Good Joy, Bad Joy ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer

Alt Cover

"She lived by the rules.
Now she's breaking them."

G👀dreads About Summary

...a vibrant, heartfelt novel about friendship over the decades, self-discovery, and what it means to have a life well-lived.

Break the rules. Find your joy.

For over eighty years, Joy Bridport has played by the rules: she's been a devoted wife and mother, contributing to the community in her small Hudson Valley town. But her quiet existence is jolted when she learns that her best friend, Hazel, only has months left to live. Hazel has always been the more adventurous one of their duo, and she seems at peace with all that she’s squeezed out of her long life. Yet Joy realizes she can’t say the same.

Determined to live boldly and make the most of the time that she and Hazel have left together, Joy steps outside of her comfort zone—and into a bit of trouble. But as her foray into rule-breaking escalates into committing petty crime, Joy must consider what kind of legacy she wants to leave behind, and whether there's a way for her to embrace the liberation that "Bad Joy" offers without losing all that she holds dear.

Is it ever too late to become who we're meant to be? With laugh-out-loud hijnks and emotional heft, Good Joy, Bad Joy is a heartwarming and wise celebration of the choices we make, the friendships we cherish, and the lengths we go for love.

Genre: Fiction, Friendship, Humor

The How/Why: Influenced by SM. Most likely algorithms because I loved Mad Mabel. Plus octogenarians. You know I adore the 'genarians!

⭐⭐⭐⭐   

🎉🎊 Overall Storytelling? 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎊

  •  Setting the stage. Atmosphere, Vibe 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
  • Likeable Characters: Protagonist, Supporting Cast, Extras 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
  • Unlikeable Antagonist (just a minor antagonist) 🎉🎉🎉🎉
  • Executing the premise 🎉🎉🎉🎉
  • Lives up to the promise 🎉🎉🎉🎉

🎣🎏 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes ➕

🕮 Would I want a sequel? No ➖ Not necessary

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author? Yes ➕

⚠️💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? Tɇrmïnɐl IllnɇŞŞ & ƇanƇer, DɇaṪh and Ɇnd-0f-Lifɇ Plaɳɳinᵷ, Ǥriɇf & Bɇrɇavɇmɇnt, Ab0rti0n

🌶️🫑Spice? No

🌪 Plot Twist? Maybe a breeze  

👟 Pace? Good 

💻 Tidbits ~ This book dives into Joy's humorous descent into crime. Before anyone gets in a tizzy that crime isn't funny remember two things.
1. This is fiction and is for entertainment, not an instruction manual on how to become a criminal in your golden years. 
2. "Bad Joy" realizes there are consequences to her late-life liberation. She makes a donation to the fire department because they were summoned after one of her little tricks, and she hadn't realized she'd be wasting resources. As she escalates her antics to the grand finale, she leaves a note with instructions for her daughter and packs her "Jail-Go-Bag," just in case things don't go according to plan.
As if she'd be able to take her go-bag to her cell! 

Joy and Hazel have been friends for 80 years. In elementary school Hazel stood up for Joy creating a life long bond. Now that her husband and other friends have passed, she wants to take advantage of every moment they have left. 

"Good Joy" was a goody-two-shoes her entire life. Her polar opposite very adventurous best friend Hazel has been diagnosed with cancer and is at her end of life. This sparks Joy's alter ego "Bad Joy". Why does she always have to do the right things? She quickly realizes that a little old lady can hide in plain sight. 

This story highlights friendship first and sends a message of "Live Life Without Regrets". 

Favorite Characters: I really enjoyed them all so I'll go with least favorite: Joy's daughter.

Favorite Quote: "Let us greedily enjoy our friends because we do not know how long this privilege will be ours" 

Four Stars. I deducted one because of the way her decades-long grudge with her neighbor was quickly tied up. I didn't fall for that at all. 
Otherwise a very good example of different types of relationships, touching on Family, Friends, Neighbors, Community. 

🎧 Narrator: Maggi-Meg Reed 👍(Present Day), Kimberly M Wetherell 👍(Flashbacks to their youth)

🎧11.05 hours (Libby) 🕮 304 pages 

Bookmark medallion I created with Gemini AI
"Rooting for the octogenarian criminal"

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