The Opposite of Me: A Novel

by Sarah Pekkanen Narrated by Madeleine Maby

Overview

A "fresh, funny, and satisfying" (New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner) about the complicated bonds of sisterhood.

Twenty-nine-year-old Lindsey Rose has, for as long as she can remember, lived in the shadow of her ravishingly beautiful fraternal twin sister, Alex.

Determined to get noticed, Lindsey is finally on the cusp of being named VP creative director of an elite New York advertising agency, after years of eighty-plus-hour weeks, migraines, and profound loneliness. But during the course of one devastating night, Lindsey's carefully constructed life implodes. Humiliated, she flees the glitter of Manhattan and retreats to the time warp of her parents' Maryland home.

As her sister plans her lavish wedding to her Prince Charming, Lindsey struggles to maintain her identity as the smart, responsible twin while she furtively tries to piece her career back together. But things get more complicated when a long-held family secret is unleashed that forces both sisters to reconsider who they are and who they are meant to be.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Veteran journalist Pekkanen debuts with a promising yet pedestrian post–chick lit novel about a successful New York ad exec who's passed over for a promotion then unceremoniously canned. Workaholic Lindsey Rose leaves Manhattan for her family's Maryland home, resuming her role as the smart, capable daughter. Years of jealousy surge into overdrive at her beautiful twin sister Alex's engagement party when she watches her lifelong friend Bradley, possibly the guy that got away, begin to fall under her sister's golden spell. After the obligatory ugly duckling makeover, Lindsey, no longer the plain daughter, continues to hide her new look from her family. Away from them, however, a newly confident and gregarious Lindsey emerges, one able to parlay her advertising skills into a new position at a matchmaking service. It takes a terrifying medical diagnosis and a visit to her parents' musty attic to complete Lindsey's transformation. Though the story is Lindsey's, Alex also plays a large part, though her selfishness is so relentlessly portrayed, it's difficult to determine just who she is. The pace is slow, and the story just adequate. (Mar.)

Kirkus Reviews

An unemployed New Yorker moves back to her parent's house and finds her hopes for a fresh start complicated by a strained relationship with her gorgeous twin. Workaholic Lindsey has long prided herself on being the "smart" sister. Fraternal twin Alex may be an ethereal-looking model, but Lindsey has a high-profile gig at a Manhattan advertising agency and her eye on a big promotion. So it's doubly humiliating when, after a crafty colleague lands the position "because she was sexier," Lindsey ends up in a compromising clinch with a subordinate and gets fired. Making up a story about heading a new firm in the capital, she heads back to the D.C. suburb where she grew up, just in time for the engagement dinner for Alex and her rich, hunky fiance. The sisters' rivalry reignites when Lindsey discovers that flirty Alex has developed a friendship with Bradley, a laid-back photographer who was close to Lindsey when they were teens. Thinking that Bradley might actually be the one, Lindsey plots her next move and takes an unlikely but surprisingly enjoyable job as a professional matchmaker. Trading in her sober suits for a foxy new image, she starts to take more risks but still struggles with feelings of inadequacy next to Alex, especially where Bradley is concerned. With a sudden family crisis adding to the upheaval, Lindsey discovers some information from her childhood that casts everything she thought she knew about herself in a new light. Along with this knowledge comes an opportunity for the sisters to heal their rift before it's too late. Pekkanen's involving debut could do without the melodramatic plot twist, but it's an honest examination of the limits we place on ourselves, with well-drawnfemale characters.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170437207
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	12/04/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos