REVIEW: It’s You by Jane Porter

In It’s You by Jane Porter, Dentist Alison McAdams feels like she’s barely hanging on after the shocking loss of her fiance Andrew about a year ago. Couple that with losing her Mom six months later and having her father move into a retirement facility in Napa, and Ali is an emotional wreck. So when her father takes a tumble, she has to see for herself that he’s alright. Maybe getting out of Scottsdale and spending quality time with him is just what Ali needs.

‘Reading Edie’s diary makes me realize I’m not the only one. I’m not the only one to struggle and love and lose. I’m not the only one to feel such guilt… And suddenly it hits me–that I want to go. I want to go to Germany. To Berlin.’

Fitting into her father’s daily life at Napa Estates is not easy at first for Ali. Especially when she meets ninety-five year old Edie there and starts off on the wrong foot. There’s something about the way Edie treats her, though, that has Ali wanting to get to know her better. Soon their conversations turn to the past and how they both suffered the loss of their true love. When Edie confides about her time in Germany during World War II and the choices she made, Ali not only decides to go see the places in Edie’s diary, but she thinks it may help her move forward and find closure in her own struggles.

‘I lost Andrew–and my Mom–but I’m young. Whole. Alive. I have the present and the future. I can choose my thoughts. I can choose to hope. I can choose to love, and to give–like my Mom–and to believe.’

It’s You was an introspective, sometimes heartbreaking, piece of women’s fiction by the exceptionally talented Jane Porter. While this was based on some darker subjects, the overall message of hope and survival is what I–and in turn, hope you–will take away from Ali and Edie’s story.

I will start right off by saying this was not a particularly easy read at times, only because of the sorrow and emotional pain both Edie and Ali went through. The writing was great, with each scene easily flowing into the next, and with the past and the present intertwining to paint a poignant picture of two women who must start again after suffering a tremendous personal loss. It was well worth my time in the end, however, to see how things worked out for these strong women.

This book was obviously crafted with a lot of love. Love for the characters, for their happiness and their joy. The way Ms. Porter wrote this, from both Ali and Edie’s POV, helped me feel like I really got to know them both. I felt like I shared their sorrow and their triumphs. I also really enjoyed watching the connection grow between them after their rocky start. They were from completely different generations but somehow managed to understand each other through their tragedies and through the determination to move past those events.

From tragic loss of loved ones to new-found friendships, and from the end of a love story to the beginning of a young romance, It’s You will be sure to bring out your compassionate side.

Book Info:

Publication: June 2nd 2015 | by Berkley |

From the USA Today bestselling author of the Brennan Sisters novels comes a heartwarming story about finding love and strength, even in the darkest moments…

In the wake of a tragedy that tore her life down to the foundations, Dr. Alison McAdams has lost her way. So when she’s summoned to Napa to care for her ailing father, she’s not sure she has anything to offer him—or anyone else.

What Ali finds in Northern California wine country is a gift—an opportunity to rest, and distance from her painful memories. Most unexpectedly, she finds people who aren’t afraid of her grief or desperate for her to hurry up and move on.

As Ali becomes part of her father’s community, makes new friends of her own, and hears the stories of a generation who survived the Second World War, she begins to find hope again. In a quest to discover the truth about another woman’s lost love, she sets off on a journey across oceans and deep into history. And in making sense of that long-ago tragedy, Ali is able to put together the broken pieces of her heart and make new choices that are right for her.