Following My Toes

Following My Toes is a fun and quick read. Faith Emerson may or may not have some psychic abilities. Her belief in her powers is just one dimension of a well-developed and entertaining heroine. The author does an excellent job of drawing the reader into the plot from the very beginning. It works as sort of a reverse whodunit as we know immediately that Faith will be abducted, but we don't know by whom. As she tries to start a new life in a new city, she meets many new people and the reader is left guessing which will be her captor and which will become new friends. If there is a flaw it is that the eventual kidnapping is somewhat anti-climactic, but more tension might have taken away from the mostly light tone of the book. Overall, a witty book with some interesting thoughts on forgiveness and reading it was definitely an enjoyable use of my time. I think most fans of chick lit will agree.

Faith needs a life change. She had thought her life was going pretty good. After college, she had found a teaching job back in her home town of Duluth. She had a great boyfriend, whom she had been dating for two years. Then, everything fell apart. The boyfriend gave her the "it's not you speech" and Faith soon realizes that he's been seeing her best friend behind her back. It gets worse when the two decide to get engaged, so much for him not being the marrying type. Faith decides that a change is definitely in order so she makes the move to Minneapolis. However, her new life isn't quite what she expected. She can't seem to find a job. Her needy roommate has a side job as a sex phone operator. Faith might also have a stalker. Following My Toes connects the reader to the feeling of chatting with a close friend. You are with her through the laughs and through those hard parts. You get that she'd be so much better off if she just stopped trying not to make mistakes and just followed her heart. You also know that she's going to have to do everything the hard way.

Even though I don't generally read this genre, Osterkamp's book kept me turning the pages. From the opening where we learn Faith is not only psychic, but has been kidnapped, this story forced me to read on. The humor Faith uses to look at her life makes this story endearing and believable. I was with her from the time her best friend fessed up to cheating with Faith's boyfriend all the way through her "call girl" room mate and mechanic crush. Funny and engaging. I'll definitely buy the author's next book.

For a funny, enjoyable romp with engaging characters, "Following my Toes" was a good read. I'm hoping for a sequel.

that this is the author's first novel! While this is definitely a fun read, she also has a way with language that made me think she had a number of books under her belt. I can imagine this being a favorite with the chick lit crowd, though I liked it more as a mystery novel. So I guess I'd say that unless your reading is confined to encyclopedias and repair manuals, you'll really like this. Highly recommended!