Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Nov 2022
336 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Perfect for fans of Maria Semple and Jennifer Weiner, this smart and witty debut novel follows Ramona through the forty-eight hours after her life has been upended by the discovery of her husband's affair and an approaching Category Four hurricane.
Ramona's got a bratty boss, a toddler teetering through toilet training, a critical mom who doesn't mind sharing, and oops—a cheating husband. That's how a Category Four hurricane bearing down on her life in Savannah becomes just another item on her to-do list. In the next forty-eight hours she'll add a neighborhood child and the class guinea pig named Clarence Thomas to her entourage as she struggles to evacuate town.
Ignoring the persistent glow of her minivan's check engine light, Ramona navigates police check points, bathroom emergencies, demands from her boss, and torrential downpours while fielding calls and apology texts from her cheating husband and longing for the days when her life was like a Prince song, full of sexy creativity and joy.
Thoroughly entertaining and completely relatable, None of This Would Have Happened if Prince Were Alive is the hilarious, heartwarming story of a woman up to her elbows in calamities and about to drive off the brink of the rest of her life.
"This energetic, uproariously funny portrait of motherhood will appeal to fans of Laurie Gelman and Maria Semple." - Booklist (starred review)
"Family drama has never been so much fun. Fans of Maria Semple, Jennifer Weiner, and Laurie Gelman will enjoy Prusa's debut." - Library Journal (starred review)
"Prusa's engaging debut chronicles two days of upheavals for a Savannah, Ga., working mother as Hurricane Matthew closes in, in 2016...Ramona proves to be an amiable narrator, with her musings about the death of Prince mixed with reflections on what it takes to be a good mom. There's a lot to enjoy in this thoughtful outing." - Publishers Weekly
"Readers looking for a lighthearted love story with plenty of London coziness and Christmas cheer can do far worse than Macaulay's charming vacation story. A breezy, charming novel that finds humor in the societal pressures to find a husband." - Kirkus Reviews
"It's not often you read a book that makes you laugh and makes your heart pound with excitement but Carolyn Prusa's debut does just that. Her heroine Ramona uses humor and her love for pop star Prince to navigate dueling crises in her life and takes a surprisingly poignant journey along the way." - Laurie Gelman, author of Smells Like Tween Spirit and Class Mom
"Both insightful and messy in the most relatable way, None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive will have you cackling, nodding in agreement, and rooting hard for Ramona as she battles various storms — literal and figurative." - Laura Hankin, author of A Special Place for Women and Happy and You Know It
"A keenly observant, fast-paced comedy that illustrates just how tough it can be – as Prince would say – 'to get through this thing called life.' Finding humor in heartbreak, Prusa presents a strong-willed heroine who copes with one indignity after another, from the acutely embarrassing to the brutally life-changing, all while dodging in and out of the path of an oncoming hurricane." - Amy Poeppel, author of Musical Chairs
This information about None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Carolyn Prusa has written for Savannah Magazine, the Charlotte Observer, and other publications. She lives in Savannah with her husband, two sons, and giant rescue dog, Dale, who looks like a Wookie and sings like an angel.
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