“She Wouldn’t Change a Thing” by Sarah Adlakha

Title: She Wouldn’t Change a Thing
Author: Sarah Adlakha
Publisher:  Forge
Year: 2021    
Genre(s):  literary fiction, science fiction
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: 12 Days of Bookmas gift

Summary: Maria Forsmann is a successful psychiatrist, wife and mother of two with one on the way. But an appointment with one patient sets things in motion that ultimately change Maria’s life forever. After a traumatic event, she wakes up in her seventeen year body and realizes she has been sent in time to prevent another tragedy. But doing so would prevent her from returning to her family forever. What will she choose?

Review: This is another book that I felt took too long to get to the main thrust of the story and did a lot more telling than showing.

The part about Maria ending up in her teenage body and having to make a moral decision really only constitutes the last third of the book. And another third is devoted to another character who is connected with Maria but feels like if her sections were cut, the story wouldn’t have lost much. I think if she just made a cameo appearance at the end, it may have had a bigger emotional impact.

While I appreciate that Adlakha had a more honest depiction of being a working mother, even with a partner, I feel it sacrificed Maria’s relationship with Will. Maria tells us over and over about how special her relationship with Will was but we don’t really see it. Our main glimpses of Will in the beginning really show a man who is not pulling his weight in his marriage and leaving his wife to manage everything.

This presented an issue for me as I couldn’t understand why Maria wanted to return to him. Her children, yes. But him? No. I thought maybe she would realize she deserved better but that never seemed to happen.

I did like how Adlakha presented Maria’s moral dilemma. She had each side presented by different characters who got close to Maria. I liked how they presented their sides but you could see their biases, wondering which side Maria would ultimately choose. That was a nice touch.

It also makes you think – would you make the same choice as Maria? Sometimes I think I would and other times, I think I wouldn’t. It certainly leaves an impression on you.

Bottom line: A good premise that maybe needed another round of edits.

Sex: Mentions, nothing graphic.

Moonlight Musing

What would you do if you woke up in the past with all your memories of the present?