What Will You Be Doing in 5 Years?
Have you ever been asked the question, "What do you see yourself doing in five years?"
I know I have. I've even asked myself the question.
Back in 2017, I received a journal with the words "start something wonderful" on the front cover. You can see a picture of it here:
The cover inspired me to write down all my hopes and dreams including one page titled, "In Five Years". On the page, I wrote down everything I hoped to accomplish from 2018 to 2023.
Out of the entire list I've completed one. Just one!
Looking at the list now (literally I have it sitting in front of me) I laugh at the ideas. So many opportunities and changes have happened since I first wrote them down that now my life has moved in a different direction.
Do I still want to accomplish some things? Yes. Are they as important to me from when I first wrote them down? No.
This is why I think "What do you see yourself doing in five years?" is a silly question, because people don't know the answer.
This is another reason why In Five Years caught my eye at the book store. I found myself instantly reaching for the book, and reading the blurb on the back. What would you do if you found yourself suddenly five years in the future in a place with someone you didn't even recognize? I had to find out.
Overview of In Five Years
After a celebratory dinner with her boyfriend and falling briefly to sleep, Dannie Kohan wakes to find herself suddenly five years in the future. There she finds herself in an entirely different apartment with a man who isn't her soon to be fiancé. Filled with emotions Dannie has never felt see finds herself entranced by the man she has never met. After a romp in the sheets, she questions everything she knows as she falls asleep to only wake up in present day next to the love of her life. Or so she thought.
Can she prevent the future from happening? Will she ever find out who the mystery man is and why her soon to be fiancé is nowhere is site?
The Cons of In Five Years
· Can't connect to the main character and her best friend
Dannie and her best friend, Bella, are very stereotypical making them unlikeable characters. Dannie is the hardworking go getter type who, because she works so hard, excels at everything. While Bella is a snotty rich brat who travels the world dating everyone she meets for fun. Their friendship seemed forced making them impossible to connect to has characters leaving me wonder what was so interesting about them in the first place.
· Needed more time with the mystery man, Greg
Greg is seen in the first chapter as the man who Dannie has a fling with, but you don't see him again until the book is almost over. His character was likeable but his storyline was short. It would have been nice to see more from him.
· Short Read
I usually love short reads, especially at 255 pages, which is one of the reasons I bought the book. In this case though, I don't feel the characters had enough time to develop even though the story takes place over 5 years. This book needed to be at least another 100 to 150 pages to accomplish more depth and conflict.
· Ending with a twist?
The book does take a turn towards the end. I won't give it away but there is supposed to be a twist ending, but sadly, it didn't hit home like it was supposed to. By the end, I sort of felt like, meh, I don't really care.
The Pros of In Five Years
· Easy Reading
The story was easy to read and follow along. I could put it down for a few days and pick up where I left off. The chapters were decently short which made it nice when I had a few minutes to read here and there.
· Curious Where the Story is going
Because there was the mystery or hook at the beginning of the book it left me wondering what was going to happen which had me read the entire book even when things were boring.
· Getting Swept Up in the Emotions
There is a tragic event that takes place in the storyline most people can relate to while reading. I think the author wrote the event beautifully; especially when it came to characters emotions and how everyone handles things differently.
· Overall view of the Five years
The story did not dive deep into the five years, but, instead, did an overview of important events from the years. I liked this because people tend to look at life from the bigger events that happened to them compared to little things. There wasn't any unnecessary scenes and only stuck to points to move the story forward.
· Making the future jump line up with the actual timeline
The thing I loved most in the novel was how the author was able to line up the future jump scene conversation to when it became the present time. She was able to have Dannie ask questions that related to both time frames even though she was experiencing two different things in those moments.
Overall Review Summary
I'm going to come out and say it. I was very disappointed in this book. I couldn't connect with the characters in any which way and the story was lacking. The only thing going for it was the front cover which is a lovely blue/gold color and the hint of mystery at the beginning of the story.
Out of five stars, I give it a 1 star rating. Ouch! A first on the blog.
The story had so much potential and sadly fell flat. I do have to say the plot did stick to my theory about no one knowing the future and even when you do things change so fast that items or ideas which were once important to you are a distant memory.
If you are looking for a better book with a concept of time I would suggest One Day by David Nicholls. It is far more entertaining with tons of character depth and development. It had me crying throughout the novel.
Let me know in the comments below if you have read In Five Years! Tell me what you did or didn't like about it.
If you are interested in my children's picture book Princess Gabriella and the Never-Ending Kiss, you can now purchase it on Amazon, in eBook, format for only $9.99! Or a physical copy at Blurb.com for $32.99!
If you love YA novels and are interested in finding out about more I suggest taking a look at my review for Midnight Sun, A Witch in Time, or The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue!
