Title: Why Can’t I Be You
Author: Allie Larkin
Publisher: Plume
Release date: February 26, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Age Group: Adult
Tour organized by: AToMR Tours
WHY CAN’T I BE YOU takes its name from a 1987 hit song from English rock band The Cure. All her life, Jenny Shaw toed the line, striving to be the perfect colleague, girlfriend, and daughter – a path that has led her to an unhappy (though successful) career, a failed relationship, and all-but-severed family ties. On her way to the airport for her first business trip, she is unceremoniously dumped by the man she thought she would one day marry. In her haze of shock and confusion, she responds to the wrong name when Myra Aberly, organizer of Seattle ’s Mt. Si class of 1999’s thirteenth high-school reunion, shouts “Jessie!” across the hotel lobby.
In an instant, Jenny Shaw becomes Jessie Morgan, a woman to whom she bears an uncanny resemblance. She is immediately embraced by Jessie’s warm circle of friends – and gains a possible love interest. But when Jenny becomes more and more curious about Jessie’s history, she uncovers a trail of secrets, pain and deceit that inspires her to uncover the truth that will heal her own painful past.
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~ Interview with Author Allie Larkin ~
Q: WHY CAN’T I BE YOU involves the main character, Jenny, pretending to be someone else. What inspired you to write a story about a girl willing to give up herself to pretend to be someone else?
AL: My editor for STAY, inspired by an episode of This American Life, proposed the idea of a story about a woman who becomes someone else. After spinning that concept in several different directions, I got hooked on the idea of telling an identity story in a very real way.
Q: In a way, you wrote two different characters being portrayed by the same person. Was this difficult for you? How did you keep the two identities straight while writing?
AL: It was easy to keep the identities straight because I was so firmly situated in Jenny’s perspective. Jenny is painfully aware of the ways Jessie differed from her, which meant I was too. Jenny was always Jenny, even when she was so desperately trying to be someone else. I spend a lot of time thinking about my characters and writing things that never make it on the page. They function like real people in my brain and the same way you’re not likely to mistake your best friend for your Aunt Lulu is the same way I keep everyone straight.
Q: What is your favorite scene or was your favorite to write? Don’t forget to tell us why.
AL: I don’t want to give it away for anyone who hasn’t read WCIBY yet, so I’ll avoid specifics, but there’s a scene with Jenny and Robbie that made the whole book work for me. I was feeling like I hadn’t found the spark in the book yet and worried I might not. I’d actually spent the weekend making grand proclamations about quitting. And then the idea for that scene popped into my head and Robbie was suddenly so clear to me. I fell in love with his sweetness and humor, and he helped me fall in love with all the other characters in the book. I love them dearly, and miss writing all of them, but I miss Robbie most of all.
Q: Is there anything in the book that readers may not pick up on or something you would like readers to walk away with after reading?
AL: I hope readers walk away from the book feeling like they spent time with dear friends. And I think the great thing about books is whatever they mean to you is the right answer.
Q: What is next for you as a writer that you can share?
AL: I’ve been working on dueling projects for the past year. I’m not entirely sure which one will be next, but I have been writing like crazy.
About the Author: Allie Larkin is the internationally bestselling author of the novel Stay, and the upcoming novel Why Can’t I Be You (2013). She lives with her husband, Jeremy, their two German Shepherds, Argo and Stella, and a three-legged cat.
Allie Larkin | Facebook | Twitter
This is such a unique concept! I love it!
~The grass ain’t always greener on the other side~
Thanks for the chance to win Why Can;tI Be You
love the review!
Great review and giveaway!
I like the part of the review where Allie mentions how Jenny and Robbie found their spark 😉 I am so ready to read this book.
Sounds like an interesting book.
great giveaway
nice post! Thanks for the giveaway =)
Great review and Q&A. Thanks for the chance to win my very own copy!
Nice Post!! Thanks for the chance to win!