On Rotation Book Review
Synapsis:
Ghanaian-American Angela Appiah has checked off all the boxes for the “Perfect Immigrant Daughter.”
Enroll in an elite medical school
Snag a suitable lawyer/doctor/engineer boyfriend
Surround self with a gaggle of successful and/or loyal friends
But then it quickly all falls apart: her boyfriend dumps her, she bombs the most important exam of her medical career, and her best friend pulls away. And her parents, whose approval seems to hinge on how closely she follows the path they chose, are a lot less proud of their daughter. It’s a quarter life crisis of epic proportions.
Angie, who has always faced her problems by working “twice as hard to get half as far,” is at a loss. Suddenly, she begins to question everything: her career choice, her friendships, even why she's attracted to men who don't love her as much as she loves them.
And just when things couldn’t get more complicated, enter Ricky Gutierrez—brilliant, thoughtful, sexy, and most importantly, seems to see Angie for who she is instead of what she can represent.
Unfortunately, he’s also got “wasteman” practically tattooed across his forehead, and Angie’s done chasing mirages of men. Or so she thinks. For someone who’s always been in control, Angie realizes that there’s one thing she can’t plan on: matters of her heart.
I started cracking up as soon as I started reading this book. Shirline’s way of writing made me feel as though she was my friend and we were in my living room talking about life sharing a glass of wine.
What I loved about this book the most was the relevance of it. Even though I am not in medical school like Angie I can definitely identify with her on the relationship, career, and friendship piece. Everything that Angie went through we all have been there before. Angie went through so many major transitions in her life and she stayed grounded through it all. I loved how Angie didn’t let her disappointment win. She wallowed, but then got back in the game to make sure she won in the next chapter of her life, residency. I love how it showed her discipline to her education and career. It ignited me to keep going. As I read about Shirline I found out that she wrote this book while she was completing her fellowship in Cardiology. Shirline and Angie both inspired me to not give up on my dreams.
I loved the friendship piece as well. How friendships actually do take work from both parties. This book invited its readers to see how friendships go through transitions too. How our friendships need a different version of ourselves as we shift individually. We sometimes have to show up for our friends in different ways than we did before. Angie and her best friend went through it, but they came back stronger. I love how it highlighted not tossing someone aside so quickly. This generation does that a lot.
I loved the relationship between Rickey and Angie. This also showed how insecurities play a huge role in our relationships. This relationship also highlighted green flags that every woman should read this book to see. It’s the littlest things that Ricky did that make my heart swell.
The one thing I did not like about the book was its predictability. I knew how everything was going to pan out. I sometimes like a little mystery or a curveball every now and then. Overall this book was such a great read. I enjoyed every bit of it. It is worth the pick up.
Before you go. I told you I was working on a new landing page for #bookswithbrooks. Here is the link Books with Brooks, but of course you can get to this page from the homepage. I am so excited about it. Praying that this brings in more opportunities for book partnerships. Let me know what you think! Have a great weekend!
