By: Lynn Galli Publisher: Outskirts Press Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Outskirts Press Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 300 Publication Date: July 27, 2007
Product Description: Considered Charlottesville's most eligible lesbian, Jessie Ximena has recently grown tired of that status and has stopped dating entirely. She'd rather focus on the important things in life like her family, her friends, and her job. There will always be plenty of time for relationships when she feels like jumping back into the fray. If she finds someone to hold her interest, that is.
Lauren Aleric has been searching for Ms. Right since she began dating, but no one has yet filled the role. Her friends think that she's too much of a romantic mush to settle. She wishes she could be more like her good friend Jessie, who seems perfectly happy dating casually. But mostly, she wishes she could be like her best friend, Austy, who's just found her forever love.
Imagining Reality is the story of these two friends and how they discover that what they're both looking for isn't as far apart as they might think.
I really got what I ordered I was very happy to order a book that said it was "just like new condition" and have it really come like that. I will feel good about ordering from you anytime since you truly get what is advertised....
Imagine Reality I find the book rather entertaining and well worth the money spent =) Readers are also recommended to try reading 'uncommon emotion' by the same author too ^^
Interesting Story, Effective Writing This is an interesting story about the interactions among a group of friends in a mid-sized college town. The author does a good job of drawing the personalities of a wide variety of people. The writing style is unusual. Switching back and forth between first person and third person viewpoint could cause a rough ride for the reader, but I think she manages to pull it off successfully. The result is that the reader gains more insight into the main protagonists than would be possible by sticking to just one point of view.
We pretty much know where the story is going just from reading the back cover. Jessie Ximena is considered a player, happy with the casual dating scene and the single life. Her close friend Lauren Aleric wants to find Ms. Right and settle into a permanent relationship. The book describes their journey of learning about each other's innermost wishes, dreams, nightmares, and hopes for the future. It's convincing and nicely done.
One thing I especially like is the substantive plot. When I can summarize everything that happens in a few sentences, which unfortunately is the case with a number of new books these days, I feel kind of let down. This book isn't another "plotless wonder." Watching how the characters react to events around them shows the reader what they're made of. It's much more effective that just telling about it via a series of static conversations between characters.
The last few pages of the book are short excerpts from the author's forthcoming book ("Uncommon Emotions") and the predecessor to this one ("Wasted Heart"). I definitely plan to read both.
Made me want to read more I found the tone of Lynn Galli's second book to be completely different from her first, but still very enjoyable. It was sweet and romantic, not what I was expecting from a story about Jessie. That's one of the reasons why I liked it so much. The switch back and forth from Jessie to Lauren's point of view gives us even more insight into this eclectic group of friends. Getting more of Austy and Elise was worth the price alone.
I agree with the other reviewers who say that at least one more book should be eeked out of these Virginia friends (more, if the author is up for it). Maybe if we all gang up on her, we'll pressure her into giving us another story.
Enjoy spending time with a charming group of friends While I did not like this offering as much as her previous book, Imagining Reality is still well worth a read, and I'm also looking forward to further offerings from this author. I'm intrigued by the thought put forth by another reviewer that the author should at least publish one other book involving this group: the story of Willa and Quinn, but I'm interested to see what she does with new settings and people.
There were some issues with verb tenses, that were more nagging than anything else, and a couple of grammatical errors missed in the editing, but I merely noted these. Where the book most lost me was through the lack of a clear narrative line. Some events clearly had to happen, so there wasn't a complete lack of anticipation, but the book seemed more a collection of meetings, dinners, and conversations that all built up to a whole in the end, versus a story with a common thread weaving through it leading to a definite destination, with only the steps or journey to be taken undecided.
Despite these weaknesses, I enjoyed the reading of it. I was intrigued by the switch from first to third person throughout the book. It was an interesting idea. And I really enjoyed spending time with each of these characters. Lynn gives her creations strong voices and unique mannerisms and idiosyncracies. You believe their motivations when they take certain actions, even when you want to shake some sense into them, and it's refreshingly unlike reading some books where the characters are indistinguishable. These women have lives and thoughts of their own. They have pasts and worries and issues that inform their decisions and actions. They experience real emotion, and Lynn is adept at weaving these lives and psyches together.
In addition, it was a delight to get to revisit Elise and Austy and their relationship from Lynn's previous book. The ending of Imagining Reality was satisfying and touching, and I'd recommend it, particularly if you read and enjoyed her first book.
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