The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise
Contemporary Fiction
Berkley Publishing Group
March 28, 2023
Hardcover, Ebook, Audiobook
352
Twenty-one-year-old Tanner Quimby needs a place to live. Preferably one where she can continue sitting around in sweatpants and playing video games nineteen hours a day. Since she has no credit or money to speak of, her options are limited, so when an opportunity to work as a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman falls into her lap, she takes it.
One slip on the rug. That’s all it took for Louise Wilt’s daughter to demand that Louise have a full-time nanny living with her. Never mind that she can still walk fine, finish her daily crossword puzzle, and pour the two fingers of vodka she drinks every afternoon.Bottom line: Louise wants a caretaker even less than Tanner wants to be one.
The two start off their living arrangement happily ignoring each other until Tanner starts to notice things—weird things. Like, why does Louise keep her garden shed locked up tighter than a prison? And why is the local news fixated on the suspect of one of the biggest jewelry heists in American history who looks eerily like Louise? And why does Louise suddenly appear in her room, with a packed bag at 1 a.m. insisting that they leave town immediately?
Thus begins the story of a not-to-be-underestimated elderly woman and an aimless young woman who—if they can outrun the mistakes of their past—might just have the greatest adventure of their lives.
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King
Mr. King is right. Books are a uniquely portable magic.
Pick a story, any story. Crack the spine (or don’t, I know how some of you feel about that) and let the words on the page cast a spell on you to bring you to another time and place. “The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise” by Colleen Oakley is just the story to rip you from your current worries and transport you into another life. It’s not fantasy or sci-fi, but it is based in a different reality than the one I live in, and I was excited to spend time getting to know Tanner and Louise. Their unconventional friendship reminds me of my best friends. We are very different people, and we’re following very different paths in life, but we’re on the journey together and ready for the unexpected adventures along the way.
“In life, there were two kinds of friends: friends who would wish you well on your journey to battle, and friends who would jump in the trenches with you.”
Never Judge a Book By it’s Cover
This may shock some of you… I wanted to read this book solely from the cover. A beautiful blue background like the wide open sky, and a car with two people driving off into the sunset. You had me at hello, Berkley! Reading is a way to escape the everyday rat race monotony. I knew that there was an adventure waiting for me between these pages and I was not disappointed. Tanner and Louise get up to hijinks that made me hold my breath: a jewel heist, hidden guns, picking up strangers in hotel bars… and that’s from the octogenarian!
“People always said life was short, but it wasn’t. Not really. You could cram so many different lives into one. Be so many different people. Louise would know. She’d been at least three.”
“The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise” is about personal connection, the story of getting older (but maybe not wiser) and how to adapt when your plan changes on the spot. Oakley finds the perfect recipe for success in this novel: laughter, adventure, intrigue, love, and respect. I hope that, like me, you’ll be thinking about this story and these characters days after finishing the book.
Also, just for fun, drop a comment and share your favorite road trip memory. Or, if you’d prefer, your favorite road trip snack.
I’m Val, and I’m excited to share my love of books with you! I’m a sassy Sour Patch kid from New Jersey, dog mom to Chance the beagle, and much like the rest of the Hive, I’m a coffee lover (I think it’s a requirement to be here). The first book I remember reading voluntarily involved a boy wizard who lived in the cupboard under the stairs, and I’ve been chasing magic ever since. I love Happily Ever Afters, and I love love. My favorite genres are romance and rom-coms, fantasy, and young adult/new adult. If I’m not reading, I’m probably kayaking, watching the Great British Baking Show, or discovering a new craft beer.
