<i>I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own, and I am writing a voluntary review.</i>

This is an adorable read. The plot and stakes feel a little all over the place, and it probably could have been a tad shorter if the pace had been a little more robust, but its really cute.

After an accident ends her soccer career at college, Tanner is the epitome of wallowing in self-pity. After one too many angry outbursts, she's kicked out of her family's home and goes to live as a sort of companion to a family friend. Throwing 21-year-old Tanner and 84-year-old Louise together was genius and as the story moves along, the things they learn from one another are truly touching.

There are a lot of asides that are cute, but not totally necessary to the plot, which sees Tanner and Louise going on the lam and both being pursued by the FBI. This forced road trip is full of cute moments though a couple of the beats feel more like filler than anything.

There's a lot to be said about female relationships in this story, as well as, surprisingly, female strength. There is a small subplot <spoiler>that sees a young george and patty/louise helping abused women get out of their abusive relationships</spoiler> that I honestly wish there had been more of. It seemed important to the story but introduced as late as it was, lacked true depth.

I am always amazed to discover new-to-me authors that spark joy in me. This is my first Colleen Oakley read and she did exactly that in "The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise."

Synopsis: Tanner needed a place to live. Since she has no credit or money to speak of, her options are limited, so when an opportunity to work as a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman falls into her lap, she takes it. Louise took a slip on a rug and now her daughter is demanding she have a caregiver. She doesnt need one or want one. The authors blurb goes onto to state "the story of a not-to-be-underestimated elderly woman and an aimless young woman who—if they can outrun the mistakes of their past—might just have the greatest adventure of their lives."

The title, synopsis and my feelings from reading Marinanne Cronin's, "The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot," plus the feelings from the classic movie Thelma and Loiuse (which I couldnt shake when seeing this title) hooked me, but Colleen Oakley's words kept me coming back in this most enjoyable tale of friendship that spans the ages. When Tanner and Louise meet, they are like oil and water. Tanner immediately is aware of the quirky behaviors of Louise. It seems that Louise is not exactly the typical 80-ish woman. 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 more twists and turns. Louise is on a mission to find someone, and at the same time is avoiding both murderer and the law.

This is a delightful adventure and a fun ride - two women try to remedy the mistakes from the past, to be able to move on to the present and future. Throughout the book, Oakley imparts the importance of family and friendship. Read this for the adventure. Read this for friendship and connections. You will not be disappointed.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and Colleen Oakley for. this ultimate road trip with enjoyable quirky characters. Thanks for bringing me along on a wild surprising ride!

Tanner Quimby would rather sit around playing video games all day, but life takes money. So she finds a job as the live-in caregiver of an elderly woman. Indignant that her daughter is forcing a nanny upon her, Louise wants nothing to do with Tanner. When Tanner begins to wonder if Louise is actually an infamous jewel thief, they set out on an adventure to outrun the mistakes of their paths.

Even though I loved The Invisible Husband of Frick Island, Oakley's last novel, I had a really hard time getting into this cheesy light-hearted story. I will say that I enjoyed Louise's sense of humor but Tanner wasn't a great protagonist, veering more toward annoying than likable. Readers seem to be raving about this one on Goodreads, but I wasn't impressed with the story or the writing.

So much fun. Full of unexpected twists and turns sending readers off on many tangents. Great story.

The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise
by Colleen Oakley
Pub Date: March 28, 2023
Berkely
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. A “wildly surprising, entertaining” (Jodi Picoult) novel featuring a college dropout and an eighty-four-year-old woman on the run from the law, full of tremendous heart, wit, and wisdom from the USA Today bestselling author of The Invisible Husband of Frick Island.
I loved this book and it came along at the perfect time for me!! What a fun read reminiscent of 90's movies vibes like Thelma & Louise, Driving Miss Daisy, Midnight Run. The mysterious plot blended with laugh out loud text made me enjoy this book immensely, I highly recommend it.

5 stars

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.