Book Review: I Thought You Said This Would Work

Two former friends who haven't connected in years, a cross-country road trip with a D-list Hollywood celebrity, and a diabetic Great Pyrenees to rescue: sounds like the beginning of an awful joke, but instead is the premise of Ann Garvin's entertaining and touching new novel, I Thought You Said This Would Work.

Samantha and Holly were once college roommates and best friends until an unknown secret leaves them barely speaking for almost 25 years. Their only commonality left is Katie, their other college roommate and best friend, who calls on both of them when she is hospitalized in Wisconsin with a relapse of her cancer.

Too sick to travel herself, Katie asks them to help her rescue her beloved Great Pyrenees, Peanut, who has been moved from a dog shelter in Los Angeles to an animal sanctuary in Utah. What follows is a hilarious, heartwarming, and unexpected cross-country road trip that involves a washed-up celebrity, unexpected romance, a few extra furry friends, and Samantha and Holly getting to the bottom of what really tore their friendship apart all those years ago.

Told from Samantha's perspective, this novel brims with heartwarming moments and the familiarity of friendships to which everyone can relate. Each chapter is spent cheering on Samantha and Holly's lost friendship, hoping they can make amends not only for the sake of their sick best friend but also for themselves.

Garvin does excellent work in balancing the heartbreaking realities of illness and the unfair hands we are often dealt with goofy, laugh-out-loud moments that leave readers wanting more. Each character is developed in such a way that you grow to love them, flaws and all.

In a way that feels genuine and authentic, I Thought You Said This Would Work is an excellent depiction of how deep the bonds of friendship are and how far we are willing to go to help those that we love the most.

I Thought You Said This Would Work by Ann Garvin is set for release on May 1.

— Ally Kutz

Lake Union Publishing // 301 pages // Contemporary Fiction