Someday, Someday, Maybe

TITLE: Someday, Someday, Maybe

AUTHOR: Lauren Graham

GENRE: Fiction/Chick Lit

FORMAT: Digital ARC, 352 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 30th 2013, Ballantine Books

Franny Banks gave herself 3 years to make it in New York as an actress. It’s now 6 months before her deadline and she’s nowhere near having “made it.” With that deadline looming over her, Franny starts doubting herself – until unexpected turns and encounters lead her down a path of discovery and revelation.

I, just like many others, picked up this book because I am a fan of Lauren Graham (star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood). I was hesitant, worrying that this book might disappoint and be another case of actors thinking they are writers. Fortunately, Someday, Someday, Maybe is a well written, smart, and funny book that didn’t disappoint after all.

The dialogue has the same kind of fast paced, snarky witticism that Graham has become famous for delivering on-screen. I think she infused a lot of herself and what was probably her own personal experience as an up-and-coming actress into the character of Franny. I liked the surrounding cast of characters, although I wish we had spent more time learning more about them. Both Jane (Franny’s best friend) and Dan (their roommate) were interesting characters but I was left wanting more background. We do get more insight into Dan, but Jane remains a superficial, peripheral character. I thought the story was a fairly realistic portrayal of what it’s like to be a struggling actress. Franny struggles both financially and emotionally throughout and it never feels overdone for the sake of either pitying her or playing up the clichés of being a “waitress/actress.” The overall story was smart, heartwarming and funny, but predictable. Nothing happens in the story’s development that came to me as a surprise.

That being said, it was written well enough that I still enjoyed seeing Franny go through the experience. My favourite twist happened in the end, and it was the only part of the story I actually wasn’t able to predict. The book ends on a fairly abrupt note that can be interpreted as ambiguous. Personally, I found the ending to be very appropriate and it gave me closure on this chapter of Franny’s life. I can, however, see how some readers might be left wanting more, especially since 2 key points of the story aren’t clearly concluded.

One of my favorite features of the book was the inclusion of some pages of Franny’s Filofax and various call sheets and script pages. It made me feel more connected to her. My biggest issue: the book is written in first person narrative. I find that this writing style makes it harder for me to get a sense of the full story because you are “stuck” in the brain of your lead character.