Had I Been Rennie

The book starts with Rennie going out for a walk only to come back to her apartment and see the police in her house. Later she finds out that somebody broke into her house and the police were notified thanks to her neighbours. This is when we meet her ex-boyfriend, Jake. Throughout the book we constantly witness Rennie sticking to the past events. I found myself relating to Rennie at those times. Later the reader finds out that Rennie has had cancer and one of her breasts had to be removed in order for her to recover.

The events in this book are very twisted and since the main character likes to overthink the past, we do not get a clear timeline until the very end of the book. We constantly witness the main character’s insecurities. We see her not being able to wear tight clothes or properly communicate and get closer to anyone after her surgery.

Rennie is a magazine article writer. She is required to travel to the Caribbean’s in order to write a travel piece. When she is leaving for the plane, the reader is informed that she hasn’t been to her doctor’s appointments and check-ups for weeks.

While in the Caribbean‘s, the main character meets three new side characters named Paul, Dr Minnow, and Lora. After Rennie’s second meeting with Lora, Rennie is asked to bring Lora a package that is said to be containing pills for Lora’s grandmother. Rennie accepts this, and finds out after receiving the package that she was not only lied to, but also forced to do something illegal by taking a gun into her hotel room in a cardboard box. This is not noticed by any authority, so Rennie gets rid of the package as soon as she’s able to by delivering it to Lora.

There was to be an election in the Caribbean‘s but the person who was elected was assassinated the same night, and amidst the chaos Rennie is taken to prison with Lora by her side. They spend a few days in there, and the scents and the scenery is described thoroughly in the book. We also get to look more into Rennie’s past, and witness Rennie crawl her way into depression. After this, Rennie is forced to agree upon not writing or saying anything about what happened in the Caribbean’s and let go.

Had I been Rennie, I would have left the Caribbean’s the second I realized I had taken a gun into my hotel room. There were so many red flags ignored by Rennie, telling her to leave immediately. Had I been Rennie, I would never have dated Jake or made friends with Lora. I wouldn’t have missed so many doctors appointments that were critical for my health and I wouldn’t have agreed to write a travel piece in the first place (for they are usually boring both to write and read.)

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