Sometimes, a book has this magical capability to hit a reader like a sack of bricks. The characters’ personalities, actions, and experiences are things we can relate with on a personal level. It’s almost as if the reader’s own heart leaps and breaks in time with the characters’. For me, “The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs” by Matthew Dicks was one of those books.

Caroline Jacobs is a timid and shy woman who rarely (if ever) speaks up for herself, at least, not until a Parent Teacher Organization meeting at her daughter’s high school. Caroline somehow manages to tell the popular, wealthy president of the organization to f-off. This out-of-character outburst awakens a bravery Caroline didn’t realize existed.

With her punkish teenage daughter in tow, Caroline road trips back to her hometown to finally give her childhood ex-best friend a piece of her mind. It has been twenty-five years since her public betrayal to Caroline, but a best-friend-turned-bully is a traumatic situation that never really goes away. As one may expect, things don’t go quite as planned, making for a lot of tears, laughs, and uncovering of old secrets.

Dicks does a great job of relating to readers on a personal level. Nearly everyone has been guilty of avoiding conflict in fear of upsetting others at some point in their lives. Similarly to Caroline, a once-good friend may also have betrayed many people in their adolescence.  The courage of Caroline confronting her bully is something to be admired by readers of all kinds.

Other than the bravery of Caroline confronting her childhood friend, my favorite aspect of the book was her reconnection with her own daughter. I loved seeing how Caroline and her daughter went from nonspeaking terms to laughing and bantering by the end of the book.

Everything was written in such a realistic manner it makes me wonder if the author loosely based the book on true events.

Another reason why I loved this book so much is that it so brilliantly mixed lighthearted characters and dialogue with the serious issue of bullying and its lasting effects.

High schoolers and teachers of all grades could get a lot out of this book. It is full of self-discovery, family ties, and learning to let go. It’s a short read at just over 200 pages.

From the quality of the writing in this book, it looks like Matthew Dicks will definitely be an author to watch. From his quirky, yet addicting writing style and fun characters, he writes in a way that makes readers keep asking questions as they read. 

The joy that this book gave me made it easy to rate: five spurs for realistic, fun characters, tackling a serious and relatable subject, and outstanding writing.