The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs: A Novel

by Matthew Dicks Narrated by Cynthia Hopkins

Overview

Caroline Jacobs has lost herself. She's a wife, mother (to a tattooed teenage daughter she avoids), Sears Portrait Studio photographer, and wimp. Asserting herself, taking the reins, or facing life head-on are not in her repertoire. So when Caroline suddenly cracks and screams "Fuck you!" at the PTA president, she is shocked. So is her husband. So is the PTA president. So is everyone. But Caroline soon realizes the true cause of her outburst can be traced back to something that happened to her as a teenager, a scarring betrayal by her best friend Emily. This act changed Caroline's life forever. So, with a little bit of bravery flowing through her veins, Caroline decides to go back to her home town and confront Emily. She busts her daughter Polly out of school, and the two set off to deliver the perfect comeback, which is twenty-five years in the making. But nothing goes as planned. Long buried secrets begin to rise to the surface, and Caroline will have to face much more than one old, bad best friend.

A heartwarming story told with Matthew Dicks' signature wit, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is a deceptively simple novel about the ways in which our childhood experiences reverberate through our lives, and the bravery of one woman trying to change her life and finds true understanding of her daughter, and herself, along the way.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Heartwarming and often darkly humorous, this road trip for vengeance fairly cries out for filming.” —Kirkus

“Whip-smart and laugh out loud funny, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is a book you will beg your friends to read. Sweet shy Caroline, with her newly awakened courage, will quickly become your favorite heroine. Tagging along on Caroline's surprising and inspiring journey to fix her life is both fun and empowering, reminding us that redemption lies around every corner, even in the most uncertain times.” —Julia Fierro, author of Cutting Teeth

“Matthew Dicks expertly captures the nuances of a mother-daughter relationship with a fast-moving story that is funny, tender and wholly endearing. The Perfect Comeback . . . is a perfect feel-good read.” —Heidi Durrow, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

“Another good one . . . the story heats up to a page-turning frenzy.” —Hudson Valley News

“The strength of this novel is its well-rounded characters, notably children and teens, as they deal with life in general. Polly particularly shines in this sometimes quirky story with special appeal to all who struggled during their difficult high-school years.” —Booklist

“An enchanting novel about the ways in which our childhood experiences reverberate through our lives. It’s the story of a woman looking to fix her life through an act of bravery, and of a mother and learning to understand one another. Deceptively simple and highly engaging.” —She Reads

New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Heidi Durrow

Matthew Dicks expertly captures the nuances of a mother-daughter relationship with a fast-moving story that is funny, tender and wholly endearing. The Perfect Comeback . . . is a perfect feel-good read.

Library Journal

09/01/2015
It all starts with the F-bomb. Quiet, shy pushover Caroline has had enough. Her expletive is directed straight at the PTO president Mrs. Denali, who has been passive-aggressively calling out the parents for not pulling their weight in volunteering. The next day, while Caroline considers how best to apologize to Mrs. Denali, she receives a phone call from the high school. Her 15-year-old daughter Polly has a much stronger backbone; she's been suspended for punching, of all people, Mrs. Denali's daughter. On a whim, Caroline decides to break her daughter out of school to drive to her hometown. She hopes to confront her childhood best friend Emily Kaplan, who humiliated her one day in the school cafeteria 25 years ago, forever changing the trajectory of Caroline's life, or so she thinks. Caroline has placed a great deal of emphasis on her best friend's betrayal and is now ready to stand up to her bully. But mustering that courage doesn't come easy. VERDICT Dicks's fourth novel (after Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend) is for anyone who has wished they'd stood up for themselves or delivered that perfect comeback at just the right time. [See Prepub Alert, 3/23/15.]—Melissa Keegan, Ela Area P.L., Lake Zurich, IL

Kirkus Reviews

2015-07-15
Just as easily as a middle school friend can turn into an enemy, so can a wallflower turn into a suburban warrior in this tale of a woman seeking the best comeback to a bully. Caroline Jacobs, a happily married photographer, usually keeps quiet, enduring insults, swallowing her pride, keeping out of the limelight. But when Mary Kate Dinali, smug and privileged Parent-Teacher Organization president, tries to bully shy Jessica Trent, Caroline finally stands up. To the shock of the entire PTO, Caroline expels an expletive, and soon her daughter, Polly, is defending her honor in the halls of Benjamin Banneker High School. Rather than face the principal and likely suspension, Caroline takes Polly on a road trip to face down her own demons from the past: specifically, Emily Kaplan, her childhood best friend who unceremoniously dumped Caroline 25 years ago in the middle of the school cafeteria, taking up with the far-more-cool Ellie Randolph. That public rejection ricocheted through Caroline's life, coloring her understanding of her father's leaving, her parents' divorce, their descent into near poverty, and even her younger sister's death. As the miles to Blackstone, Massachusetts pass under their wheels, Caroline tells Polly the story of her childhood. Polly slowly thaws, letting her mother's heartache open the lines of communication. Where once punk Polly frostily shut out Caroline, she now begins to assist in the plot to confront Emily—taking things even further than Caroline had anticipated. Dicks (Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, 2012, etc.) well balances Caroline's caution against Polly's pluck, Caroline's passive-aggressiveness against Polly's outrage, creating a believable mother-daughter relationship. As each secret comes to light, he shapes their initially fraught ties into strong friendship. Heartwarming and often darkly humorous, this road trip for vengeance fairly cries out for filming.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172211966
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	09/08/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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