The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly HarmsDescription
In The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms, Amy is a not-quite divorced mother of two who has spent the last three years living a financial nightmare. Her husband left her with two small children, a large mortgage, and no financial assistance. With the help of a close friend, Amy is able to get a degree in library science and secure a job as a school librarian. She is able to hold onto the house and keep her children fed by scrimping and pinching and some more assistance from her friend. When her husband returns and wants to spend time with their kids over the summer, Amy has the opportunity to take some time to care for herself and perhaps make up for lost time. There are plenty of surprises in store for Amy, if she is willing to take some chances.
The Overdue Life of Amy Byler was a book club pick and lead to a rousing discussion about Amy’s abilities to have fun away from her kids and the choices that she makes. There was little talk about her not-quite ex-husband, though I found him to be the worst part of the book. The idea that an adult could leave their spouse with two children and no financial support is pretty terrible. I guess that it happens in real life, too, and people are able to make it through, but ugh! It seems pretty unforgivable. Who should be allowed to do such things?
The book has some creative moments and the backdrop of a school librarian is good for working in some discussions about reading and getting kids to read.
The Overdue Life of Amy Byler was a book club pick and lead to a rousing discussion about Amy’s abilities to have fun away from her kids and the choices that she makes. There was little talk about her not-quite ex-husband, though I found him to be the worst part of the book. The idea that an adult could leave their spouse with two children and no financial support is pretty terrible. I guess that it happens in real life, too, and people are able to make it through, but ugh! It seems pretty unforgivable. Who should be allowed to do such things?
The book has some creative moments and the backdrop of a school librarian is good for working in some discussions about reading and getting kids to read.
Would I Teach This Book?
Would I teach The Overdue Life of Amy Byler? This book includes romance, single parenting, financial struggles, and making fun for yourself outside your family. All very interesting and important discussions, but the argument for teaching this book would be a hard sell, for a few reasons. The first and most important is that the writing is not all that strong—the prose does not sparkle, and, at times, it tries too hard to be humorous, such as in the diary-letters written from the daughter to the main character. Second, the acrobatics that the author goes through to make Amy’s summer situation more believable are pretty intense. Third, Amy’s situation with her runaway husband and her handling of it is super frustrating.
I could see a scenario in which The Overdue Life of Amy Byler was used to discuss something like how divorced women are depicted in fiction or depictions of women over the age of thirty seeking romance. I would also consider this a good book club pick—while it is not high literature, we had a lengthy and spirited discussion.
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I could see a scenario in which The Overdue Life of Amy Byler was used to discuss something like how divorced women are depicted in fiction or depictions of women over the age of thirty seeking romance. I would also consider this a good book club pick—while it is not high literature, we had a lengthy and spirited discussion.
View all my reviews
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