The Year Everything Changed by Georgia Bockoven
William Morrow Publishers
Contemporary
ISBN: 978-0-06-206932-0
Reviewed by Vanessa




Jessie Reed is dying and longs to make a connection with his four daughters one last time before he dies.  However, his plans don’t completely pan out the way he wants, and his Last Will has these women committing to six months of their lives listening to explanations that they refused to hear when Jessie was alive.

Needy Ginger Reynolds who is in an adulterous relationship with a married man, is very surprised with the news that greets her when she meets Jessie and discovers secrets from her past as well as a portrait of life for the betrayed wife.

Chip-on-her-shoulder, Christina Alvarado, knew that Jessie Reed is her father, and that he walked away from her years ago.  She agrees to the meeting to gain something monetary for her chosen career.  However, Christina gains more than she ever knew she wanted or needed.

Rachel Nolan’s marriage is on the verge of collapse after discovering her hubby of ten years has recently had an affair when she receives the note to meet Jessie Reed.  Rachel never knew Jessie Reed was her father let alone that she has three sisters.  However, Rachel soon finds support from someone she would have never met or befriended before.

Elizabeth Walker has buried her pain from her father’s abandonment so deeply that not many people even know she has it.  On the surface, she seems the most put together of the four, yet once she gives in to seeing Jessie, her carefully constructed walls start cracking and she discovers some truths and hidden memories that were long since hidden by her protective shell.

The Year Everything Changed is a fabulous read about new beginnings, starting over when you think all is lost, learning to forgive and moving on with what you have, building through the debris . . . not once, not twice, but always!  The Year Everything Changed is about different facets within each person and how they come together to make the whole stronger.  It’s a wonderful read that kept me entertained from beginning to end, and I joyfully recommend The Year Everything Changed.

The Year Everything Changed easily compared and contrasted each of the sisters showing how each was affected by Jessie’s actions or lack thereof.  Some knew Jessie from different ages and some never knew him at all, but each was changed by learning about him and his life through circumstances beyond their control.  Each of the girls brought different things to the table: anger buried so deeply that you have to work to get it to it, one who likes to try to shape herself in to something she believes will please her significant other, one who pursues money and neglects other things, and one whose bark is worse than her bite. The Year Everything Changed brought change and healing to each one of these women and had them leaning on people they probably never would have known about before.

The Year Everything Changed is a character driven story, and I liked the change and development of each of them over the course of the story.  I felt like even though one door was closed to them, a window was opened to offer another option to discover the truths from the past.  The Year Everything Changed isn’t a standard romance, but there are snippets of romance in there and some are very heartwarming.  While I didn’t always agree with the resolutions in each of the characters’ lives, I really enjoyed the camaraderie that developed between them.

The Year Everything Changed is a deep, rich story that kept me engaged to find out how it would all end, and I have to say that the ride to get to the closing pages was truly engaging.