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Through the years, friends come and go. There are falling outs and some who just slip away. In <I>I Thought You Said This Would Work by Ann Garvin, two old friends who have fallen out for reasons only known to one of them are forced to get back together for an unexpected cross-country road trip.
The story hits the road with Samantha and Holly, two estranged college friends who have barely spoken since they left college more than 20 years ago. The only thing that can bring them together is their mutual best friend, Katie, who asks for a favor as she returns to the hospital to battle cancer yet again. Reluctantly, they agree to get Katie’s beloved dog back from her ex in California and drive him back to Wisconsin. Samantha expects the trip to be difficult, but it gets even more complicated when a D-list celebrity comes along for the ride—and they discover that the dog has been moved to a shelter in Utah.
More than just the serious story of two women forced to work together to care for a mutual friend, I Thought You Said This Would Work is often a wild journey through self-discovery. Holly is gruff and often mean, and Samantha is anxious and timid—and often frustratingly needy. But all of the characters’ random, quirky adventures balance out some of the seriousness of the situation. It isn’t all anger and pain and difficult conversations. It’s also going on the run from Katie’s bitter ex with help from Summer, the actress and talk show host who simply invited herself to join in.
For these characters, though, it takes a stolen Volkswagen, an unanticipated travel companion, a visit to a shaman, and a side trip to an animal sanctuary for them to learn some valuable lessons about themselves and each other. Samantha reflects on widowhood, her impending empty nest, and the fact that she’s simply just given up on herself. And Holly faces her fears of becoming a parent while eventually acknowledging what went wrong with their friendship.
At times, the characters can be exhausting. Holly and Samantha are both closed off and self-absorbed in their own ways—and if not for Summer, their story would have been pretty tiresome. But the light humor of this unexpected road trip makes the introspection easier to handle.
I Thought You Said This Would Work isn’t the silly road trip comedy that some readers might expect. But the light comedy softens the story as these characters learn how to give themselves grace and find a way to move forward with their lives.
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