The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise

By: Colleen Oakley
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 352

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Twenty-one-year-old Tanner Quimby needs a place to live. Preferably one where she can continue sitting around in sweatpants and playing video games nineteen hours a day. Since she has no credit or money to speak of, her options are limited, so when an opportunity to work as a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman falls into her lap, she takes it.

One slip on the rug. That’s all it took for Louise Wilt’s daughter to demand that Louise have a full-time nanny living with her. Never mind that she can still walk fine, finish her daily crossword puzzle, and pour the two fingers of vodka she drinks every afternoon. Bottom line -- Louise wants a caretaker even less than Tanner wants to be one.

The two start off their living arrangement happily ignoring each other until Tanner starts to notice things—weird things. Like, why does Louise keep her garden shed locked up tighter than a prison? And why is the local news fixated on the suspect of one of the biggest jewelry heists in American history who looks eerily like Louise? And why does Louise suddenly appear in her room, with a packed bag at 1 a.m. insisting that they leave town immediately?

Thus begins the story of a not-to-be-underestimated elderly woman and an aimless young woman who—if they can outrun the mistakes of their past—might just have the greatest adventure of their lives.

First Impression

I’ve read a lot of books by Oakley and they have really run the gambit when it comes to type of story. This cover isn’t my favorite and I was even a little iffy on the synopsis. To be honest, if I hadn’t previously read and enjoyed books by Oakley, I don’t know if it would’ve made a good first impression.

What I thought

Tanner is in her early 20s. She has recently moved back home after an accident that caused her to lose her soccer scholarship. Louise is in her 80s. Her daughter has decided she needs a caregiver after she broke her hip. When Louise finds out that a long lost friend from her past is in danger, she takes off in the middle of the night and brings Tanner along with her.

While I enjoyed a lot of this book, it felt very long to me and a little bit slow. I think I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more if like 50-60 pages had been edited out. I think there were definitely parts of the journey that could’ve been taken out without making any change to the major points of the story.

I definitely preferred Louise to Tanner. I don’t know if I would’ve liked her a little more if I had been reading this book when I was in my 20s, but she came off a little whiney and immature to me. I didn’t care much for the chapters that were from her point of view and wanted to shake her a little bit and tell her to get over herself.

I did enjoy that the chapters not only alternated with Louise and Tanner’s points of view, but with text exchanges between Louise’s kids, Tanner’s mom, and even the police. I liked the mystery of the story more than I liked the journey and there was a small twist I didn’t expect.