The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke is a women’s fiction novel that follows the lives of three lifelong best friends who turn 40 and find themselves facing unexpected challenges and changes in their personal and professional lives.
The novel is written in a first-person narrative, alternating between the three main characters, Jessie, Claire, and Gabriela, making it easy to read while following along with the plot and getting connected with the reader. The main characters include Jessie, who struggles with her dishonesty about the consequences of her affair, Claire, who struggles with the missed opportunity to be with the love of her life and a tense relationship between her daughter Emily, and Gabriela, who struggles with the emotional toll that her infertility has caused on her marriage and mental state.
What I really enjoyed about the book was that it had a realistic perspective on women in their 40s dealing with regrets from their past and the “what if” outcomes of their choices.
Gabriela’s story was the main plotline that I enjoyed the most, as it provided a much-needed angle and perspective on the physical, mental, and emotional toll individuals that struggle with infertility go through. Gabriela faces the emotional toll of infertility, longing for a child but unable to conceive. When she and her friends have the chance to relive the year they turned 40, she goes back in time to her most fertile years to try to produce. This causes her alternative timeline to consist of her relentless pursuit of motherhood that leads her to take extreme measures, causing her to lose everything she holds dear. She becomes consumed by her obsession, neglecting her relationships, career, and personal well-being.
Along with its writing, the novel has relatable characters that will resonate with anyone searching for a heartfelt and honest exploration of the complexities of growing older, as well as anyone searching for a moving read. Overall, I would recommend this book as it’s a good read for those interested in women’s fiction, personal growth, and self-discovery.
Get the book! Check out The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke at the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, or the Queens Public Library.
About the author Linda is a young Brooklyn native who developed an interest in books during the pandemic. Her creative mind makes her an avid reader of young adult, fiction, and romance novels.
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