A Happy Catastrophe

Finally ready to divulge my thoughts on a month worth of books. April was really tough for me mentally, so I read...a lot, and did little else, aside from work and being there for my kid. But, now that I'm back to being a mostly functional adult, let's get to these fantastic books!

“A Happy Catastrophe” is the second novel in a series by Maddie Dawson. It follows Marnie and Patrick after Marnie’s permanent move to Brooklyn and her decision to embrace her inner matchmaker at the end of “Matchmaking for Beginners.”

Through a series of events that would throw any of us for a loop, we are given more insight into Patrick’s character, into why he is the way that he is. As well as seeing how truly deep and beautiful Marnie is as a character. 

Marnie desperately wants to have a baby and start a family with Patrick. Given Patrick’s past tragedy and continued disfigurement he is beyond against the idea. In the midst of the two of them working this out, Patrick’s long lost, elementary school age daughter comes to live with them, thrusting Patrick directly into fatherhood and forcing Marnie to step up, be an even bigger person and help this new member of their family adjust. 

I definitely enjoyed this book, however the first book is my favorite of the two. It was an instant favorite when I picked it up towards the beginning of the pandemic and the lockdown in the States last year. The perfect happy, lighthearted, reassuring read. It helped me to escape the chaos of my life and venture into a world where people like Blix exist. I know that in the same world I live in these people are out there, I have yet to find my own Blix.

Anyway, back to this book…

I really enjoyed seeing further into Patrick’s character. I feel that us as readers get so used to his disfigurement being a part of him that like Marnie, we sometimes forget how much it might actually affect his life. Not only how the disfigurement affects his life but how deeply rooted the suffering and survivor’s guilt really goes. Watching him struggle with his demons was heartbreaking and probably a reason why this book was a little harder for me personally to get through. 

I loved the way Marnie’s character reacted to their new addition. Rather than being bitter and resentful and refusing to help or even leaving, she embraced being a bonus mom with gusto and did everything in her power to make up for Patrick’s shortcomings. 

This novel really showed the resilience of kids, how a little bit of love and encouragement can cause them to grow and bloom in incredible ways. How we all need support, and how were never too old to run home.