The Do Over by Sharon M. Peterson – a story that warms the heart
- Genre: Contemporary romance, Book Club, Chick Lit
- Pages: 317
- Date Published: August 2022
- Publisher: Bookouture
- Readily available at my library? Yes.
- Spoilers in this review? Yes, but I wave a warning flag where the spoiler begins below.
- Sharon’s latest book, The Fix Up can be pre-ordered now, it will be released June 17th!
Why I wanted to read it & the format I read it in.
I wait-listed and received a paperback version of The Do Over from my local library. I heard about Sharon’s debut novel when she was interviewed by Maggie Smith on one of my favorite book-related podcasts, Hear Us Roar.
Maggie hosts the weekly Women Fiction Writers Association sponsored podcast. She interviews debut novelists about their path to publishing. This is a great way to hear from authors about their personal journey, where their ideas came from, what worked, what didn’t work. There is so much great information that Maggie gleans from her guests.
I fell in love with Sharon during the podcast interview. Well, in a platonic sense, I’m happily married. I felt an instant connection with her. Take a peek at her Threads, her videos are so fun.
Brief summary of the book.
Meet 27-year-old Perci Mayfield. It’s New Year’s Eve, while reclined in a dental chair, her boyfriend breaks up with her in a very public and humiliating way. Fortunately, Perci has a wonderful BFF that helps craft her recovery. The treatment plan includes a list of anti-New Years’ resolutions for our girl Perci, like:
Stop trying to
- Lose weight
- Work so hard
- Live up to unrealistic expectation
- Please her mother
Oh, and to give dating a break for a year.
Take those elements, a fabulously quirky grandmother, toss in an imaginary boyfriend, and you have a perfect recipe for a delightful romcom-chick lit-women’s-contemporary-fiction debut novel to discuss with your book club cronies.
How much and how well did the book provide a sense of a particular place, time, community, and/or culture?
The Do-Over takes place in Texas, it’s a contemporary novel about a woman coming to terms with herself, her body, her values.
It is chock full of loveable quirky characters and meddling family, reminiscent of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It illuminates the importance of female relationships and portrays strong women characters that, as Curtis Sittenfeld might say, “are wrong about the most essential facts of their own lives.”
I can visualize this story being made into a feel-good movie.
Spoiler Alert: the remaining review may contain spoilers; stop reading this review and grab The Do-Over, read it, and then feel free to return here. Or reach out to Sharon Peterson and share your thoughts on her debut novel and support the arts by enjoying her other novels.
Warning – Below are some spoilers
My heart soared in the moments when Perci’s family is standing on the sidelines and watching her interactions with a boyfriend. I found the boyfriend to be even more endearing when he amped up the PDA for the benefit of her well-meaning but nosey family. I love a good sidekick that will play along when you have a family event and you need a buffer or a fake relationship to get you through it.
How deeply did the book go into mining the depths of the human experience?
The main character “un-does” the lie she’s been telling herself: that she is a failure. She learns that she doesn’t need to change, she is perfect the way she is.
This is a hard lesson to learn because society, friends, and family often attempt to shape us into what they feel we should look and think. I admire people that have the courage to do what they feel is right for themselves.
There are a couple scenes where Lilah, the young girl that lives in her apartment building, wears an owl costume. I LOVE that Lilah’s dad doesn’t make her take it off or act embarrassed by her appearance. They go get ice cream, the child is wearing the costume, the dad doesn’t blink an eye, fabulously embracing her unique personality.
Meanwhile, Perci’s mom is hypercritical about what her daughter wears. Perci dutifully complies with her mom’s dress code, to keep the peace. Until her character arcs and we see NEW Perci.
Perci’s maternal grandmother Mimi is also receiving the same critical feedback about what she wears, but she doesn’t give a rat’s ass what her daughter thinks of her clothing choices. Love it! Everyone needs a Mimi to look up to.
Stickiness – how tightly did the book keep me glued to the story?
This is a wonderful comfort-read, a book you look forward to curling up with a warm beverage and becoming transported into the world that Sharon has created.
How well did the descriptions enhance the story?
Below you get a feel for Sharon’s voice via Perci’s description of her grandmother:
She smirked and took a long pull on the cigarette that might as well have been surgically grafted to her fingers. The smoke clung to her clothes, mingled with the flowery undertones of White Shoulders and the faint, yet permanent smell of canned green beans from her years working as a school lunch lady.
In the scene below, Perci’s jerky boyfriend has broken up with her in a humiliating manner. Perci’s best friend Mathias comes over for support, bringing relationship break-up accoutrement. Here’s her account:
Ten minutes later, which I spent thoroughly examining the many ways that my life was a disaster, Mathias showed up unannounced, bearing gifts of red wine, fruit, and a small dartboard.
“A dartboard?”
“Hold on.” From his pocket he produced a crudely cut-out picture of Brent’s head and slapped it on the board. “I printed it off Facebook.”
“And the devil horns and goatee?”
Mathias grinned. “I added those. I think it suits him. You like?”
“Totally.”
The book has wonderfully short chapters that allows life to interrupt at intervals that are convenient to our reading.
Sharon M. Peterson is a former middle school teacher and has the personality to prove it.
One of her favorite quotes is from Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath: “It was her habit to build up laughter out of inadequate materials.” She strives to tackle life that way and create characters who do the same.
The Do-Over was her first book; it has been called “pure delight” by NYT best-selling author Kristan Higgins. It’s slated to be translated into three languages (which is two more than she knows how to speak).
Her second book, The Fake Out, released in July 2023 and was an Amazon best seller.
Sharon has a new book coming out on June 17, 2025: The Fix Up. This is an uplifting, heart-stealing and addictive enemies-to-lovers romance full of sweet chemistry and laugh-out-loud moments. Perfect for fans of Abby Jimenez, Emily Henry, and Sarah Adams.
She lives in Washington with her husband, and four children, including two autistic sons. She has one cat, one dog, and one tattoo.
Sharon can usually be found hunched over her computer, creating characters and stories she hopes you’ll love as much as she does.
Find out more about Sharon’s books and what she is up to here.
About my categories
Note: The subheadings above (horizontality, verticality, stickiness, and literary richness) are the brainchild of Mark Morgan Ford, an author, entrepreneur, philanthropist, business leader.
He structures his book and film reviews with those categories. I LOVE his rating system; I was inspired to adapt my review structure similarly.
You can find Mark here; I highly recommend you visit his site; his writing is gorgeous and inspiring.
You may want to grab a beverage and a cigar so that you can comfortably settle in and be inspired by his prose. As a nonsmoker, might I recommend substituting a quarter sleeve of Caramel deLites® or Samoas®Girl Scout cookies for the stogie?
This chocolate-coconut varietal is a wonderful choice, with its chewy texture and chocolate-draped shortbread base, bold yet restrained, layered and crisp; it is the perfect accompaniment to Mark’s reviews.
