Books I've read: Scripted

This is one of those books that could have been just a good, fun story, but was a little too heavy on the message to be as much fun as it should have been.  I hate being preached at in books and this one felt way too much like a self-help book to be wholly enjoyable as a novel.

Jade is a nice woman who is kind of stuck in a rut.  She's not happy with her partner, but is so used to having him around, she can't bring herself to kick him out.  Her boss treats her like a lackey and constantly asks her to do things that make her uncomfortable.  Her sister takes advantage of her and her father never fails to remind her she's living in a property he owns - even though she pays the full rent.  Her mother drinks to much and has never managed to get over her divorce, despite it being 20 years ago.

Something needs to change, but Jade doesn't know how to do it.

She finds a script while out running one day and is dumbfounded when the characters appear to be herself and her partner.  And when the conversation she read on the page actually happens not long after, she is incredulous.  

The scripts keep coming and the more she reads them ahead of time, the more she hates the way she never stands up for herself.  Yet any attempt she makes to change the scripts fails and she finds herself being taken advantage of again.  And with her sister's wedding coming up, there are a bunch of difficult situations she's going to need to face and conversations she needs to have to make sure her future is the one she actually wants for herself.

I really liked the premise of this book, but the writing and the way the story unfolded felt very preachy to me, like it was trying to teach the reader something.  I get that it was doing this, but there was no subtlety to it and the message felt bigger than the story or the characters.  I love it when a book teaches me something, but I don't like it being so signposted and obvious.

So while the message in this one is good - and god knows I could do with learning how to say no more often - I didn't really enjoy it as much as I could have if the message wasn't hammered into my head every few lines.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

Jade Shaw has lost control of her life.

Pushed around by her warring family, and taken for granted by a boyfriend who's more interested in his "brand" than their relationship, she knows that somewhere along the path to being an adult she's lost her way. And she can't seem to find it again.

The last place she expects to discover answers is on the floor outside her flat. But there it is: a script. Containing her name, and her boyfriend Adam's - and depicting another huge argument in which Jade fails to stand up for herself. The weird thing is: this argument hasn't happened yet.

The row becomes reality. Jade tries and fails to find her voice. Then more scripts appear, predicting infuriating scenarios in which Jade's boss, mum, and bridezilla sister walk all over her. Whoever is leaving these scripts knows Jade inside-out. But who is writing them? How are they able to predict her future so accurately?

And what can Jade do to re-write the script?