Thank you, Avon Books, for the gifted copy of On Rotation {partner}

Genre: Fiction
Trope: Coming-of-Age
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 6.21.2022
Star Rating: ☆☆☆.5

Summary:

“Ghanaian-American Angela Appiah has checked off all the boxes for the “Perfect Immigrant Daughter.”

– Enroll in an elite medical school
– Snag a suitable lawyer/doctor/engineer boyfriend
– Surround self with a gaggle of successful and/or loyal friends

But then it quickly all falls apart: her boyfriend dumps her, she bombs the most important exam of her medical career, and her best friend pulls away. And her parents, whose approval seems to hinge on how closely she follows the path they chose, are a lot less proud of their daughter. It’s a quarter life crisis of epic proportions.

Angie, who has always faced her problems by working “twice as hard to get half as far,” is at a loss. Suddenly, she begins to question everything: her career choice, her friendships, even why she’s attracted to men who don’t love her as much as she loves them.

And just when things couldn’t get more complicated, enter Ricky Gutierrez— brilliant, thoughtful, sexy, and most importantly, seems to see Angie for who she is instead of what she can represent.

Unfortunately, he’s also got “wasteman” practically tattooed across his forehead, and Angie’s done chasing mirages of men. Or so she thinks. For someone who’s always been in control, Angie realizes that there’s one thing she can’t plan on: matters of her heart.”

Review:

“Finding someone to love you romantically is easy… there’s a whole cocktail of brain chemicals at work.. plus a rulebook for relationships we’ve all been following since infancy. Friendship doesn’t have any of that, so finding someone who will hold you down for no reason is rare.”

I don’t read many books circulating in the medical profession because they all seem wayyyy over my head. But, I decided to pick up On Rotation because of the fun cover, and I saw a reviewer compare it to Grey’s Anatomy (does anyone still watch that show? I mean, how is it still on?). Within the first chapter, I was cackling as Angie went into detail about all the issues a person with a larger butt can face. It was hilarious and spot-on 🍑

Please take this part of my review with a grain of salt, considering when I was reading this book, A LOT of things happened in the US that upset me. But, throughout the story, I had a myriad of conflicting opinions, and by the time I finished the book, I couldn’t quite figure out how I felt.

Here are two of the aspects from On Rotation that left me conflicted:

Obuobi did something unique with this book in that she added footnotes to the bottom of the page, where she described what each medical term reference meant – which I appreciated. But then, halfway through, it started to distract me from the story because I’d see the * and look to see what it meant. And whenever I went back to read where I was, I felt like I’d just been interrupted and lost my spot in the story. It made it difficult to be invested in what I was reading.

Then, there is my issue with Ricky. Okay, I completely understand that he is supposed to be a flawed character that is dealing without a lot of problems that he has with his family. But, I didn’t particularly appreciate how he treated Angie. She deserved so much more than a man who wanted to have his cake and eat it too. If I were Angie, I would’ve said “no, thank you” and kept doing my own thing. But then I also enjoyed their comradery and that their relationship was based on friendship first. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Overall, this story was about Angie learning to put her foot down and pursue her dreams, not the dreams others had for her, which is something I applaud.

🏥 Hospital setting
🇬🇭 Ghanian traditions
👩🏾 More a coming-of-age story
✨ Filled with drama (and lots of laughs)

On Rotation is the debut novel for Shirlene Obuobi, and I can’t wait to read what she writes next!

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BOOK INFO
Format: 352 pages, Paperback
ISBN 9780063209145 (ISBN10: 0063209144)
Free review copy provided by publisher, Avon Books , in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.