2 out of 4 stars
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In Julia Wilmot's Where is Emma Butler's Life Plan?, souls create a list of things they wish to accomplish before they are reborn in the human world. However, as soon as they are born they forget all about this list and need the help of guardian angels to accomplish their goals before their recall date. As the title implies, Emma Butler's plan has somehow slipped through the cracks in the system, and now she has to complete a number of major tasks, such as losing her job, falling in love, finding a new job, and being heartbroken, all within a ridiculously short amount of time. Angels hustle behind the scenes and sometimes stretch the definition of "free will" as they hurry to help Emma experience a full lifetime's worth of happiness and sorrow in just a few short days.
This book caught my attention as I had just finished reviewing a book that suggested a similar concept: souls deciding a "life plan" for themselves before being reborn on Earth. I was intrigued by the idea in the previous book and thought this would be a perfect way to see the concept in action, with the addition of a heavenly host to keep things rolling. More importantly, I knew it would be a short and comedic read, perfect for brightening my mood after a stressful day at work.
I was definitely right about it being comedic. Maybe not laugh-out-loud funny, but I found myself smiling throughout. Some of the supporting characters, such as the minor angels and Emma's friends, were my favorite characters. Something about Where is Emma Butler's Life Plan? made me feel like it could easily be turned into a movie without losing any of its charm. Parts of it were Hallmark-esque, very cheesy and predictable but also must-haves in the romantic comedy genre. There were a few little twists and turns within the plot that kept things exciting.
Unfortunately, I definitely think there are some things that could be improved upon. First of all, the first characters introduced are the angels. It was hard to connect with Emma even though she was the main character because before the readers even meet her, we're forced to listen to angels panic over how she's already messed things up. As free will is another important theme of the novel, I think it would have been prudent to introduce Emma first so we can see what she is like on an everyday basis before the angels start guiding her every move. At times it felt like she was just a puppet being used by the angels to move the story along, but I'm sure I would have been been more attached to her if I could have seen her true identity.
Another two things that go hand in hand are the author's writing style and poor editing. Where is Emma Butler's Life Plan? is Wilmot's debut novel, and I hate to say it, but it shows. At times the writing is over the top, with characters "doing jigs" and "striking victory poses." In many places, she "tells" the reader what is going on or what characters are thinking instead of "showing" them what is going on, etc. Also, some areas are very repetitive and can be boiled down into, "Character A was thinking about B. A wanted to tell C their thoughts about B, but couldn't. Finally, A opened their mouth and said, 'I've been thinking about B.'" A proper editor should have been able to help simplify these areas for a smoother reading experience. Also, they would have been able to catch some of the many errors I found. A majority of the errors were related to jumbled words, extra spaces in formatting, and misuse of punctuation.
I think the premise of Where is Emma Butler's Life Plan? is a great one. The story is original and the characters are likable. It's a short and simple read that doesn't require much thinking. However, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. If the editing issues were fixed and some of the writing smoothed out, I would happily give it three stars, perhaps even four. As it is, I can only give it 2 out of 4 stars. I would only recommend it to those who are looking for a light read and people who don't mind simple novels with some mistakes in them.
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Where is Emma Butler's Life Plan?
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