Review: I’M NOT HER by Cara Sue Achterberg

“This cannot be happening. Somehow I’m trapped in the body of Leann, and that doesn’t make sense. I need things to make sense. I’m a practical person. I don’t read science fiction; I don’t believe in God; and I’m not the least bit superstitious. I’m in control of my life, my future, and most certainly, my body. This cannot be happening.” (11)

How in the world did Carin swap bodies with this enormous woman, a nobody she’s never met?

On first impression, this seems to be another Freaky Friday tale, especially once you find out that Carin was born on Friday the 13^th.  

So Carin is living the life of a fat, penniless cashier while Leann lives the life a skinny, rich broad. Interesting. So, yeah, this is another body-switch story.

Having read body-switch stories before, I know the easiest thing to do is to get lost and forget who is who. But the author compensated for that by relaying the story in the 1^st person POV of Carin and Leann, giving the reader a good taste of each woman’s life.

I definitely felt more for Carin living in Leann’s humongous body and horrible life, especially since a good chunk of the book was devoted to Carin’s point of view. Having to put up with all that fat as well as a drunk, brute of a slob would be unacceptable for me. Unfortunately, Leann was just as bad as Leroy. What do you expect? They’re both good-for-nothing, lazy dummies that drink, steal, and smoke weed.

I enjoyed the rude awakening that Carin experiences when she realizes the challenges of motherhood, poverty, and obesity—all things she looked down upon with contempt in the past. And you certainly applaud Leann’s reconnection with books. 

A simple story with relatable characters, I’m Not Her is a classic example of “walking a mile in each other’s shoes.” A delightful read!

My rating: 4 stars