The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley

Rating: 5 of 5 stars 

Pages: 337 pages
Published: March 2023

The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley is not your usual humorous chick lit novel. Basically, the book is a fun telling of a female friendship between the unlikeliest of characters. Tanner, a 21-year old who is down on her luck after a horrible accident at college and Louise, an elderly woman living alone who has a fall and breaks her hip. Her adult children, who do not live nearby, hire Tanner to move in and help take care of their mother. Being pushed into the job by her mother, Tanner begrudgingly shows up to do the bare minimum. Similarly, Louise does not think she needs the help, so the two spend most of their time speaking as little as possible to one another. But when Louise shows in Tanner's room at 1 a.m., with a bag of cash, insisting they leave right away and offers to pay Tanner to drive, the two go on the trip of a lifetime. 

Through everything they encounter while they're traveling, to the text message exchanges between Louise's three adult children who are trying to find where Tanner and Louise have absconded, to its satisfying conclusion, the story is definitely a well-rounded one. The tone is mainly lighthearted, but there are some nuggets of wisdom that Louise offers in her dialogue with Tanner and that the author provides through her omniscient narration both give this lovely book some depth. This is my first book by Oakley, and I will certainly be reading more of her stories. 

Honestly, I didn't really like Tanner at first, but through witty prose and careful character development, Oakley was able to win me over to both ladies, and I absolutely adored their relationship in the end. 

Recommendation: This is a light, laugh out loud, fun summer read. I finished it in a couple of days - and enjoyed every page turned! 

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.