Book Review: Thirty-Two Going on Spinster

Thirty-Two Going on Spinster by Becky Monson
Genre: comedy, romance, contemporary
Publisher: CreateSpace
Date: December 2012

Julia Dorning is pretty convinced she’s a spinster. And if she’s not, she’s going to be. At the ripe old age of thirty-two, she’s not married and she lives with her parents. Even though that’s not technically in the dictionary definition, it still sounds pretty close to it. Oh and she has a cat, too. So that’s just another check mark in that ‘spinster’ column, right?

But how do you shift gears in your life at this point? Can you even do that? Julia’s been living rent free for years so she has a nice little savings, but should she make a career change? Move out? How can you do that without having the career idea completely settled?

If you get the idea here, Julia doesn’t do change very well. In fact, the reality is that it pretty much paralyzes her. And for a little fun, let’s just throw a totally hot new guy at work into the situation. Cause that always helps doesn’t it?

First, let me start off the review portion of things by begging Becky Monson for forgiveness. I had a bit of a health blip that landed me in the hospital for a couple of weeks and though I read a lot, sitting down to write reviews was a little beyond my abilities. So I’m just now catching up on everything and this review is WAY overdue. I’m sorry Becky!

That said, I am a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella, Helen Fielding, and books of that ilk, so I went into this with some serious levels of expectation. After all, I came across Monson’s work because of a Facebook ad – that promised readers of those genres would love Julia Dorning. Those are some big shoes to fill and honestly, if it were me, I’d be terrified to be in the same boat with them. But maybe that’s because Becky Monson pulls it off much better than I could.

Julia Dorning is an interesting character who is relatable and fun. Even when her situations are crazy and you’re not quite sure they’re realistic, they are still exceptionally enjoyable. This book was a fun read that helped get me out of real life for a while. And even as I was giggling at the stuff happening around Julia, I was rooting for her to move forward and embrace the change.
If you are a fan of rom com or chick lit, Becky Monson is like a hidden gem that you’ll be glad you found!