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    The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs: A Novel
    The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs: A Novel
    The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs: A Novel

    Written by Matthew Dicks

    Narrated by Cynthia Hopkins

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Caroline Jacobs has lost herself. She's a wife, mother (to a tattooed teenage daughter she avoids), Sears Portrait Studio photographer, and wimp. Asserting herself, taking the reins, or facing life head-on are not in her repertoire. So when Caroline suddenly cracks and screams "Fuck you!" at the PTA president, she is shocked. So is her husband. So is the PTA president. So is everyone. But Caroline soon realizes the true cause of her outburst can be traced back to something that happened to her as a teenager, a scarring betrayal by her best friend Emily. This act changed Caroline's life forever. So, with a little bit of bravery flowing through her veins, Caroline decides to go back to her home town and confront Emily. She busts her daughter Polly out of school, and the two set off to deliver the perfect comeback, which is twenty-five years in the making. But nothing goes as planned. Long buried secrets begin to rise to the surface, and Caroline will have to face much more than one old, bad best friend.

    A heartwarming story told with Matthew Dicks' signature wit, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is a deceptively simple novel about the ways in which our childhood experiences reverberate through our lives, and the bravery of one woman trying to change her life and finds true understanding of her daughter, and herself, along the way.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateSep 8, 2015
    ISBN9781427266309
    The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs: A Novel
    Author

    Matthew Dicks

    MATTHEW DICKS is a writer and elementary school teacher. He has been published in the Hartford Courant, featured at the Books on the Nightstand retreat, and is a Moth StorySLAM champion. He is the author of three previous novels, Something Missing, Unexpectedly Milo, and Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, an international bestseller. His novels have been translated into more than 25 languages. Dicks lives in Newington, Connecticut, with his wife, Elysha, and their two children.

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    Reviews for The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs

    4/5

    11 ratings10 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Matthew Dicks is one of my favorite authors. He writes quirky, imperfect characters who are ultimately so endearing. Caroline Jacobs is no different. A middle-aged wife and mother who rarely sticks up for herself, Caroline doesn't seem like your typical protagonist. But when she sticks up for another mom at a PTO meeting, something inside her snaps. Together with her teenaged daughter, Caroline goes back to her hometown for a long overdue confrontation with her one-time best friend. The plot is clever and moves the story forward, but this book is about Caroline and her relationships. She grows throughout the book, but does so in a way that allows her to stay true to herself. I think that my favorite moments are when Caroline is interacting with her teenaged daughter. Their relationship is rocky at best, but when Caroline opens up to her daughter, things begin to change. I love that Dicks seems to respect each of his characters and I love the interesting details that he sprinkles throughout the story. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend is still my favorite Dicks' book, but The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is definitely worth a read.
    • 2/5
      2.5 stars
      DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

      "Passive was the word that described Caroline best. It was almost her way of life. Avoid conflict at all costs. Be aggressively agreeable whenever possible. Fly under the radar. Don’t stir the pot. Acquiesce and move on from difficult situations as quickly as possible, preferably with a smile."

      This struck a chord within this former peacekeeper/people pleaser.

      It was refreshing to read a story about an introverted people pleaser attempting to stand up for herself against someone who had emotionally scarred her in high school via a cruel public shunning.

      I think this would be a great book for YA readers. It provides insight into the effects that bullying can have on an individual for the rest of their lives.

      It's a simple & quick read that shines a light on the devastating effects one incident of bullying can have on an individual for years to come.
    • 4/5
      A slip of the tongue begins a change in the life of Caroline Jacobs. Determined to confront the demons from her past, she grabs her daughter from school and they head off on a Thelma and Louise-like trip to Caroline's girlhood home.I found this a delightful and super fast read that I was able to finish in one day. It was fun and funny, and I just loved both Caroline and her teen-aged daughter Polly. Their differences were driving them apart, yet both of them discover that when push comes to shove, blood really is thicker than water.This book will be enjoyable reading for a wide audience. Anyone who enjoys modern family sit-coms will enjoy this story. If you love a good underdog, and Caroline Jacobs is one that you will definitely enjoy rooting for.I thank the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. It gets two thumbs up from me.
    • 4/5
      For every nerd, every freak, every wallflower who ever suffered through the petty cruelties of high school and who has secretly harboured dreams of revenge against their own private schoolyard bullies ever since, The perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs by author Matthew Dicks may be the perfect antidote. Caroline Jacobs, happily married and possibly a very talented photographer if she would just let others see her work, has spent most of her life since high school trying to fly under the social radar. However, when another shy woman is attacked verbally at a meeting by the smugly pretensious president of the Parent Teacher Organization, Caroline can’t take it anymore – she lets loose with her own attack which unfortunately contains a rather strong expletive. The next day, she gets called to the school because her daughter, Polly, has been caught fighting. When Caroline learns that the fight was the result of her own behaviour at the PTO meeting, she pulls Polly out of school. She will take her on a road trip so that Caroline can confront her high school bully. On the road, Caroline tells Polly about Emily Kaplan, the girl who had been her best friend until she dumped Caroline for a cooler, more popular girl. This seemingly small event has coloured every aspect of her life since and, with Polly’s support, she is determined to confront Emily. But this road trip has some surprising side effects – mother and daughter discover that not only do they have more in common than they ever dreamed but, more important, they actually like each other a lot. The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs: A Novel by author Matthew Dicks is a fun fast and often humorous look at how we too often carry and nurse the small hurts from childhood throughout our lives and how they can keep us from appreciating the people and events that truly matters. It is proof positive that revenge not only can be sweet but also heartwarming if done with someone you care about and who will support you even when they think you’ve lost it. 3.5
    • 4/5
      Caroline Jacobs has finally had enough and yells the f-word at the PTO president during a meeting. Since Caroline is typically timid and basically a push-over, this is a very big deal. The next day, someone teases Caroline’s daughter Polly about it and ends up getting punched in the nose by Polly. Knowing that Polly will be suspended, Caroling takes her out of school and on a road trip to the town she grew up in. She’s decided that if she could stand up to the PTO president, then she can stand up to the girl who was mean to her in high school.On the surface, the premise of this story is a tad unbelievable. How could someone still hold a grudge for so long over something that happened in high school? However, when I found out the deeper reason that Caroline couldn’t let it go, I understood. So just go with it until you get to that point, which is near the end. Polly and Caroline’s relationship is believable. Polly definitely has the teenage angst thing going for her. And of course she thinks she’s way smarter than her dear old mom. It was fun to see their relationship evolve on their road trip.I think the story would have been more impactful if there were more flashbacks to Caroline and her sister Lucy when they were kids. If their relationship was developed more, then it would be a lot easier to sympathize with Caroline. The book weighs in at just over 200 pages so there would definitely room for this.Dick’s novel Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend is one of my favorite all time books. The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs was good on its own merits but didn’t have the originality of Memoirs so if you’ve read that, keep your expectations in check. If you want something light, quick and fun, then this is the book for you.
    • 3/5
      Read from July 22 to 23, 2015I quickly requested the digital galley for this one after the last #ewgc because of all the great things I saw others saying...but I'm thinking I misread something because this book isn't about what I thought it was about. I was expecting a woman and her high school reunion (I mean, why else would there be all of those schoolroom chairs on the cover?). What I got was a book that tried to SAY THINGS, but only kind of said things. The 15 year old daughter offered all the wisdom and the main character finally connected with her daughter. All of the things that should've happened, did happen. But I wanted MORE. The opener, the moment that spurs Caroline to suddenly return to her hometown, was a big moment. But it took awhile to actually get to that moment and then it wasn't even clear what she said. I mean, saying "f?!#" is random, but saying "f?!# you" is making a statement. So when the book states that she says "f?!#", what is she ACTUALLY saying? Random or a statement?Basically this is a good book with potential, but the perfect in the title is a pretty big stretch.
    • 5/5
      Matthew Dicks writes what, on the surface, is a book about going back and confronting a bully (in this case a close friend who suddenly chooses to be a bully to Caroline, thus even more painful) from the past. This novel goes far beyond that appealing fantasy many of us hold. The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs delivers a thoughtful (and often humorous) reflection on the degree to which events do indeed shape us but also the extent to which we allow them to shape us.The incident in the past which Caroline feels has defined her life, and the one that she is intent on rectifying, is one that would likely have an effect on any high school student and carry into adulthood in many instances. Part of what Caroline realizes is that she cannot let that event, and thus her old friend-turned-bully Emily, become the blame and the reason for all of the negatives in her life. She learns this while also understanding that the event did play its part but that she still held the reins of her life. These are the types of lessons we rarely learn in our teens when we are experiencing all of these extreme highs and lows. It takes time and distance, plus help from family, to come to the realization. This is a wonderful, quick read, almost too quick. I made myself slow down so I could think about the implications of what I was reading and I was rewarded for giving the book a bit more thought than just a quick story.Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.
    • 3/5
      I neither liked or disliked this. It was perfectly... okay. The characters were... okay. All-in-all, it was kind of a disappointing follow-up to Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend.
    • 4/5
      Dropping the F-bomb at a PTO meeting and directing it towards a popular (but mean-spirited) soccer mom, is something that Caroline Jacobs never expected to do, but that choice outburst, kicks off a major life-change for Caroline. She has spent her life, being shy and non-confrontational, haunted by two childhood incidents, that have placed her on this, wallflower turnpike.After, the PTO meeting, Caroline loads her spirited, teenage daughter in the family car and they drive to her childhood hometown, to face down her demons.This is a fresh, easy-going novel. Funny and engaging. A bit lighter, than my usual fare but one I still heartily recommend.
    • 4/5
      "It was that moment, that very instant, that Caroline's idea was born. The boldest, craziest idea of her life. It wasn't a fully formulated plan. It wasn't even a fully formulated idea. But it was the beginning of an idea. The spark....Caroline Jacobs knew that if she didn't act now, she never would."Matthew Dick's novel, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, is a charming, thoughtful and funny story about a journey of self discovery as a woman confronts the demons of her past.“Passive was the word that described Caroline best. It was almost her way of life. Avoid conflict at all costs. Be aggressively agreeable whenever possible. Fly under the radar. Don’t stir the pot. Acquiesce and move on from difficult situations as quickly as possible, preferably with a smile.”Caroline Jacobs surprises herself, and a crowd of PTA mothers, when she reacts to a hapless mother being bullied by an overbearing PTA mom with an explosive expletive, but it sparks a fire in the usually submissive Caroline that leads her to the doorstep of her former childhood best friend turned high school tormentor. With her recalcitrant teenage daughter in tow, Caroline heads to her hometown, determined to confront Emily Kaplan and say the things she should have said in the moment that changed everything, twenty five years earlier.The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs offers an appealing mix of humour and emotional drama, exploring the themes of self discovery, friendship, bullying and fate."All I know is that I'm the same person I was in high school. I know a little more and I've done a little more, but I'm essentially the same person. I didn't suddenly become something different when I became an adult. And part of me is the result of what happened in the cafeteria that day and all those days after. A big part."Like Caroline I avoid conflict whenever possible, and similarly I was betrayed by a friend in high school. Nearly thirty years later the memory still stings a little, and while I would never dream of confronting her, I admired and even understood Caroline's decision to do so. I think the author is right in suggesting that this type of incident can have a lasting effect, and this is especially true for Caroline since the incident is linked to the tragic death of her sister."Mom, she was the definition of a bully. Exclusion. Isolation. Behind-the-back bullshit. I should know. My generation is the expert on bullying. It's all we ever hear about."Caroline's teenage daughter Polly is a wonderful foil to her meek mother. Though I'd personally be appalled if my daughter spoke to me in the same manner, she is wise beyond her years, and her blunt and outspoken nature is something to admire. I really enjoyed the development of the relationship between mother and daughter over the course of the novel.Throw in a small cast of quirky supporting characters including Caroline's mother, her blind boyfriend, Spartacus, and a man mourning his pet parrot, a road trip, a runaway and a repentant bully, and The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is a hugely enjoyable read.