Review: I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan

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Description : Eighteen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She's really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That's the only way to explain her image-obsessed mother; a kind but distant stepfather; and a brother with a small personality complex. Bronwen knows she must have been switched at birth, and she can't wait to get away from her "family" for good.
Then she meets Jared Sondervan. He's sweet, funny, everything she wants — and he has the family Bronwen has always wanted too. She falls head over heels in love, and when he proposes marriage, she joyfully accepts. But is Jared truly what she needs? And if he's not, she has to ask: What would Phoebe Lilywhite do?

Review: I don't know what I was walking into when I got this book. I just saw a new book in my library and swiped it. Didn't read the back, just took it. Because I am selfish and I get the new books first. That is all.

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else tells the tale of Bronwen Oliver, a 17 year old girl who has nothing in common with her family. Ever since her father passed away, she has come to realize she is no longer close with anyone, especially not her brother, Peter, whom she refers to as 'Jesus'. And certainly not her mother, who is big on manners and applauds Bronwen when she tries to be polite by eating meat even though she is a vegetarian.

The story really picks up when Bronwen reunites with Jesus's old friend, Jared Sondervan. Jared is home from college for the summer, and he and Bronwen spend tons of time together. So much time in fact that he tells her he loves her and proposes. And she accepts. Mainly because she has not felt part of a family in a long time, and partly because she loves Jared also.

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else is a funny book. I kinda started it at 11:00 p.m. one night, so I was tired, and I was reading it in this short, quick obnoxious voice. Kinda like how Jesse Eisenberg talked when he played Mark Zuckerberg. So some parts I bursted out laughing. Bronwen is one of my favorite fast-talking, sassy characters. She has a comeback always availible on her lips, and isn't afraid to give a sarcastic comment. I liked her dry comments at the end of each section, and her routine with her family. I loved that she was editor of her school newspaper, and that she wanted to pursue a career in journalism.

However, the one thing that I absolutely hated was that she feel head-over-heels in love with this boy. And agreed to marry him. And I think McCahan described perfectly how she was missing out on her childhood because she wanted to grow up faster. She wanted to be a big girl and go and get married, but she missed parties with her friends, and she missed opportunites to spend time with them before they left for college. Yes, she may love him. But this is the last time to spend with her friends, and I feel like Jared took that from her. He stole her senior year because she was too busy planning a wedding instead of going to school dances, which she loved.

I loved all the characters, except for Jared as per reasons stated. I loved Bronwen's best friend, Kirsten, who was supportive of Bronwens newfound love, but skeptical when things went too far. And she told Bronwen her opinion, unlike some secondary characters who would have bit their tongues.

I really enjoyed the story between Bronwen and her step-father, Whitt. Numerous times I got mad at Bronwen's mother, but I usually wind up disliking most young-adult mothers. I also loved the setting, and really thought that it was interesting that the author wrote about the town she grew up in, along with the college she attended. And I especially liked the college parts, since I'm applying for myself.

Overall, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else is a tale about discovering who you are, where you fit in, and making a few mistakes along the way.

"Everybody loves everybody during the first three or four months of any relationship. And then the newness wears off and suddenly it’s as if a spell breaks."

-I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan