When I Was You

 

How do I describe this book?  It's kind of like one of those carnival fun houses where all the mirrors distort things and you lose your sense of where you are, but you keep wanting to go back in!

One day Kelly Medina gets a call from the office of her son's old pediatrician regarding a scheduled well visit for her baby - only, her son is fully grown.  Upon explaining this, she finds out that there’s another Kelly Medina who’s recently moved to town, and she’s the intended recipient of the call.  This call sets in motion the rest of the “WHAT on Earth is happening?!?” that comes after.  

It turns out that the first Kelly Medina, who you learn early is trying to regroup after a mental breakdown caused by a frequently alluded to, mysterious event from her past involving a baby, quickly fixates on the new Kelly Medina and her baby son, Sullivan.  Her attempts to befriend the struggling single young mother and help take care of Sullivan become more aggressive and imposing with each new encounter, and you get her POV as insight into how she rationalizes her behavior. To make matters worse, despite being a truly toxic a-hole, her husband Rafael, who’s never home due to work, is worried she’s gone off the deep end again, as is her friend Christine, neither of whom believe this other Kelly is actually real.  

Is her fixation dangerous?  Who is this new Kelly Medina? What will become of this budding mentor-young mom friendship?  Suffice it to say, you’ll have to read to the twisty end to unravel what’s real and what isn’t, because as anyone who reads thrillers knows - things are never quite what they seem on the surface.  I will say the twist at the beginning of Part Two was just awesome, the twist at the beginning of Part Three I saw coming but was still fantastic, and the ending was delicious.  A couple downsides?  None of the characters are likeable, but in this story it worked.  I also thought that Part One started feeling just a tad long and repetitive, but in hindsight it set the stage well for the final two parts.

This book was disorienting with the dual Kellys, it was intriguing, it was at times nerve-wracking, sometimes sad, sometimes downright angering (Rafael really is a scumbag), and at all times it was engrossing.  The story pulled me in, wound me up and spun me around like a top, and that’s what a good thriller should do, so well-done Amber Garza!

★★★★