Book Review: Someday, Someday, Maybe

Title: Someday, Someday, Maybe                                                            

Author: Lauren Graham
Genre: Contemporary Adult
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Cover

The cover is pretty but it doesn't immediately jump at you. What I like are the understated colors with the detail of the girl on the bike wearing the bright red jacket and the fact that it isn't a cover like many others that are geared at the same audience. I like that you immediately know that the novel is set in New York City and the lights on the bridge look really pretty.

The Story

Someday, Someday, Maybe is set in New York City in 1995 and tells the story of Franny Banks, an aspiring actress, dreaming of making it on Broadway. When the novel begins, Franny is nearing the deadline she set when she started out on this dream. She promised herself to give up if she wouldn't have made if after three years and now she has six months left with not much to show for. Franny is still working as a waitress and she's only done a couple of commercials. Her father keeps nagging her to give up and come home and the only real supporters she has are her friends and roommates, Jane and Dan.

My Thoughts

I went into this wanting to like it because it's written by Lauren Graham and I love her work on Gilmore Girls and Parenthood, and I did like it but I think I expected more.

The writing style is funny and engaging, you can really hear Lauren Graham's voice through it. What is original about the book is that it's set in 1995, it was refreshing to read and fun to go back in time. Another really fun part of the book are the included pages from Franny's Filofax, scripts and other things. It's a really nice touch and gives another little inside to Franny's life and goals.

Franny's friendship with Jane is really well done, they are supportive of each other and genuinely care about the other person. I would have liked to see more of Jane and Franny's other roommate Dan because they're both great characters but since the focus is obviously on Franny and her life, you don't really get to know the two of them so much. All the people in Franny's life though are very distinctly different, everybody has their own personality and looks which is a lot of fun. The romance in the book is nicely done as well and it's really nice that it isn't the center of the book because ultimately this books is about Franny and her dreams of becoming a star.

All in all, it's interesting to read about the trials of becoming an actress and if you're looking for an easy and funny read that is also well-written and has some special quirks like the Filofax pages and fun characters, you should really pick this one up.