I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan

Reading level: Young Adult
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Release Date: June 1, 2010
Source: BookSparks PR

Here Comes the Bride — If She Can Pass Chemistry.

Eighteen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She's really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That's the only way to explain her image-obsessed mother; a kind but distant stepfather; and a brother with a small personality complex. Bronwen knows she must have been switched at birth, and she can't wait to get away from her "family" for good. Then she meets Jared Sondervan. He's sweet, funny, everything she wants — and he has the family Bronwen has always wanted too. She falls head over heels in love, and when he proposes marriage, she joyfully accepts. But is Jared truly what she needs? And if he's not, she has to ask: What would Phoebe Lilywhite do?

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else, to any reader's eye, seems like the type of book you can quickly gobble up because it seems like a light, uncomplicated story--what takes the reader by surprise, however, is the more serious, underlying element that makes Erin McCahan's debut more than just a fluffy escapist read. Bronwen Oliver had a humerous, quirky voice that pulls the reader into her story and her feelings of alienation within her family feel justifiable as the story goes on: her mother, who seems to love to point out how different her daughter is from the family, will undoubtedly give the reader a lot of sympathy for Bronwen's plight.

But Bronwen's life turns for the better when Jared Sondervan finds his way back into town; sweet, intelligent and with a loving family that Bronwen immediately feels normal with, Jared seems like the perfect dream. I definetely loved Jared-he was very good to Bronwen and the best thing about their relationship was how they gradually fell in love with each other-their relationship wasn't a case of insta-love (which I was extremely thankful of); they slowly became a part of each other's lives and the way their families were included was wonderful to read about. It seemed very natural and not at all forced.

But I Now Pronounce You Someone Else isn't just a love story--if anyone were to think that's all this book was about, they would miss the subtle message that McCahan has placed within the pages. I Now Pronounce You Someone Else is the story of a girl finally finding herself, of coming to the realization that her identity is all her own and that particularly poignant message is what this story so much more than the typical romantic set-up of boy-meets-girl. This novel has layers to peel through and what you'll find is an honest, charming and memorable story that anyone can identify with.

Rating: 4.5

A huge thanks to Christelle for providing me a copy of this book and for giving me the chance to work with BookSparksPR!