Mansion. Apartment. Shack. House. Laura Marie Meyers’s debut novel was such a fun story. The MASH Up is a magical realism romance based on the game I played with my girlfriends in middle school.
Do you remember playing? M.A.S.H. is a fortune telling game where the player predicts her future in categories like spouse, career, number of children, among others. The zanier the better. After listing three to five options for each category, a friend draws a spiral to find your magic number. Using that number, your friend crosses out options under each category until only one remains. Viola! Your future has been told.
Imagine waking up the morning after your 35th birthday inside the M.A.S.H. game you played in seventh grade. This is what happens to Ruby, a careful rule following accountant. Seventh grade Ruby was a bit of a rebel and her life inside the M.A.S.H. game reflects her thirteen-year-old dreams. She lives in a mansion with not one but two pools, drives a tie dye Jeep and owns a roller-disco restaurant. Her “other-half” is her sworn enemy who also happens to be her brother’s best friend, but they are not together in this world nor the real one.
In an effort to return to her real life, Ruby needs Penn/her “other-half” to fall in love with her. If the truly unthinkable happens, how will it change her life in the present? Also, will living in her make-believe world force Ruby to re-examine her real world choices?
I bought the audiobook read by Brittany Pressley on release day, July 7th and enjoyed every chapter.
Look for books at Knox County Online Library or your local independent bookstore each week.
Linda Sullivan is an avid reader and wants to inspire you to become one, too. For more recommendations or to talk books, reach out to her at thebookwhisperertn@gmail.com. She can also be found @thebookwhisperertn on Instagram.
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