About the Book
Sometimes you have to go big to go home.
Rhett Gallagher’s adventurous life is imploding. Just as she turns the big 4-0, her long-term relationship collapses and her gran’s death draws her back to the family farm. The only silver lining is that Rhett’s inspirational book, The Modern Pioneer Girl’s Guide to Life—written under a pseudonym—has become a wild success, so much so that when her big publicity moment comes, self-doubting Rhett panics and persuades her best friend, Jasmine, to step into the limelight in her stead.
But their prank turns into something more when the controlling mother Rhett hasn’t seen in two decades announces her intent to sell the farm Rhett loves and expected to make her own. To save her inheritance—and her identity—Rhett must concoct a scheme that will protect her home and finally prove to her mother, and to herself, that she can stand on her own two feet.
My Review
While I haven’t read The Chicken Sisters I know it received glowing reviews, so when I was asked to review In Her Boots, I didn’t want to turn it down. With the social media setting and the question of who and what is really happening behind each highlight reel posted to Instagram, I was intrigued to learn more about Rhett – or the Modern Pioneer Girl. Rhett marches to the beat of her own drum, wrote a book about how she accomplished just that, and now has a TV show looking to interview her about her journey. The tricky part is, she writes under a pseudonym and isn’t comfortable steeping into the spotlight. When her estranged mother turns out to be the other guest for the TV show, Rhett panics and her best friend Jasmine takes the mic instead, pretending to be the confident and comfortable in her skin Modern Pioneer Girl. But how long can their charade really last in the digital era of smartphones and selfies?
There was a lot I really liked about the story – from Rhett’s approach to living life her own way, hopping on Instagram in its infancy because she had something to say, and the friendship between Rhett and Jasmine really was beautiful to be a part of. As someone who started in social media in the early years as well, there was a lot I could relate to – including the sheer pressure of sharing your life and highs and lows with thousands and even millions of strangers. The setting was simply lovely, and while I don’t know much about farm life, I found myself smiling each time another horse or the llama was brought up. I will say there were times I forgot Rhett was in her forties – some of the circumstances or decisions she made had me thinking she was younger, but the book did a great job at exploring difficult relationships and what effect that can have on a person. There are a lot of discussions around living your authentic life and what that truly looks like, mending broken relationships and the joy of self-discovery. It was a quick and charming read
4 stars
