Book Review: Happy Any Day Now by Toby Devens

What do you do when you’re staring down your 50th birthday? If you’re Judith Soo Jin Raphael, you go see a fortune teller that your mother sets you up with.

Judith isn’t looking forward to her upcoming milestone birthday. As a matter of fact, she’d almost let it pass with no pomp or circumstance, only her Korean mother insists she go see a fortune teller. When the fortune teller sees tragedy on the horizon, Judith’s mother halts the reading and they leave. It isn’t long before a medical tragedy ensues, she runs into an ex-lover, and Judith’s life is turned upside down – in both good and bad ways.

Filled with funny moments, Toby Devens hits a home run with this story. I absolutely loved this book. Maybe it’s because I’m 40 and ready to have my own mid-life crisis any day now, or maybe it’s just that the characters are quirky & funny, yet very believable, or it could be that I fell in love with learning about Asian and Jewish culture – but I loved this book. It’s probably going to go on my top 10 list of all time faves. If you’re 40 or older, and especially if you’ve ever not quite gotten over an old love, but find that you’re ready to try to move forward with new loves, I recommend this. If you, too, have a loving, caring, meddling mother….you’ll appreciate this even more.