I tore through Where’d Ya Go, Bernadette, book number 2 of my 52 books in 52 weeks challenge, in about 4 days.
Again, this is usually a good thing, as sometimes a book can take a couple of weeks for me to read depending on what’s going on in my life and how interesting the story actually is. This book was just…SO GOOD.
Where’d Ya Go, Bernadette is a story told through letters, e-mail correspondence, conversation transcripts, and the narration of one Balakrishna (better known as “Bee”) Branch, a 15 year old using everything she can get her hands on to solve the strange disappearance of her mother, Bernadette Fox. Calling Bernadette quirky would be putting it lightly. She is utterly antisocial (she refuses to deal with the “gnats” who send their children to the same school as Bee, rarely leaves the house and relies on a virtual assistant through an Indian outsourcing website to do pretty much everything for her), an insomniac who goes days upon days without showering, and loathing every inch and aspect of Seattle, Washington, where her family lives (her husband, Bee’s father, works for Microsoft, one of the reasons they moved up there). Through the emails and letters, we get a glimpse into the downward spiral her life has suddenly taken, all thanks to a looming cruise to Antarctica that Bee has requested after receiving perfect grades.
I don’t want to share much else about the book, but it just covers a whole mess of lovely topics. It’s a truly funny book, and I love the way it was written, with the toss-ups between correspondence and narration of how Bee saw things. Bernadette clearly suffers from some mental issues, and I like the way Semple handled it. Then, of course, the book contains the main mystery of wondering what happened to Bernadette.
I am so happy I read this book, my friend got it for me for Christmas so props to him, and I would recommend it to any and everyone!
Top that, 50 other books I’m going to read this year! (I hope so…)
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