A Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller.Honesty is the best policy…except maybe when it comes to marriage in this brilliant novel about the high price of perfection from bestselling author Camille Pagán.Wife. Mother. Breadwinner. Penelope Ruiz-Kar is doing it all—and barely keeping it together. Meanwhile, her best friend, Jenny Sweet, appears to be sailing through life. As close as the two … sailing through life. As close as the two women are, Jenny’s passionate marriage, pristine house, and ultra-polite child stand in stark contrast to Penelope’s underemployed husband, Sanjay, their unruly brood, and the daily grind she calls a career.
Then a shocking tragedy reveals that Jenny’s life is far from perfect. Reeling, Penelope vows to stop keeping the peace and finally deal with the issues in her relationship. So she and Sanjay agree to a radical proposal: both will write a list of changes they want each other to make—then commit to complete and total honesty.
What seems like a smart idea quickly spirals out of control, revealing new rifts and even deeper secrets. As Penelope stares down the possible implosion of her marriage, she must ask herself: When it comes to love, is honesty really the best policy?
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Penelope is struggling through life, marriage and motherhood. She has two wonderful, boisterous kids, a great job, a husband she loves, even if he is a little bit of a dead beat. But, she is so tired of carrying this heavy load. She feels overwhelmed and completely under appreciated. Plus, she compares herself to other moms, especially her best friend Jenny. Jenny has an immaculate home, she is always there with cupcakes to every school function and she and her husband have the perfect marriage….or so it seems on the outside. Penny finds Jenny dead one day from an overdose. Then all the secrets start to come out!
Penny is a tough, tired lady and when her best friend dies she realizes something has to change in her life. She has a heart-to-heart talk with her husband. So, they come up with an idea to create a list of what they need from the other person. Penny wants…what all women want. Sanjay needs to get a job and help more around the house. She never truly expected Sanjay to give her a list. Well, he did!
I love the paradox this novel creates…is honesty the best policy? We are all for it when we get to tell the other person what is wrong with them…but can we take what is wrong with us? The author did a fantastic job with Penny’s feelings. And when Sanjay gets his act together…I can see why she fell in love with him to begin with. I enjoy these characters so much. They are so real! I struggled right along with Penny. We have all been there.
A wonderful story about life and marriage. Need a good, quick read…this one is for you!
What insight into friendships and marriage! I love the writing and the pace of the story! It deals with the raw emotions of losing someone to addiction and the secrets that are kept. The reality of the hard work to keep a marriage vibrant is beautifully dealt with here! Even with raw emotions, tragedy and looming problems of marriage, this lovely story ends in a note of gratitude and hope!
I really enjoyed the way that the relationships were portrayed in this novel! Author Camille Pagan has a style of writing where she delves deep into her characters’ relationships and portrays them in an intimate and realistic way. Penelope has been struggling with her marriage and her home and work balance for a while. Her best friend, Jenny, on the other hand, has a perfect marriage and job. When tragedy strikes her friend’s life, Penelope begins to realize that Jenny’s life is not as perfect as it looks. Little by little, Penelope takes a serious look at her marriage, her job, and her life. She starts to be more honest with other people and stand up for herself more. And she encourages others in her life to do the same. This makes things more complicated for everyone, but Penelope still hopes to make things better in the long run. The characters are enjoyable. The plot is relatable as the marriages, family, and friendships are presented in a serious, realistic way.
ARC received for review purposes
“I’m fine and neither are you” is not just a book title, but a great phrase that sums up this beautiful story and sometimes life in general
This book takes several types of relationships (marriage, friendships, parent/child), SHREDS them to pieces, and builds them back together, hopefully stronger than ever.
Penny & Sanjay have fallen into the usual trap-accidentally letting life get in the way of their relationship. Becoming so caught up in the “daily grind”-kids, jobs, housework, bills & so much more-distract you…
On the surface, Jenny’s life is perfect. But there is always more lurking under the surface. Is Jenny’s marriage what it seems? Is her internet persona the “real Jenny”? Does Penny really know her best friend Jenny? Does Jenny’s husband???
I highlighted so many passages in this story-things I’ve felt, I’ve thought about my own relationships or motherhood but could never dare speak, even just ideas or quotes that spoke to me or made me think. It’s all in here…heartbreak, love, so many tears….THIS is a book that will stay with you for a while
I end this with a small piece of the last sentence “I only hoped she knew I had received her parting gift—the ability to look beyond what was missing and be grateful for all that remained.”
The death of her best friend has Penny questioning and reevaluating her own world and dealing with the secrets that everyone has. Is she happy in her career and marriage? Penny finds she has work to do. This story is such a reminder of what is happening in our world with addiction and the battles people struggle with. Life’s hard and this book is a beautifully written reminder of self care and being honest. Penny’s character is in so many of us that the next time someone says ‘how are you’ I may think before I answer.
Camille Noe Pagan has done it again with a thought provoking novel that we can all relate to. How many times has someone asked how you are and you reply with “I’m fine.” when you are anything but fine. Penny is like most women doing it all. The loss of her friend Jenny makes her reflect on her life and what is truly important. This is a book for our times. It deals with opiate addiction, love, loss, marriage and so much more. I could really relate to this book. I dove into it and it consumed me. I could not put it down. Filled with relatable characters that come to life. These people are you and I. They are your friends and neighbors. This is a fast paced read that you can’t put down. The author has captured the essence of what life as a woman is like. Why do we feel we have to do it all? I absolutely loved this book! You will fall into its pages and keep reading well into the night. Extremely well written, this is a must read! ##tallpoppyblogger ##tallpoppywriter ##bloomreads
I’m Fine and Neither Are You is a witty and honest book about modern marriage and motherhood. It’s smart and relevant, and it tackles many important issues that so many women and families can relate to. I loved the writing style and I enjoyed the characters, I could easy see myself in Penelope and relate to her struggles. I laughed and I cried while reading this book. I flew through it in two sittings, and even though it was a breezy read, it was also a thought-provoking story. I’m Fine and Neither Are You a perfect book club pick. I highly recommend it
Author Camille Pagan has a way of turning real life crises into tongue and cheek humorous fodder. The protagonist in this book was super relatable and I enjoyed watching her go from a victim of life’s circumstances to a rightful hero as she takes control of her life. Pagan is on my short list of one-click authors, and she’s never let me down.
I can honestly say that although at times my emotions were all over the place through this book, I adored it and respect it. I really respect Camilles writing about the loss of a friend and loved one and all of the fall out life goes through while dealing with grief, as well as the taboo subject of opiod abuse. I also love the “real-ness” that the main character goes through evaluating her life as a wife, mother, daughter, friends, and career woman. Ultimately coming to face to face with choices that I believe all people, at least moat women I know face at some point in life. This was very well written and I highly recommend it.
Title Says It All. A lot of times when I write these reviews, the book didn’t really hit home or I’ve given myself some time to process before writing or a singular theme arose from my read of the book or some other thing that kind of “ties the review together”. None of that really applies here. This book hit hard on many levels, and I’m writing this review within just a couple of minutes of finishing it.
Ultimately, the title really does say it all. I’m fine – and neither are you. We’re all messy, none of us are perfect. But most all of us are trying to do the right thing as best we can, even when life tries to keep us down. Sometimes we handle things amazingly, sometimes we run away and have a meltdown over something that should have been simple. It happens.
This is a fictional tale with a lot of real life issues thrown into the story and handled in a very realistic manner, to the level that the book comes dang close to veering into self help categories. This was my first book from Pagan, and it won’t be my last.
“I’m Fine and Neither Are You” is a wonderful book written in such an honest way that the main character, Penelope, is incredibly easy to relate to. As a working mother and wife trying to support her family on her sole income, Penelope feels the stress of trying to keep it all together. Daily stress about work, kids, and family all come to the surface after Penelope loses her best friend. As she processes the loss, she realizes just how fleeting life is and sets out to make changes in her own life.
This book is written in such a way that Penelope is just so…relatable. There were several times I found myself thinking, “wow, I know just how she is thinking and how that feels!” It has been awhile since I could relate to a character so well, and it was refreshing to read a story with characters so perfectly real. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend!
Thank you to Camille Pagan and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own and I found the book entertaining and enjoyable!
After sharing 16 years of marriage and two children, Stevie and Miles, with Sanjay, Penny has just begun to consider a life without him when tragedy strikes her best friend, Jenny’s, family. While dealing with the aftermath, she begins to see life differently and wonders if her marriage can be saved. What if she and Sanjay exchanged a list of things they’d like the other to improve upon? Would it be enough to fix their failing marriage? Is honesty always the best policy?
As usual, Ms. Pagán’s unique and friendly writing style drew me in right from the beginning and made me feel like I was hanging out with my best friend. This story addresses the complexity of marriage and friendship as well as other timely societal issues. This story provided many powerful and important messages in which we can all relate to in some way or another. The ending made me tear up several times.
“It takes courage to be yourself when everyone expects you to be someone else.”
Location: Michigan and NYC
I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “I’m Fine and Neither Are You” by Camille Pagan, Lake Union Publishing, 2019
Camille Pagan, Author of” I’m Fine and Neither Are You” has written a thought-provoking, intriguing, intense and heart-warming novel. The Genres for this story are Fiction, and Women’s Fiction. The time-line of this story is in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The author describes her characters as average everyday people who could be our neighbors. Each of the characters had their imperfections and set of problems.
After reading this novel, one of the questions that comes to mind, can there be too much honesty in a marriage or relationship? Another question that comes to mind is what makes all of us strive for perfection at any cost? These of course are my rhetorical questions, that I continue to think of after reading “I’m Fine and Neither Are You”. I appreciate that Camille Pagan discusses these issues that are extremely thought-provoking, and writes her story in such an amazing way.
Penelope Ruiz-Kar is a wife, mom,”breadwinner”, and an amazing organizer to the point of exhaustion. Her husband Sanjay is supposed to be a stay at home Dad, while writing, and trying to seek employment. Penelope’s job is extremely stressful, and she often takes work home and does more than she should. Somehow, Penelope doubts how well she is doing.
When a tragedy takes place, and Penelope loses a dear friend , who seemed to have it all together, she reflects on her life. Penelope and Sanjay agree to make lists and be honest with one another. Can you only imagine what happens next? I highly recommend this enthralling, page-turning, hard to put down book for readers that enjoy a thought-provoking novel. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.
I’m Fine and Neither Are You is an excellent read about best friends, marriages and knowing how to say no and ask for what you want / need.
Penny wasn’t really doing any of that and was trying to be everything to everybody while she was slowly falling apart. In a totally different way, Jenny was doing the same thing, except she chose the path of Insta perfection, which is just as hard. I’m sure many readers will relate to both women and probably even feel like they are them. That’s the beauty of this story. While a story of loss, it’s also about gain, but the kind of gain that benefits everyone.
The author did such a wonderful job with the characters that it felt like Jenny, Penny, Matt and Sanjay could actually speak to me. They were people I’d enjoy knowing and that always makes a book much better.
Camille Pagan has written a very timely book that deals with big issues and specifically one that is topical. Well, the everything to everybody issue is also very much an issue in the age we live in now. The part that made me hopeful was how Matt chose to deal with the reality of Jenny’s loss. I think many of us could take a leaf from his book and from how Penny and Sanjay chose to move ahead with their lives.
I so loved the way this story unfolded. At first I really disliked one of the main male characters, but he tried honesty also and he became someone I was cheering for. The author has done a great job focusing on issues our society should pay more attention to, but without making it seem like she’s preaching. Well done!
Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC at my request. My thoughts in this review are my own.
Astonishing and heartbreaking read of the journey of one woman’s relationships with family and friends and what she learns about herself. The lies we tell ourselves and others to cover up our pain or our not so perfect lives and or the jealousies we have over what we think is someone’s perfect life can all change in a moment! What is really keeping Penny from being happy and how could people she cared about keep secrets from here? Was she really ready to be honest to save her marriage? I loved this story and I am so glad to find this author and look forward to reading her other books. Her characters are real and passionate and believable and leave you wanting to know more. Us readers always want more! Well done Camille!
Camille Pagan has written the story of every woman who hides their real feelings and puts on a brave front. When asked, “how are you?”, many of us always answer, “I’m fine” simply because we don’t want others to know of our insecurities and weaknesses. As a woman, we all have our struggles balancing work, kids, relationships and life in general. I’m Fine and Neither Are You really drives home the meaning behind “the grass is always greener on the other side”. I love Camille Pagan’s writing and the way she always brings light to subjects that we sometimes hide.
When I started reading this book, I wasn’t sure where it was going to. Penny is a busy corporate woman and a mother of two. She is having a really crummy day when it gets worse. What do you do when your best friend dies and leaves behind a beautiful daughter? You step up. After that whats left to do? She realizes that her life is in shambles and she needs to fix it so she doesn’t end up alone and miserable.
This book takes you through the ups and downs of depression, learning how to love yourself, learning how to love who you are and be who you want to be. It really made me take a step back and relate to Penny.
This was my first book by Camille, and I am in love. I can not wait to read the rest of her books.
I’M FINE AND NEITHER ARE YOU by Camille Pagán is a wonderfully-written and engaging story of marriage, friendship and honesty in relationships. As a wife, mother and sole breadwinner for her family, Penelope Ruiz-Kar is totally overwhelmed and finds herself wishing she could escape her current life. The fact that her best friend, Jenny appears to have it all only compounds her desperate feelings. When a shocking and unexpected tragedy takes place, Penny is forced to confront not only the secrets that Jenny was keeping from her, but the lack of honesty in her own marriage. Camille Pagán portrays the characters and their relationships in a compassionate and totally relatable way. That their story is told with such empathy and even a little humor makes the characters seem even more real. I thoroughly enjoyed this touching and thought-provoking book and highly recommend it!
The protagonist in this book is Penelopy Ruis-Kar, a mother of two children who also works full-time outside the home. Her husband is a writer and works at home, which basically means he offers very little support as Penny struggles to take care of the house, kids, and bring home the bacon. She faces what every woman in this common situation faces – exhaustion, not enough time to take care of herself, no sex life, anxiety, and a sense of being continuously overwhelmed. She gets through it by leaning on her best friend, Jenny, who seems to have all the answers and a perfect marriage. When Jenny dies of an opioid overdose, Penny’s is forced to stop and take stock of her own life as she realizes that she never really knew Jenny at all. Her life wasn’t perfect, her marriage was on the rocks, and she was addicted to pain killers. But Penny is fortunate. She has a wonderful husband, Sanjay, who loves her and together they turn things around. This book is a reminder that you’re life is slipping by day-by-day and only by facing the truth and being honest with yourself and those you love can you make the changes needed to grow stronger…and be happy.
It took me a while to get into this book; I listened to this as an audiobook and Amy McFadden is what kept me listening. Penelope and Sanjay were very realistic and very relatable to the real world. I love their story and how the book ended. I am glad I finished it, and I recommend this book to anyone who feels overwhelmed and needs a good laugh and wants to believe their will be a light at the end of the tunnel.