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This Was Not the Plan: A Novel by Cristina…
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This Was Not the Plan: A Novel (edition 2016)

by Cristina Alger (Author)

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10610252,264 (3.46)4
"Charlie Goldwyn's life hasn't exactly gone according to plan. Widowerhood at thirty-three and twelve-hour workdays have left a gap in his relationship with his quirky five-year-old son, Caleb, whose obsession with natural disasters and penchant for girls' clothing have made him something of a loner at his preschool. The only thing Charlie has going for him is his job at a prestigious law firm, where he is finally close to becoming a partner. But when a slight lapse in judgment at an office party leaves him humiliatingly unemployed, stuck at home with Caleb for the summer, and forced to face his own estranged father, Charlie starts to realize that there's more to fatherhood than financially providing for his son, and more to being a son than overtaking his father's successes. At turns heartbreaking and hilarious, This Was Not the Plan is a story about loss and love, parenthood, and friendship, and what true work-life balance means."--Provided by publisher.… (more)
Member:MHanover10
Title:This Was Not the Plan: A Novel
Authors:Cristina Alger (Author)
Info:Touchstone (2016), 352 pages
Collections:Your library, Currently reading, Wishlist, To read, Read but unowned, Favorites
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Tags:to-read

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This Was Not the Plan by Cristina Alger

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» See also 4 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 10 (next | show all)
Another excellent book by this author! I devoured it. ( )
  CandyH | Aug 26, 2021 |
Meh ( )
  amylee39 | Jul 16, 2018 |
Charlie Goldwyn was happily married and living in Manhattan while working at a prestigious law firm. Two years ago everything changed when he lost his wife in a plane crash. Following her death, he became immersed in his professional life. Charlie blocked all of his personal relationships including the one with his five year old son, Caleb. While pursuing a firm partnership he missed his son’s fifth birthday dinner and other milestone events.

One evening during a firm party, Charlie has too much too drink and is asked to make a speech. His unprofessional comments about clients gets him fired after someone leaked the video online. Out of work, Charlie is forced to start a new chapter in his life as a father. He realizes that he has a lot to learn, navigating pre-school along with other parents. Along the way he learns a lot about himself which leads to important decisions about their future.

This book is about the difficulty of balancing a career while raising a family. The themes apply to all parents regardless of their profession. Cristina Alger's next book, The Banker’s Wife, will be released in the summer of 2018. ( )
  leopolds | Aug 13, 2017 |
This Was Not the Plan is a sweet story about a dad, Charlie Goldwyn, whose life takes a sharp turn off the path he had planned for himself. The story opens two years after his wife has died. Charlie works all the time and doesn’t get to spend much time with his son, Caleb. Reaching his boiling point at a company party after too many drinks, Charlie makes a speech that gets him fired. As a result, Charlie ends up at home with his son; he gets to know Caleb and realizes all he has been missing. Caleb is a wonderful character that readers will completely fall in love with and not want the book to end. Cristina Alger writes beautifully, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Thanks to NetGalley and Touchstone for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. ( )
  cburnett5 | Nov 12, 2016 |
This Was Not the Plan by Cristina Alger is a recommended novel about discovering what is important in life.

Charlie Goldwyn works long hours trying to make partner at the Manhattan corporate law firm where he works. Charlie is a widow whose 5 year-old son, Caleb, has been watched/raised by his twin sister, Zadie, since the death of his wife, Mira, two years ago. After spending a long 72 hours at work to complete a big case, Charlie just wants to go home, but he has to attend a party for the new associates at the firm. He ends up drinking too much and making a speech that is brutally honest about life at the firm. His drunken speech was being filmed and is put on YouTube, where it goes viral, resulting in Charlie being fired from the firm.

Now that Charlie's free to watch Caleb, Zadie asks to take a little vacation, leaving Charlie totally in charge of his son. What Charlie wants is his job back. Even when Mira was alive, she was the caregiver, not Charlie. Now it's all up to him to become the father his wife wanted him to be, but the one he hasn't been. The forced time off from work will also give him a chance to grieve the loss of his wife. But there are a lot more surprises in store for Charlie as he learns to become the father Caleb deserves.

Even though Charlie loses his job, you know that nothing really bad is going to happen here. Anything really bad has already happened, off the page, and is only discussed now. Charlie is really the only well-developed character while the rest of the characters are more caricatures of a type of person. The narrative alternates between present day actions and Charlie's memories of Mira. The story heads in a predictable, familiar direction, which isn't always bad.

In the final analysis, this is a pleasant, feel-good book. The writing is good. There is some substance to the story even though it's meant to be and written as light escapism. Many reviewers liked this one much more than I did. To be honest, I didn't really like the free spirited character of Mira, which sort of put a damper on my enjoyment.

Disclosure: My advanced reading copy was courtesy of the publisher/author.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1790915588 ( )
  SheTreadsSoftly | Oct 22, 2016 |
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"Charlie Goldwyn's life hasn't exactly gone according to plan. Widowerhood at thirty-three and twelve-hour workdays have left a gap in his relationship with his quirky five-year-old son, Caleb, whose obsession with natural disasters and penchant for girls' clothing have made him something of a loner at his preschool. The only thing Charlie has going for him is his job at a prestigious law firm, where he is finally close to becoming a partner. But when a slight lapse in judgment at an office party leaves him humiliatingly unemployed, stuck at home with Caleb for the summer, and forced to face his own estranged father, Charlie starts to realize that there's more to fatherhood than financially providing for his son, and more to being a son than overtaking his father's successes. At turns heartbreaking and hilarious, This Was Not the Plan is a story about loss and love, parenthood, and friendship, and what true work-life balance means."--Provided by publisher.

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