The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise is a character-driven, fun dramedy about an elderly woman who’s not ready to throw in the towel and a twenty-year-old who has no idea where her life is going.

Eighty-four-year-old Louise Wilt is elderly, but definitely not dead. She’s living happily independently when a slip and fall causes a broken hip and her cadre of children to decide that Louise needs a caretaker. Quick-witted Louise is in the mood to do anything but be babied – especially because a long-held secret is still looming over her head. But even the tough need to recuperate from surgery. So when Tanner Quimby shows up one day to take care of her, Louise chooses to benevolently ignore her.

Tanner is a twenty-year-old Northwestern college student with no direction in life after her collegiate soccer career died at the hands of dive off of a balcony during a party. Having dropped out of school after her scholarship dried up, she prefers privacy and video games to people. The job with Louise gives her the opportunity to start saving again, but soon she begins to get a little suspicious about the person whom she’s been hired to look after. There’s a shed she can’t touch – and a long-ago jewel heist which is piquing local interest again after years of dormancy. It turns out that Louise is in fact Patty – ringleader of a jewelry heist which has seen her wanted by the FBI for decades now. When Louise gets a phone call from her old friend, George, who is in deep with the mob, Louise offers Tanner a hefty bonus to leave town with her and drive her to California to save him. But along the way, Tanner and Louise discover sisterhood – and themselves.

This is head-to-toe fun on the bun. Louise is your typical crusty oldster and Tanner is the common clay who needs to be molded into something better by experience, Louise’s example, and the world at large. You know where this is going but the whole process is so fun and bouncy that it’s impossible to be too grinchy about it. Just let it take you down the highway and enjoy the ride.

That ride is fun, the personality conflict is great, and the road trip-ography great to track. I was deeply fond of Tanner by the end, but Louise I liked from the first page. Text-laden asides from Louise’s family, and getting to meet new folks along the way just simply iced an already delicious cake. The ending is perhaps the only part I’d change due to its predictability, but I was willing to let that little tiny faux pas slide.

This is about friendship that is grudging, and finding your very own happily ever after. The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise is ultimately worth its weight in diamonds.

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This was such a fun and very entertaining story.

I went into this one pretty blind, and I read a good 45% in one sitting. It’s a very quick read but I also really enjoyed the story.

Tanner is a young adult home from college after a freak accident leads to losing her soccer scholarship and multiple surgeries. Louise is an octogenarian who is in need of some assistance at home. Tanner moves in with Louise and a day later they end up on the run.

The situations that Louise and Tanner end up in are so crazy. And the way they interact with each other is so funny. I really really liked seeing their relationship change over time as they share secrets and as more of the truth is uncovered.

This was a really enjoyable book and I would definitely recommend for anyone looking for something a bit ridiculous but also so engaging.

This was a very enjoyable read, with lots of twists and turns I didn't expect. I'll be recommending it to anyone who likes unlikely friendships, road trips, mysteries and/or found family. The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise is the first book I've read by Colleen Oakley, and I'll definitely be checking out her backlist.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the chance to read the story in advance of publication.

Colleen Oakley does it again. I really loved this book and especially the relationship that Oakley created between Tanner and Louise. It's the story of an 80 year old women and her 21 year old "caretaker," who's been made to live with her. It's a story of escape and why we make the choices we do and what being a woman in America is like. It's so good.

It's absolutely a Thelma and Louise-style tale, it's romance and mystery and thriller and comedy all mixed into one. Oakley always does a wonderful job at twisting the story where the reader doesn't expect it to go.

I enjoyed each individual section, but I did get a tiny bit confused between characters and wanted a little bit of clarity as the characters changed.

I loved the romance between August and Tanner, as well as how Oakley developed Louise's story. The comments on women and patriarchy were poignant—and so much of the book comes together and makes sense by the end.

Colleen Oakley's newest novel is full of spunk and insight. Her "Thelma and Louise" retelling is even better than the original with the multi-generational pairing of Tanner and Louise/Patty. You will laugh out loud while cringing with empathy for both characters and the lives they have endured. Colleen Oakley is one of my favorite authors to recommend to new readers as she tells stories that feel honest and authentic.

After a horrible fall ruined her leg, and killed her soccer scholarship, Tanner needs money to go back to college and finish her final year. Meanwhile, Louise’s children think she needs someone to take care of her and her healing hip. The two are not fans of each other right off the bat. But when Louise wakes Tanner in the middle of the night telling her they need to leave, Tanner jumps into action. Now the two are on the run, and apparently on a road trip.

This book was an absolute delight. Like seriously, the only word I can use for it is delightful! Tanner and Louise were just the complete opposites of each other, but their weird non relationship had me cracking up. The characters were just beyond perfection, I seriously felt like I knew them by the end of the book! The twists their road trip took were not just great, they were comedic gold. The added mystery of why they were on the run added a fun twist to the story! Overall, this is one that should be on your pre-order list for sure!

3.75 stars Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for a free ARC. Publishes March 28, 2023

Such a fun story. Character driven, laugh out loud funny, mystery. Put an octogenarian and a 21 year old together on a cross country road trip in an aging Jaguar, add in a decades old crime and a failed soccer career, then put a twist at the end. That sums up to one hilarious novel you just can't put down.

4.5 stars
.Loved the characters of Tanner and Louise, as well as reading about their adventures . A totally delightful read that kept me engaged from start to finish

What a Hoot!

The moment 20-something Tanner becomes a caretaker for 84 year-old Louise, is when Tanner embarks on a true adventure. Little did Tanner know when she took the job, that Louise is not the sweet, innocent old lady she purported herself to be!

Hilarity and Hijinks ensued when these two hit the road in order to escape the police and visit an old friend of Louise’s. Lots of laughter occurred as these two got to know each other and discovered mutual admiration and developed an abiding friendship.

A sweet, funny, and endearing novel that had me laughing and smiling.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the arc.

This book started out with a college drop out coming to live with an elderly woman as her caretaker.
Tanner (the college dropout) only ever wanted to play soccer. However, her dream was shattered when she fell off a porch and broke her leg i n several places. She lost her college scholarship, harbored resentment toward her best friend (for inviting her to the party where the accident happened), and toward herself (for the results of her actions). On top of these issues, her mother kicked her out of the house. While at Louise's , she lays around all day in sweats and plays video games.
Louise (an 84 yr old woman) recovering from a hip fracture, who has a secret which Tanner discovers, and which causes them to take off for California to find George. As they cross the country, they discover themselves and each other. This book has the bones of a fun adventure but I thought that it was a little overdone. There was a lot of extraneous information/background which I didn't feel added to the story. Also, there were too many improbable situations and coincidences in the story which just didn't ring true.
This is a very light read - it could have been a lot of fun, but the multiple improbable situations did me in.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Colleen Oakley, the author of “The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise,” has written a unique and riveting novel. The genres are Literary Friendship Fiction, Contemporary, Humor, Mystery, and Women’s Fiction. The timeline is written in the author’s present and goes to the past regarding the characters or events. The author describes her colorful and dramatic characters as complex, complicated, quirky, and full of surprises! In this novel, Colleen Oakley’s characters are reminiscent of Thelma and Louise. Tanner Quimby is 21 and mopes around her house after a tragic accident, ruminating about what might have been. Tanner also plays video games and has no money. She is encouraged to care for an elderly woman. Louise Wilt has fallen and required surgery. She is a seasoned 80-ish-year-old woman with an exciting past and many secrets. Louise’s children insist that she have a “Nanny.” Louise has a routine and really would like to be independent. When Tanner and Louise meet, they are like oil and water. Tanner is immediately aware of quirky behaviors of Louise. It seems that Louise is not precisely the typical 80 -ish type of person. Then again, Tanner doesn’t appear to be a typical 21-year-old person either. Tanner is in for quite a surprise when Louise insists they leave town immediately. The two go on an adventure with twists and turns. There are rumors of a large jewel heist from the seventies, and Louise seems to be called another name when she meets some people. There are twists and turns. Louise is on a mission to find someone and, at the same time, avoids both a criminal and the law. I enjoyed this delightful adventure as two women tried to remedy the mistakes from the past to be able to move on to the present and future. I love that the author discusses the importance of family, friendship, and hope. I highly recommend this enjoyable novel.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! The characters of Tanner and Louise are so well described that I felt I knew them by the end of the book and I didn’t want to let them go.

Tanner has lived her entire life for the love of soccer. She has been training and playing since she was a youngster. She was good enough to receive a full scholarship to Northwestern and her future was looking very good indeed.

What she couldn’t foresee was an accident that left her leg crushed. Tanner needs to find a job and move out of her parents basement. If she is to return to Northwestern she also will have to come up with about $10,000 in tuition!

84 y/o Louise Wilt has been on her own since her husband passed away a few years previously. She has always been fiercely independent.

When she falls and needs hip surgery – her children insist that she needs live-in help. Louise has pushed against it until a situation presents itself that may be tolerable.

Tanner is a neighbor looking for a job with no real skills and Louise needs someone to drive her to her appointments, run errands, etc as she can no longer drive.

Their relationship starts out with each ignoring each other except for the needed interactions.

After a few weeks Tanner notices some changes. Louise is unsettled, she keeps lots of drawers and cabinets locked and her shed is heavily padlocked. She sees a news article that changes everything she thinks she knows about Louise. WHO IS THIS WOMAN!!

No one is more surprised than Tanner when Louise wakes her one night and tells her that they have to get on the road right away. Her reason, a friend is dying and she needs to get to see George before it’s too late.

WE ARE OFF ON OUR ADVENTURE! Lots to discover here – did Louise have a part of her life that she has kept secret all these years?

The twists in this novel are great fun to discover and kept me turning the pages to the satisfying ending.

Watching the two women, years apart in age, form a bond is uplifting and enjoyable. We can all ask ourselves, is there something we can do to help another person that is struggling? Maybe we have more to offer than we thought!

I can highly recommend this one, it’s a good mystery, a great story of friendship amidst struggle and just a whole lot of fun!

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.

This story was such a treat. I loved the unlikely relationship (and eventual friendship — or maybe just mutual understanding!) between Tanner and Louise. It included family drama, a cross-country road trip, a dash of romance, and some FBI storylines... ! I was excited to see where the story would take me, and enjoyed the mix of character- and plot-driven elements. Perfect for fans of The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, This one publishes 3/28/23!

A great time and an unexpected adventure. I really enjoyed Tanner’s initial insecurity and journey to come into her own contrasted with Louise and her life long-lived. The book will speak to readers of all ages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

Writing was mediocre and the constant use of parentheses (used as asides in conversation) started to get on my nerves. Tanner was whiny and needed to grow up. I really loved Louise though! A tough, no nonsense 80 year old woman with a past she fiercely protects. She teaches Tanner some lessons on life as they drive across the country "on the run." It keeps being compared to Thelma and Louise...don't expect that. It's a light read when you want to be entertained but don't want to think to hard.

3.5 stars for this one! Tanner is living an aimless life, living with, and helping the local sassy elderly woman, Louise. An old unsolved jewelry heist on the news, sends them escaping in the middle of the night, and hightailing it cross-country while being chased by the police?!

Their misguided adventure provides you with some humor, intrigue and a little romance. The story kept me guessing in a fun way, and made me really appreciate the no nonsense, no filter, type humor that I think everyone gets at a certain age.

I had little issue with the overall book, though my one nagging irritant was that the author had some background stories that were not developed well enough to have made sense to keep them in the book . They were thrown in a little arbitrarily and left hanging in spots. (FBI agent’s personal story for example) Other than that, I breezed through it in a couple days and overall enjoyed the banter throughout.

Thank you NetGalley Berkeley Publishing for the ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

What an unexpectedly enjoyable book! At first glance, you might not consider this novel for a book group. I will choose this for my group. There are many themes to discuss including family secrets and what to share or not share; friendships between young adults and mature adults; and what happens when you are really there for someone.

I did respond to Book browse about this book. Favorable rating. Clever dialogue. Mashup of Thelma and Louise going rogue.. I gave it 4 stars

4 unlikely pair stars

Take an entirely capable 80+-year-old woman (until she falls) and a 21-year-old young woman, forced together to help each other out. I think this is an apt title for this book as I always wondered what the real truth was for these characters!

Louise needs someone to drive her to appointments while she recovers from her injury and Tanner needs a place to live after too many outbursts with her parents and recovering from her own injury. It was very interesting to get the perspectives of these characters from their own points of view. Louise can’t understand how Tanner can dress so casually and play hours of video games. Tanner can’t understand how Louise can savor her happy hour drink and why are there so many locked drawers in the house. By getting both viewpoints, I learned to really know them and root for them.

The book takes a sudden turn when Louise wakes up Tanner in the middle of the night saying that they must leave town immediately. It takes a bit of convincing, but Tanner would really like to get back to college and finish her degree and Louise is willing to pay her.

The two of them embark on a madcap drive across the country with Louise not giving Tanner much insight into what she is doing. Just who is Louise and why is she fleeing? And why is Tanner agreeing to help her?
There was a surprise twist at the end and one of my favorite lines comes from August and the word homophone. I love a smart character who knows vocabulary!

This book was a delight to read. The two main characters are years apart in age and very different in temperament. Thrown together by misfortune, they struggle to maintain a relationship. Both characters became more likable to me as the story went on and I learned more about them.
Humor abounds throughout the story amongst all the characters. There is also a great deal of warmth and sweetness to story.
Being an older reader myself, I like the idea of a strong older character.
There is a bit of a mystery involved, with twists and turns making it a very enjoyable read.