Past Perfect Life is the first book I have read by Elizabeth Eulberg. I was drawn to it after reading my friend Stephanie's review. I also liked the comparison to Robin Benway's Far From the Tree, which I adored. I probably would have compared it to Benways' Emmy & Oliver as well. I'm really glad I had the chance to read it because it was one of those books that immediately grabbed my attention and had me not wanting to put it down. The writing was that good! I loved the story and all of the characters.

Ally was easy to relate to. I can only imagine what it would be like to find out the life you were living was real, but also a lie. The problems she had accepting all of the changes was understandable. I liked the way Ally coped with everything and all of the choices she made.

One of my favorite things about this book were the side characters. Ally had a really amazing group of friends who were more like family. I loved her relationships with each and every one of them, especially Neil. Their new-found romance was adorable. I also really loved Ally's new relationships. Her step-father was so understanding and cool.

Ally's relationships with her parents was so interesting to me. I could easily put myself in both of their places. As a parent, it was hard to look at Ally's dad in a negative light even though I didn't condone what he had done. I found myself frustrated with her mom while understanding her actions. I felt so torn over everything.

There was only one thing keeping me from giving this book 5 stars: the ending. Everything wrapped up so quickly. It was too quickly for my taste. I was left with so many unanswered questions. I needed at least an epilogue. Don't let detour you from reading Past Perfect Life, though. It was so very good and definitely worth a read. I'm looking forward to reading more of Elizabeth Eulberg's books.

A great book for fans of realistic fiction. It's weird to think that you might be someone other than who you thought and this book portrays how one teenager deasl with this.

A secret from Ally's past has caught up with her, which drastically altered her life, and threatened to derail her future.

I am going to apologize up front for being vague, but it is too easy to give away the plot here, and I liked when my suspicions were confirmed. It was a good gasp worthy moment for me, and I want you to have that too. Therefore, I will share as much as I think I can without spoiling anything.

"Two truths and a lie?"
"I'm angry. I'm scared. My life."

• My emotions! I will admit, my emotions were all over the place as I read this one. I was definitely channeling Ally at times, because I felt mad, hurt, sad, empty, frustrated, happy, and swoony. I would definitely say, that Eulberg did an amazing job conveying the emotions of the characters in this book.

• Found family - It was just Ally and her dad, but she was lucky enough to be "adopted" by her best friend Marian, who came from a HUGE family. They were her de facto family, and when push came to shove, they stood up for her and stood by her side.

• An adorable romance - Right before her life imploded, Ally finally declares her feelings for her long time crush. The two of them together were utterly precious and so, so cute. My heart broke just thinking about them having to be apart, but that boy kept surprising me (and Ally) in the best ways.

• Father-daughter bond - Ally and her dad shared something special, which I think is not too unusual when it comes to small families. I adored all their "theme nights", and their affection for each other was really beautiful.

• Setting - Hello, Wisconsin! It was nice to be out in the midwest for a little change of pace, and Eulberg treated us to lots of weather, cheese, and Packers related anecdotes. I also loved their small town, and the way all the residents circled round to protect Ally.

• Friendship - Ally was blessed with an incredible group of friends. Their lunch time follies were amusing, and I was really touched by their dedication to each other.

This was an emotional and compelling read. I really tore through it, and though, I wish there was an epilogue, I was still left really hopeful for Ally and her family.

I discovered Elizabeth Eulberg a couple years ago and she quickly became one of my favorite YA Contemporary authors. I really can’t believe that more people aren’t talking about her books. Past Perfect Life was another of her books that I finished in one day.

Ally lives in a small town with her father and her biggest problem is coming up with a decent topic for her college application/scholarship application essay questions. She has a tight-knit group of friends and a great relationship with her father. That is, until her college applications are kicked back for having an invalid social security number. I feel like you can probably already guess what happens based off of the clues in the synopsis, but I kind of find it impossible to review this book without disclosing what happens, so if you really don’t want to know, this is your official ***SPOILER ALERT***. Turns out, Ally Smith is not her real name and her mother didn’t really die when she was three. When her father was afraid of losing partial custody of her, he fled with her and they have been living under false identities ever since.

This isn’t the first YA book I’ve read with this topic, but I thought it was well done. A lot of time is dedicated to Ally’s mental and emotional state around the discovery and then as she tries to adjust to her new life. We also see how it effects the friends she’s forced to leave behind and the new family she never knew existed who have been mourning her loss for the past fifteen years. I really loved Ally’s friends, the extended Gleason family, especially adorable Neil. I also really liked Ally’s step-father. I thought he handled the situation better than anyone else and was overall pretty amazing. I have to say I really didn’t care for Ally’s mother. I know that she’s been through a lot, but I thought she handled everything really poorly, right up until the end, which I thought was just a tad too easy and abrupt. I really could have used an epilogue.

I definitely need to mention Eulberg’s writing. She has such an addictive writing style that compels me to keep reading, even when I had decided I was going to set the book down to do something else. I certainly didn’t mean to finish this book in one day, but that’s exactly what happened because I just had to keep reading.

Overall, I really enjoyed Past Perfect Life. Though it was a heavier read than Eulberg’s other books I’ve read, I thought it was well done. The topic was interesting and Ally’s character development was really well done. I liked the cute romance with Neil and the really addictive writing. I definitely recommend that Contemporary fans check this out, as well as some of Eulberg’s other books.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

"Just remember during a storm, Ally Bean, that light will always follow,’ he used to say". .
-Ally’s Dad,
Past Perfect Life

Real, honest story. Would recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Review copy courtesy of NetGalley.

This book had a very compelling premise: Allison lives in a small town in Wisconsin, has a super close relationship with her dad, and is excited to apply to college. But applying to college triggers a very unexpected life change: she discovers her dad has been lying to her since she was a toddler, and stole her from her mom.

There was enough in this book to maybe fill a few books on this story but I was a little disappointed by the characterization of the Mom, who did not seem to sympathize at all with her daughter’s shock and depression. Readers who like realistic fiction but even thrillers may enjoy this one.

3.5/5 Stars

Author: Elizabeth Eulberg

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Edition: e-ARC, 344 Digital Pages

Hardcover Publication Date: July 09, 2019

A Spine that Shines? Partially

*This review is based on the e-ARC edition provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All quotes used in this review come from the uncorrected proof. These are my honest opinions. Thank you.*

I try not to think about anything. The past is too painful, the present too confusing, and the future too scary.
Ally, Past Perfect Life

Initial Thoughts:

Happy Saturday! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! I finished reading Past Perfect Life today. At first I was kind of torn between whether to rate it 3.5 or 4 stars, but ultimately went with 3.5. Since my rating scales may be slightly different from those of other reviewers, let me clarify that 3.5 is a middle-range rating for me. It means that I liked the book, but some factor kept me from rating it higher. In this case, part of the reason is I didn’t feel super strongly about the book.

I requested this book because I really enjoyed two of the author’s previous books: Prom & Prejudice and Better off Friends. And there is still much to appreciate here in Past Perfect Life as well.

The premise is intriguing. A girl named Ally has been living a quiet life in a small Wisconsin town. Then one day she finds out that her entire life has been a lie, and she is the victim of a crime (even though she doesn’t feel like a victim).

The author captures the voice of a teenage girl very well. I’m sure many students would find Ally’s worries about college applications and scholarship essays quite relatable.

Eulberg also captures the complexity of the different relationships very well. In fact, it is difficult to choose a “side” in all of this because the author skillfully evokes a sense of compassion from the readers, and all the characters have their own reasons to believe that their particular point of view is correct.

There are some cute, funny moments, and I really liked Neil, Ally’s crush. (More on him later.)

Ally has a dog named Baxter! Adorable!

Ally has such a supportive group of people in Wisconsin, and it is touching to see how much they care about her even though they are not related by blood.

‘And, Ally, I’ve waited this long. I can wait a little longer. You’re worth it.’
Neil, Past Perfect Life

Characters:

Here is a brief overview of some of the characters:

Ally is living a quiet life until everything is turned upside-down. She is a good student who never gets in trouble. She is quiet and has very close relationship with her dad. She also has a massive crush on Neil, a boy at school.

Marian is Ally’s best friend. The friendship relationship between them is written very well, and I think they have a good connection. Marian’s entire family seems to care about Ally very much.

Neil is just so sweet! He is one of Marian’s many cousins. When Ally has to leave, he tells her that he is willing to wait for her because she is “worth it.” I actually felt as if there wasn’t enough of him in the book. I really liked the scenes between him and Ally. They make a cute couple. But I was left with the feeling that we don’t actually get to know that much about him in particular.

‘Just remember during a storm, Ally Bean, that light will always follow,’ he used to say.
Ally’s Dad, Past Perfect Life

Final Thoughts:

So what prevented me from fully enjoying this book? Partly, I didn’t feel super strongly about it by the end.

For one thing, I was hoping there would be more mystery/suspense. But the story is actually less about the crime and more about what happens to Ally after she finds out the big revelation.

It also takes a while for the story to fully pick up. (For me personally, it took about 80 pages.)

The plot lags a little bit in the middle, and Ally does spend a while wallowing in her misery, which can be depressing to read about.

Ally’s mother figure comes across as really controlling in some moments. While I understand that the mother has been through a rough patch, it is quite frustrating that she doesn’t want to listen to how Ally feels about her new life. And her mother’s treatment of her really seems to affect Ally’s emotional health, almost sending her into a depression of sorts.

In the end, I do think it is good that Ally is able to finally find her voice and make herself heard. And I would still recommend this book to readers who enjoy realistic fiction with a focus on family relationships! That is what the book is mainly about. I’m also willing to give the author’s other books a chance, and I would certainly recommend Prom & Prejudice if you’re unsure of where to begin with Elizabeth Eulberg’s books. (I adore Jane Austen retellings!) Happy reading 🙂

*Content Warnings: Some swearing (including a few uses of the s-word and f-word), thoughts/behavior that can come across as depressing*

More than anything I constantly felt frustrated because of the situation Ally finds herself in and how the adults handle it, which didn’t really make for an enjoyable read. It definitely was thought provoking though because whatever choice was made, someone ends up losing out. It was a compelling read, but not a book I would pick up again.

Past Perfect Life by Elizabeth Eulberg (July 9)
Overview: Ally Smith has lived for almost her entire life in Wisconsin. She briefly remembers living in Chicago, but it's always been just her and her dad. She's made a life in the town and become almost family with the Gleasons who basically own the town. Her perfect life is shattered, though, when an error with her social security number on her college applications alerts the FBI that she's actually a missing person. Overall: 4.5

Characters: 5 Ally is an awesome main character. Her voice and handling of emotions is so relatable, and I love how articulate she is. The emotional hurdles she jumps through are so shocking, but she makes them make sense. It's almost like a reverse savior situation she finds herself in as she's taken from her "perfect" life and dropped into one that looks much more "perfect" from the outside.
The Gleasons are great additions too. They're her best friends and protect her when her world is turned upside down. They're developed enough to bring the story to life but don't steal the focus.
The parents are also all very complex characters. Her father, though he kidnapped her and is probably mentally ill in some way, was a wonderful, caring father that no one suspected anything about. It creates an interesting conflict within Ally when her loving father is ripped away from her and replaced with a distant, controlling, and constantly disappointed stranger of a mother. While I won't give away too much about the family she's sent to, I will say that her step father is really the best and finding out she has a half sister makes for interesting character opportunities.

Plot: 5 I could not put this book down. I read it in less than a day I was so into it. Seeing how her life changes starting from her stable Wisconsin life is fascinating. It's amazing all the complexity that is thrown at Ally.

Writing: 5 Eulberg has done an amazing job of handling the emotional depth and complexity required of this story. It would be easy for a parental kidnapping story to fly off the rails, not go deep enough, or curve in the wrong direction, but the execution adds another layer of wow to it. The only thing I wish I got more of was the ending. On the final page, Ally is left in a promising yet super open place as she has a couple interesting next steps ahead. It makes me wish that a sequel was coming to follow it.

A delightful novel about the truths we grow up with and the realities we may or may not know. Great for fans of realistic fiction.

Ally Smith lives in a small town in Wisconsin. Her life isn’t perfect, but she’s happy. At home it’s just her and her widowed father. They have special traditions each night of the week; Taco Tuesday, Pizza Wednesdays, and Football Sundays. They are close and have built a life for themselves in their small town. Even the town’s most prolific family, the Gleasons, has taken them in as their own. Ally’s best friend is Marian Gleason and Marian’s cousin Neil is the boy Ally is developing feelings for.

Ally and her friends are in their senior year of high school and experiencing the stress of applying for college and making plans for the future. Ally is diligent about getting her applications in and applying for as many scholarships as possible. However, when she sends in her applications, they come right back due to an error with her social security number. What ensues leaves Ally and the whole town reeling. Her entire life is turned upside down and she is left trying to put the pieces back together while not losing herself in the process.

This book was SO intriguing! I could not put it down first because I had to find out what was going on, and then because I loved watching Ally grow and navigate such a difficult and confusing part of her life. As someone who is both a mother and daughter, I felt sympathy for both sides in this story. It was heartbreaking and frustrating and so many times I just wanted to grab the characters and hug them and then tell them to speak to each other, but also to listen!

I love that the author took such a unique situation and really brought the characters and story to life. It was a fantastic read with a story that will definitely stick with me.

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Is it the absent of adult themes that automatically makes a book YA or middle grade? Is it a younger protagonist? Whatever it is, this felt like a maturely written, character driven contemporary YA novel that I really ended up enjoying.

I was expecting more teenage angst than I got. If I were Ally, I would’ve thrown a fit, threatened to get emancipated, accused the mother of being selfish and not thinking of my best interests. When it finally happened, it was written so authentically and satisfyingly that it was worth the build up, but there were moments that I was seething on Ally’s behalf.

I liked that it was more about the relationships than it was the mystery of what had happened but it felt like something was missing. The part where she finds out what happened felt rushed, as did the ending. She drives off but we don’t really get a conclusion, just an illusion to one. I would’ve liked to see her finish high school and to see what happened with her father. I feel like that was a bit of a missed opportunity here.

I absolutely loved this book! Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. Was it predictable? Yes. But the characters are really what made me fall in love with this story. The sarcastic tone that the characters had had me laughing non-stop. The friendships were ideal and had me wishing I was friends with the Gleason clan. Marian, Neil, and Craig were three of my favorite side characters. Marian and Neil were always there for Ally no matter what, and I loved how Craig really tried to see Ally's point of view of the situation shes been put in. Craig really tried to make Ally feel at home and didn't force her to feel a certain way about her life after finding out she was kidnapped. He truly understood that this was a complete upheaval of her "normal" life and that it was going to take her some time to adjust and get used to things. Craig never got angry with Ally when she referenced her old life or something that she used to do, or even the times she mentioned her dad or that she wanted to go home. When it comes to character growth, I feel like the character that grew the most was Paula. She really came to realize that this was too much of a change for Ally to find out your entire life was a lie and then just days later being ripped away from the only life you've ever known to live with people you didn't even know existed. I also really appreciated how the kidnapping aspect was done and how you got to see how it affects not only the victim, but everyone else in their lives too, especially in a case like this where the victim was kidnapped by a parent and was held for years, but not treated poorly. Even though kidnapping tends to happen by someone the victim knows, I feel this exact type of kidnapping is rare, but still does happen, so I appreciated the fact that Elizabeth went this route for the story. Overall, I loved this book, and didn't have any major issues with it. These characters made me fall in love with them and their stories, and this book quickly became a new favorite book of mine.

Very fast paced and compelling book. I enjoyed the wild ride it put me through. The characters are likable and to some extent relatable which makes it easier to get sucked into the story and care about what is happening to them.

This very fast paced story is about Ally, who lives in a small town in Wisconsin with her beloved father. Until she finds out everything that she's know about her life is a lie. The characters in this story are terrific and I would LOVE to be part of Ally's community because when they figure out what's going on, they rally to her side. I don't want to say too much about the plot line because every bit of it unfolds in such a perfect way. I think students are going to love getting to know Ally and see how she's deals with every part of this issue.

Very enjoyable read. Well written with likable characters that you feel like you know (and definitely makes you think about what you'd do/how you'd feel in a situation like that.)

Ally lives a very quiet, normal, simple life. In fact, she’s still struggling to think of anything extraordinary to write about in her scholarship applications when her whole life gets uprooted. If Ally isn’t Ally… then who is she?

This is a good, quick read. It just wasn’t great. I expected there to be more mystery and drama than there turns out to be. I feel like there was a lot of potential for it to be more riveting than it was. The story was primarily about the relationships between Ally and the people in her life and her emotions as she adjusts to everything.

The pacing was fine, but honestly, it kind of felt like there was never much of a climax point. There is, I guess, when Ally finds out the big secret that changes everything she knows about herself (which I can’t really tell you about because it will spoil the entire story), but it was an underwhelming climax. What I mean is that, even though the secret is quite big and important, the reactions in the book make it feel like a little less of a big deal. Since the story is (rightfully so) written around the big secret, it made the whole thing feel kind of average.

The writing was actually really wonderful and smooth, which made the story easy to stay connected to even when it wasn’t as interesting. I found myself liking nearly every character in the story (with the exception of the mother) and that’s admittedly rare. There wasn’t much development with a lot of the characters because there were so many of them, but Ally is the main focus and I felt like readers were able to get to know her really well. I tend to get easily annoyed with whiny teens in YA but Ally definitely had some reasons for her emotions.

It’s hard to know what to say about an average read. It was fine, honestly. I enjoyed it well enough and finished it quickly. I enjoy the writing style of this author and may check out more of her work in the future. I’d recommend this for those of you who like YA contemporaries with plot twists that are enticing but not emotionally overwhelming.

I love Elizabeth Eulberg’s books, and this one was no different. This compelling story about a teenage girl who finds out her entire life has been a lie, hooks you from the beginning. This story stays with you as you wonder, what would I do if I found out I wasn’t who I always thought I was?

I would definitely purchase this book for my library.

Note: I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Ally's life in a small Wisconsin town hasn't been perfect, but she's happy. Her father works in construction, and sometimes things are financially difficult, but she's applying for college scholarships and has a good chance of attending a state university, since she's always done well in school. Her best friend, Marian, is from the biggest family in town, so Ally has built in "cousins" and even a grandma. As her 18th birthday approaches, she may even have a boyfriend in Neil, but things start to go wrong. Her father is arrested... for kidnapping her when she was three. The two are separated and not even allowed to talk, Ally has to move in with Marian's family, and her long lost mother is determined to visit her. Ally is angry with her father, but also misses him, and just wants to stay with Marian and the people in town who are fending off reporters for her. When her mother, Paula, arrives, she is relieved to see Ally (whom she calls Amanda), and demands that she come back and live with her, her husband, and her ten year old daughter in Florida. Since Ally is actually NOT 18 (her age was another thing her father lied about), she has to go. Paula lives in a much nicer house and buys Ally lots of clothes and a new cell phone, and makes a great effort to spend time with Ally and make sure her life is perfect. But it's not, and Paula can't understand why Ally would rather be back in Wisconsin with her friends. Ally's young sister is also very upset, since she has had to live her whole live in the shadow of Ally's disappearance. After Marian and Neil visit Florida, Ally has to decide if she will continue to try to work things out, or return to her regularly scheduled life.

Strengths: Secretly and occasionally, I think every middle grade reader imagines life with other parents, or thinks that surely they are really someone else! I loved that Ally had a great life with her dad and the two were close, playing games and having Taco Tuesdays. The father's backstory of why he kidnapped her was also very effective. The step father was also great-- he really understood want Ally was going through and really tried to help. The sister's reaction was realistic. The small Wisconsin town and the Gleason family were delightful as well. Eulberg is right up there with Smith, Dessen, West and Colasanti for high school books that cross over well to middle school.

Weaknesses: There are two f-bombs, but they are used in times of crisis. The mother comes off very badly; I almost wish she were a bit more sympathetic so that Ally's choice was a little harder to make.

What I really think: Definitely purchasing. I'm not happy about the language, but I have a desperate need for books just like this for some of my advanced 8th grade readers-- they want more high school drama and romance. Aside from the two f-bombs, this is circumspect in behaviors and otherwise very middle grade appropriate. This is sort of a The Face on the Milk Carton (Cooney, 1990) for a new generation. It was a great way for me to wile away a sunny afternoon!

I was interested in this book because I'm fascinated by stories about lost and then found family members (twins separated at birth, babies switched at birth, long-lost relatives finding each other through DNA testing, kidnapped people being found years later).

Ally has been raised by her father and believes that her mother is dead. When she applies to college, her application is rejected because of an issue with her social security number. Then the police show up at her house, telling her that her father kidnapped her when she was three and her mother is alive. Her father is arrested, and Ally is forced to leave her life in Wisconsin behind and move in with her mother in Florida.

This is a nicely done story about the difficulties Ally faces when she's reunited with her mother. Although she knows logically what her father did was wrong, he was the parent who raised her and she's still loyal to him, something that seriously upsets her mother. Ally is angry that her entire life has been uprooted. She just wanted to finish out her senior year in the place she feels most at home. Her mother just wants to make up for all the lost years and has trouble accepting the fact that Ally is almost an adult.

I thought the drama between Ally and her mother was well done. The relationship with her father was kind of dropped, and I would have liked more of an examination of how a parent and child move forward after such a huge betrayal. Ally is initially angry at her father, but seems to move on pretty quickly, which was a little unsatisfying.

This book skews toward the younger end of YA readers. It's a quick read.