Book Tour, Giveaway, & Review: The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen

First line: As I pulled open the heavy glass door of Richards, Dunne, & Krantz and walked down the long hallway toward the executive offices, I noticed a light was on up ahead. 

From the back cover: Twenty-nine-year-old Lindsey Rose has, for as long as she can remember, lived in the shadow of her devastatingly beautiful fraternal twin sister, Alex. Determined to get noticed, Lindsey is finally on the cusp of being named creative vice president of an elite New York advertising agency, after years of eighty-plus hour weeks, migraines, and profound loneliness. But during the course of one devastating night, Lindsey’s carefully constructed life implodes.

Humiliated, she flees the glitter of Manhattan and retreats to the time warp of her parents’ Maryland home. As her sister plans her lavish wedding to her prince charming, Lindsey struggles to maintain her identity as the smart, responsible twin, while she furtively tries to put her career back together. But things get more complicated when a long held family secret is unleashed that forces both sisters to reconsider who they are and who they are meant to be.

My thoughts: I absolutely loved this book. Maybe it was because I could relate to some of the themes of the story – expectations, sibling rivalry and the search for perfection – or maybe because it was such a fun, enjoyable read, but I had a really hard time putting it down. Being the oldest of seven, it is easy to fall into the stereotypes given to us by parents, teachers, coaches. I found the main characters, Lindsey and Alex, to be wonderfully complex. They journey through sisterhood, life, love and loss (not always what it may seem) to find out that they are not what they think they are. They also find out that the grass is definitely not always greener on the other side. Reading this book, you will experience a host of emotions – laughing out loud, crying, cheering, cringing – all perfectly balanced, not too funny, not too sad. Page after page, you are hooked with unexpected plot twists right up to the very end. This is a stunning debut novel and I will certainly be keeping an eye out for Sarah Pekkanen’s next book.

About the author: Sarah Pekkanen is the women’s fiction author of The Opposite of Me, published by Atria (a division of Simon & Schuster) March 9, 2010. The book, a Redbook magazine March book pick, received rave reviews in People magazine (3.5/4 stars), The Washington Post and more. Sarah lives in the Washington D.C. area and is currently working on her second novel. Find Sarah on Facebook and on Twitter.

I received a complimentary copy of The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen from BookSparks PR to review. 

GIVEAWAY RULES:

Crystal at BookSparks PR has provided one copy of this awesome book for readers of this blog! All you have to do is follow my blog and leave a comment. Be sure to include your email address in your comment.

Rules:

• US  only
• No PO Boxes please
• Must be a follower to enter (new followers welcome!)
• Must include email address to enter
• Book will be mailed out by the publicist

Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!

GIVEAWAY ENDS

AT 6 PM, EST, JUNE 27th