This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Victoria Sutton
Having recently listened to The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin on audiobook, which inspired me to attempt to maintain a more positive outlook, I was excited to receive a copy of The Pollyanna Plan. I don’t know whether I should admit this, but I’m not sure I even knew who Pollyanna was before she was mentioned in The Happiness Project, so it’s just as well I’d read that book before delving into this one. I couldn’t wait to see how things would turn out for Emma following her own happiness plan, albeit a fictional one!
Emma Beckett always errs on the side of caution. After the devastating loss of her father during her childhood and the feeling that she was pushed out of her own family when her mother remarried, she has always been careful to protect herself from any further pain. She has ‘the ideal job’ as an underwriter and ‘the ideal life’ with her ‘perfect’ fiancé George.
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However, when this safe world Emma has meticulously created for herself comes crashing down around her, she has to reevaluate her decisions. She takes up a challenge set by her best friend Alice to follow ‘The Pollyanna Plan’, which will see Emma attempting to look for the best in everything, instead of expecting the worst. Will positive thinking work for Emma? At this stage in her life, she has nothing left to lose…
Will is the heir to the Ballard paint fortune, but when he meets Emma he is working in a DIY store and living alone in his narrow boat on the river. Since being diagnosed with MS and losing his longterm girlfriend, he has vowed not to get too close to anyone again. He thinks he is finally living his life his own way, but can he truly be happy living that way and is it what he really wants?I really enjoyed The Pollyanna Plan. Initially, I wasn’t completely convinced that Emma would embrace the project so easily, but I was far more disappointed when she attempted to revert to her previous pessimistic way of life! Will was a sumptuous hero and I rooted for him and Emma from the moment they met.
A fun, engaging read that encourages people to look on the bright side in order to live a full and happy life!
8/10