live her life from sixteen again?


I wouldn't exactly call Flora a likeable main character, but she was definitely interesting. She was unhappy and just going along with the way her life had turned out, but then she magically got a second chance at being sixteen. Sixteen year old Flora could be extremely selfish at times, but she also had her selfless moments that started to make me like her. She was funny, and it was extremely interesting seeing a 32 year old in a 16 year old body.

The story line was easy to follow and it basically gave Flora the opportunity to think about her future and decide whether she wants to keep it the way it is, or whether she's going to use this chance to change her future. Does she really love her job? Is Olly the right guy for her? Flora has a lot of decisions to make about her own life. She also takes the chance to try and rebuild the relationship between her mother and father, and she tries to see whether she can fix them. 

The ending of the book wrapped up nicely and ended exactly how I would have expected it to. It was a fun and interesting read, and I really enjoyed it.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like a decent chic-lit. Glad the impulse purchase worked in your favour.
    The amount of times I've wished to go back in time and change a decision, see where it gets me instead, happens far too much. Although I would literally want to go back in time.

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