Author: J.D. Barrett
ISBN: 978-0-7336-3797-1
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: May 29, 2018
Publisher: Hachette
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
The Upside of Over is the third novel by J.D. Barrett, a successful Australian television writer and script editor. I haven’t read her books, though her debut came across my desk and looked like it could be quite an entertaining read, after just reading the first couple of pages of this I think it could be a real winner too.
Olivia Law is a newsreader in her mid-40s who has always done things the right way. She was the quintessential good girl and always has been. Good grades, great career, husband, hairdo and house. She has always filled her time with great causes and kept up appearances.
It all falls apart when her fabulous husband leaves her and her drunken love letter confession goes viral. She is left with no house, husband or job.
Looking down the barrel of middle age with a reputation that’s just been totally turned upside down Olivia is left humiliated and defeated, wondering who she really is. She is faced with a crossroad that allows her to abandon perfection and chase a new destiny.
Olivia might just get her sass back, and this time it will be of the authentic variety.
A novel about love, sex, breaking up and breaking through.
A scathingly brilliant new novel that explores sex, love and all the stuff in-between.
If the first 2 chapters are anything to go by this book is going to offer an insightful social commentary on the face of news media, an acerbic wit and more than a touch of heat.
J.D. Barrett can be found on Facebook.
The Upside of Over is published by Hachette and is available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Hachette 30 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading The Upside of Over and I look forward to hearing their thoughts. Please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Thanks to Hachette Australia and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read ‘The Upside of Over’ by JD Barrett.
Olivia Law is a news presenter and in her mid forties. She seems to have it all but her marriage is crumbling. Drunkenly makes a raunchy video for her husband describing a sexual fantasy of them…. but somehow it winds up on YouTube and goes viral. Suddenly she is out of a job her marriage is over and her employer is aiming to sue her for breach of contract. She stands to lose everything.
And then the fun begins!
The Upside of Over addresses the discrimination and double standards that women face – particularly in the media where some recent scandals come to mind. It also talks a lot about sex and women’s sexual fantasies and how they should be able to be discussed. I also particularly love that the main characters are all over 40….
The Upside over Over is empowering and funny it is a great read for a cold Winters day or a day on the beach. I highly recommend it!
Thank you to Hachette Australia and B&L for this fabulous book called “The Upside Of Over” by J.D Barrett.
I really couldnt put this book down. From the very start the reader is thrown into poor Olivia Laws massive and embarrassing life.
Olivia is a 45 year old newsreader on a morning show, with a huge reputation and a very false sense of reality. Her husband leaves her, and she makes a last ditch effort to get him back by sending him what she thought to be a private love letter video. It was a shame that she was drunk and it somehow ended up on Youtube.
Her whole life falls apart in that instant. She is sacked from her job and has all privileges taken away. I am not going to spoil it further, but if you really want to sink your teeth into a great read, get your hands on this book. Find out if Olivia pulls through, if she makes a real life for herself.
I highly recommend this book.
“The Upside of Over” is a light-hearted novel, a funny novel about relationships, sex, and knowing yourself. I enjoyed reading it; it was thoroughly entertaining and diverting.
Olivia Law is one of Australia’s best known newsreaders, with a perfect, immaculate life. And then one day she comes home to find that her husband is gone. He’s left her, apparently. She drunkenly films a sexual love “letter”, hoping he’ll return – but instead it goes viral, and suddenly she’s not just out a husband – but also a job, a career, a reputation, her savings, her house, and most of her friends as well. How will she go about picking up the pieces?
Barrett keeps a light tone, and never goes too deep – I for one never felt that Olivia was as despairing or as sad as I might have been in her situation. The question of how her video goes viral could have been mined for something darker or heavier; and the relationships Barrett focuses on are almost all positive.
But while that may all be a bit unrealistic, it’s part of the charm of this novel. Barrett doesn’t want to bring her reader down, and individual relationships or incidents aren’t unbelievable – it’s more that for all the plot sounds a bit dark, the novel overall is very sunny. There’s a lot of laughs here, and I found most of the relationships pretty realistic. In particular, I enjoyed Olivia’s relationship with her step-son and his mother; both relationships were funny, lively and believable.
Basically, this novel is just good fun. Barrett has a serious underlying message – in fact, the last chapter was a little too heavy on the Very Important Life Messages for my taste – but mostly I found the novel light and amusing.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Hachette for allowing me to review ‘The Upside of Over’ by J.D. Barrett.
The story of Olivia Law, a successful news reader who has everything she could dream and wish for, the perfect life, house, job, husband. Olivia wants for nothing….or does she?
Olivia is a well known and respected news reader until one drunken night when her husband leaves her, without her knowing why, she decides to record a raunchy video for him to try and win him back. She emails it through to him only for it to somehow end up being downloaded to You Tube and going viral. Olivia loses everything she thought was important to her, the job, the husband, the house and the lavish lifestyle.
In the midst of a lawsuit from her now previous employer and in losing everything she thought was important, she begins to discover herself and find out who she really is. She realises who her real friends are and begins to learn what she can do with her life from hereon in. That mistaken video could just well turn her life around and be just what she needed.
She begins to realise how lucky she is when her nearest and dearest rally around and support her and she also makes some great new friendships in this new life of hers. A huge following of woman being to email Olivia with their own fantasies and this is where Olivia Law reinvents herself and decides to turn her once spiralling life around, not only for her but woman in general. In the end her life turns out better than ever before.
“When all is lost, you are still here and the world still turns, you can start again on a blank canvas, it’s what the Upside of Over is all about”.
It is a great light hearted, funny, easy read which I really enjoyed and would defiantly recommend.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to review The Upside of Over. by JD Barrett. The story revolves around 45 year old newsreader Olivia Law, who is one of the best known newsreades in the country.
Olivia thinks she has a great life and everything is going well, so she is shocked to come home one day and see that her husband has left.
Olivia thinks she can get him back, so she films a racy video for him while drunk. The video is emailed to him but unfortunately somehow ends up on YouTube for everyone to see.
Olivia’s life is turned upside down, now that the public can see it. Unfortunately more bad news comes when a lawsuit comes from her ex employer as well. As it often happens when you are suffering a tragedy you find out who your real friends are. She also receives a lot of support from strangers and the supportive friends.
I really enjoyed this and the message I got was even though you may have bad times you will come through it stronger. I would highly recommend this book to everyone.
The upside of Over by J.D.Barrett, is an exceptional novel written about a woman’s disasterous marriage, love, loss and relationship disappointment.
At times I read this and thought , oh no you poor desperate woman wanting to cling onto a relationship going nowhere.
How much bad luck can someone have. This book was not what I expected and did not appeal to me, but I can see why so many of readers liked it.
I found the Upside of Over by JD Barrett an amusing tale of how a woman can easily lose everything in her life and as a result find herself again. When it all hit the fan Olivia was vilified and found out who her friends really were. This is a good story of how you can lose yourself along the way in life meeting expectations. Then, you reach your expiry date and it all falls apart. Standing on the brink Olivia finds herself again, sees her friends and family in a new light and fnds love and happiness where she would never before have thought to look. When its all over… there’s an Upside. !
(I will never look at an ant trail the same again !)
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Hachette for allowing me to review ‘The Upside of Over’ by J.D. Barrett.
It’s the story of Olivia Law, a television identity in her 40’s who has always tried to do the right thing. When her husband leaves her she drunkenly films a sexy message for him that accidentally gets on YouTube and goes viral.
She loses her job, her marriage, her lifestyle and looks to be getting sued.
Olivia turns to a friend across the country and what follows is a stripping back so she can find out who she really is. Some situations are a little convenient, but told in such a way they are believable and flow smoothly. Things may not always go the way we expect, but can turn out better if we’re honest with ourselves.
The other theme is women, sex and how it is all perceived. I thought it was a bit out there at the start (I had been planning to share the book with my Grandma), but it wasn’t all of what the book is.
I do recommend this book as a fun read with a positive message.
The plot to JD Barrett’s latest novel has a few things in common with Dawn O’Porter’s “The Cows.” There is a woman who goes viral after being publically shamed in the worst possible way. The book then follows how she rebuilds her life in the aftermath of the backlash. In O’Porter’s case there were two other major plots that she also examined while Barrett’s focus is left squarely with Olivia Law (the woman shamed) for the most part.
“The Upside Of Over” is ultimately an intriguing look at a contemporary and relevant issue in today’s modern society.
I’ve just finished reading The Upside of Over by J.D. Barrett and I’m feeling a little confused.
On one hand I love what it standed for and I think it offered great ideas for thought on a lot of relevant issues. On the other hand while I found it easy reading it almost felt like it didn’t quite finish. The ending felt rushed and almost like a summary you’d hear at the end of a lecture.
While I probably won’t put it high on my list of books I want to read again I’m happy I’ve read it.