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Hope Obiako is trying to make it by any method. Sadly, that means people-pleasing and deception. She’s quirky, but not comfortable, and continuously compares herself to the people in her life who seem to have it all together. If you ask her, her life is in shambles. Thankfully faking it until making it has worked in her favor, until her life as she knows it, slowly crumbles apart.
Ironically, as Hope loses hope in life, she opportunistically discovers a mysterious self-help book, How to Be a Better Adult. Alongside Hope, the mysterious book acts as a secondary character, guiding and inspiring her to tackle challenges that she wouldn’t have otherwise fathomed conquering.
How to Be a Better Adult is a book that expresses most, if not all feelings that many people experience while navigating their work and personal lives. It’s a quick read with a relatable main character trying to make sense of adulthood. Truthfully, most of us reside in a similar headspace (lol).
Written with a magical realistic flair, How to Be a Better Adult is sure to make you nod, laugh, cry, and celebrate small and big wins with Hope. Hope’s story of maneuvering around Mount Adulthood hits home in more ways than one. One of the major takeaways for me is to never give up.
Through chance encounters, moments of happenstance, and pivotal life-changing events, we witness Hope slowly questioning her life’s purpose. She regains focus by pushing past her comfort zones and chooses to live a new life, and that’s after she waffles over whether it’s worth living.
Below are two stand-out quotes that refer to an all too familiar yearning of giving up when life seems to be whipping my butt (lol) and what I somewhat tell myself to keep going.
All in all, I enjoyed How to Be a Better Adult because it’s a gentle reminder that with or without a self-help book, most of us adults are doing our best. Just because someone seems to be on the up and up, doesn’t mean they aren’t experiencing similar challenges of their own. Even more so, it drives home what most adults faithfully fail to take into account, which is there is not one way to endure adulthood or live life in general. Adulthood isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard either. There’s always going to be some kind of challenge because that’s par for the course and adds character to our life’s journey.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that there are magical elements peppered throughout the story. Based on my reading experience, it does require the reader to be in a whimsical mood. If not, your reading speed and enjoyment of the story will be affected. I also want to mention that although written well, proven by the ease in readability, the pacing impacted my reading experience. It was noticeable to me and could’ve been more fluid, as the last 15% felt rushed and jumpy after a slight stall in events. Those mentions aside, the messages are still there and the overall story is good. I’d read another book by Jacque Aye.
Again, this book is an easy and quick read that’ll be a great addition to your library. If not for reading, then pick it up for aesthetics because the cover is beautiful. 🙂
I hope you will consider choosing How to Be a Better Adult for your next book pick. There are so many aspects of life woven into the story. Considering readers that easily lose interest in most self-help books, I wholeheartedly recommend it, as there are little anecdotes embedded into the main story which are presented in a way that’s not didactic or preachy. The messages conveyed will not go over your head. They talk to you, not over or at you.
Hope’s story is a representation of what happens when you start living life authentically and embrace and surround yourself with the people that will tell you not to compare yourself to your peers, don’t lose sight of your vision for yourself for someone else’s, and ultimately, adopt humility because if you don’t, life will humble you before you realize that you should’ve done it sooner.
Thank you to BookSirens and Jacque Aye for the opportunity to read How to Be a Better Adult in exchange for an honest review. My review/reaction is voluntary, all thoughts are mine and unbiased, and receiving an ARC does not influence my rating and/or recommendation.
I hope this review of Jacque Aye’s How to Be a Better Adult finds you all well.
Until my next post, drink your water, mind the business that’s yours, and continue reading beyond the book’s cover.
😉
