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There are currently 73 member reviews
for The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise
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Janice A. (Colfax, WI)
The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise
I found this book enjoyable and a fun read. Hoffman has written a contemporary story that incorporates current technology. The two main characters are over 60 years apart in age, yet each character grew during their time together and became friends. It reaffirms the idea that people of different generations can develop bonds with each other.
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Molly O. (Centennial, CO)
On the Road Again
The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise is a delightful romp across state lines as the title characters try to evade the law. While the road trip and odd couple characters are common tropes, octogenarian Louise is fresh and clever. She is the heart of the story. Author Colleen Oakley's writing is energetic, driving a well-paced plot, involving these two misfits. There are twists and surprises along the way, so really it is not surprising that the ending has an unexpected revelation. Pick up this book if you have nothing else to do, because that is what will happen when you read- nothing - until you finish.
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B B. (Vernon Hills, IL)
A wild escapade
This was a fun and heartwarming novel with a mystery thrown into the mix.
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Diane L. (Lawrence, KS)
The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise
Louise is an octogenarian with an illness that she hasn't disclosed to her children. Her children are worried about her and think that she should move into an assisted living facility. Louise wants to stay in her home so the compromise is to have someone live with her, take her to appointments and run errands for her.
Enter Tanner, a promising scholarship athlete who has an unexpected accident that changes the trajectory of her life. She leaves school, returns home and becomes a video game playing couch potato. Her parents want her to get out and on her own. Tanner does too but doesn't have the means to do so. Through a mutual acquaintance Tanner and Louise are brought together.
What Tanner, or even Louise's children, do not know is that Louise has a criminal past that she's kept hidden for over 40 years. When the past comes back to haunt Louise, she decides to go on the run. Tanner feels an obligation to make sure Louise is going to be okay, plus Louise dangles a large sum of money in front of Tanner. Enough to enable her to return to college, which is her dream. So the two head out on a cross country journey.
Tanner and Louise aren't exactly bosom buddies at the beginning of their trek, but as the journey continues across the country they find that they both need one another more than they think they do and a friendship of convenience becomes one of true regard for one another.
Their adventure eventually takes them to California to see a friend named George who may have a connection to Louise's mysterious past. What is George's connection with Louise? Will Louise's mysterious past ever catch up with her? Will Tanner ever return to college?
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a little mystery mixed with a dose of comedy and a side of artifice.
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Deborah C. (Highland Park, NJ)
Driven to Distraction
What an engaging book! An improbable pair of women, at different stages of life, but both dealing with physical frailties and past mistakes, go on a sudden, urgent road trip across America, learning from each other.
The author brings to life both the pathos of the young woman whose accidental injury ends her soccer scholarship and her dreams of a professional soccer career, and the feistiness of the elderly woman, recovering from a broken hip and dealing with the physical and mental deterioration of Parkinson's Disease.
Both have distanced themselves emotionally and hurt loved ones. Both have secrets they won't share. And both come to trust and care about each other as they try to right their wrongs.
The writing is brisk and humorous, capturing both old and young voices and propelling the main characters, Tanner (21) and Louise (84) to an unexpected but satisfying ending.
Note: Though the book begins with an epigraph from the movie, "Thelma and Louise," one need not be familiar with that story to enjoy this one.
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Randi H. (Bronx, NY)
Fun read!
The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise is a fun story with some surprising twists that I didn't see coming. It has a bit of everything, including self discovery, adventure, and romance. I very much enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining escapist read.
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Dorothy M. (Maynard, MA)
This is a feel good fun read
If you cross the odd couple with Thelma and Louise you'd come up with The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise. Tanner is a young woman whose life plan to be a soccer star is derailed by a severely broken leg and who spends the next few months burning bridges. When her Mother has finally had as much as she can take she tells her to move out and find a job. While Tanner insists that living as an assistant to an octogenarian with Parkinson's isn't really a job she isn't at all prepared for Louise's unexpected past or the frantic road trip across the country.
I enjoyed this story. I liked the characters, enjoyed the humor and there is even a bit of romance along with a look at the difference between what's legal and what's right.
