The Art of Unpacking Your Life

Twenty years after college graduation, Connie invites her old school friends along on a safari in the Kalahari. They were once great pals, but the years have changed them all and they appear to have little in common. Connie is dealing with empty nest syndrome and a cheating husband. Sara has a seemingly successful career as a lawyer but is doubting her representation of a recent client. Luke, Connie’s old boyfriend is recently divorced and fighting demons of his own. Surrogate mothers, partners who won’t commit and a tragedy back at home threaten to derail these old friends and their trip unless the Kalahari can create a miracle

This is women's fiction at it's best! The characters were amazing - relatable, realistic and fascinating. The plot line was strong and will hold your attention right until the end.   One of my favourite books of 2015, I will definitely be recommending it to women readers of all ages as I think it has mass appeal. A hugely enjoyable tale.

I LOVED this book! It was the epitome of women's fiction - engrossing, relatable, and unputdownable!! Such a great read that will keep you glued to your seat.

excellent characters and creative story. refreshing to read about adults who may still be figuring things out.

This book definitely has an interesting setting, well-detailed and absorbing, and I enjoyed reading about the characters' safari adventure (though I'm not sure how realistic it all was).

The writing felt a bit unpolished to me.  There weren't excessive typos or other actual errors, but some words were used oddly, like "stated" as a tag for commands or other non-statements.  The many constructions along the lines of "Lizzie was jealous" and "Matt was irritated"—especially while in those characters' points of view—came across as "told."  The time jumps and POV switches were often not worked in well enough to prevent the reader from feeling jarred.  Many of the sentence fragments weren't powerful enough to justify being fragments.  I also could have done with a lot less description of who walked where in the room and what every single character's reaction was to an event. 

However, the writing also had its beautiful moments and could be quite evocative emotionally.  

Too many characters were introduced right together at the beginning.  It was confusing and awkward, and even halfway through the book I'd sometimes have to stop and think who was who because of this.  I did enjoy how the characters' lives had all become so different since their years at university, and their relationships were interesting to watch.  

As for the realisticness of the safari, I think they saw too many animals too quickly at at too close of range.  If I'm wrong, I really, really want to go to the exact place they went.  And I'm not sure how much time you'd have to talk, move, and think while a rhino was charging 20 meters.  Twenty meters isn't very far for an animal that big, and rhinos are faster than you'd think.  But it was fun imagining it all.

The surprise at the end felt forced to me, as did the number of unrelated things that changed dramatically in the characters' lives over the course of a single week, but overall it was engaging enough to keep me reading, with good conflict and pacing.

More accurate rating:  3.5

The book is rates as an educator only. I will recommend the book to other educators and readers.