A fun read. Had me laughing at the start, skimming a bit in some slap-sticky parts yet pausing at gems of older women's wisdom and witty relatable quips. Much of it made me think of my mother, with a smile. ( )

29 by Adena Hapren

★★★

Ellie is a 75 year old woman who feels she is missing something in her life and is feeling particularly…old. So for her Birthday she wishes to be 29 for just one day. And surprise, surprise, she wakes up 29 years old. This isn’t the first time that a story is about the theme of going back in age nor is the best of the bunch.

The storyline was cute enough. It was the characters that really made it difficult for me to get into this book. I found the characters to be fairly flat. I could not stand Ellie’s daughter, even after she had “learned” her lesson (because what’s a story without a lesson learned?) I found her to be completely spoiled and annoying on so many levels. The one character I did enjoy was Ellie’s best friend, Frida. However, this one person was not enough to give the book a higher rating. It was a nice, relaxing fluff read but nothing spectacular.
( )

As far as straight-up chick-lit goes, this was entertaining. Having an entire book center around one person for one day was just a bit of a stretch, but overall, it was a very easy and enjoyable book.

Ellie is in a unique position to shed 46 years for one day, which is almost ruined by her daughter and best friend. I loved that it was not just her "little secret", but won't say more to spoil it. She lived it to the fullest, and seemed to have the option of whether or not to return to her advanced age, or stay where she was. That was my only question: COULD she really have stayed if she had truly wanted to? Wouldn't she have been terrified every single day of her (new) life that she would awaken one morning wrinkled, saggy and stiff?

If I could go back to any year and live it for just a day, I may go back to high school and give the girls who tormented me a piece of my grown-up mind. Or I may return to my early 20s and enjoy a day in the life of a free spirit. Or I may go back to a fateful day in 1993 when I should have said, "I don't think so," instead of "I do". However, I am who I am because of what I did, when I did it. Would I really want to change that? I kind of like who I am, and am perfectly content to tweak a little here and there.

If I knew that one wish I made on my birthday would come true, I would probably wish for health and happiness for my children, close my eyes and blow. ( )

This is such a sweet, fun and adorable story about a seventy-five year old grandmother who wishes to be 29 again... Ellie is young at heart and no one can tell her that she isn't. Although she does realize that it is struggle to keep that bounce in her step. So when her wish to be 29 again comes true! She is over the moon about it and she can't wait to live it up.

But times have changed and her feelings are all askew, she is at a loss as to what to do.
While trying to figure out to do and seeking out her granddaughter for help, Ellie begins to question and evaluate her past and present relationships - was her deceased husband her true love? Why is she not close with her own daughter? Why was her daughter so angry and strict all the time? Why was her best friend so content in settling and growing older?

It was so heartwarming and endearing to see Ellie's reaction. Having to depend on her own granddaughter to not only help her how to dress appropriately, but also, how to behave and what the new rules are to meeting and talking to boys. They both run around the whole city trying to cover up who Ellie really is while also trying to be sure that Ellie gets to experience being 29 again.

A fast, relatable and adventurous read to be shared with all the girls in your life! ( )

The novel 29 is a lighthearted book about an elderly woman getting her birthday wish and getting to be twenty-nine again for a day.

My favorite parts of this novel were those that dealt with the main character, Ellie, and her granddaughter Lucy. They had a lovely close relationship, and it was entertaining to see them interact both as a grandmother and granddaughter and then later as friends of the same age.

My least favorite parts were those dealing with the secondary characters: Ellie’s daughter and Ellie’s best friend. Those two ladies were not only extremely annoying, but also lacked depth. One of them undergoes an extreme character change over a short period of time and it seems very unrealistic to me. (Can someone really stop being annoying at will basically overnight?) Granted this is a light-weight read, but these secondary characters really didn’t do anything for me. I would have preferred a story solely about Ellie and her granddaughter. ( )