The Possibility of Now (Point) Hardcover – 26 January 2016

List of things I LOVE about The Possibility of Now:1. Therapy has cookies?2. Staccato manic mom talk3. Whispers "You're in Tahoe, relax."4. An alarming case of bed head5. Romanticizing snow and skiing...two things I'd rather watch than participate in. See #12.6. Neverland parallel7. The Awkward Olympics8. The word vegan appears without a hint of judgement.9. Nods as enthusiastically as she can without wrecking her hair.10. Mara is my twin perfectionist and list-maker ('cept I'm in recovery—for the perfection part, not the lists. Obvs.)11. Mara's speech to Beck12. The author's gratitude list.13. That Culbertson learned to ski as an adult—something I've happily avoided until her awesome writing had to go inspire me. Hopefully I'll get over it though. Because. Cold. Wet. Awful. And cold PLUS wet? Unbearable.14. Fantastic depth of characters. Two of my faves: Logan and Oli. And of course the cautionary tale of leaning into Laurenland.15. That Culbertson nimbly wove together enriching personal development and entertainment.16. That reading this was on my list of what I wanted to do just for myself this week, and I did it!17. Culbertson's humor, fluency, and holy smokes...her narration of what it feels like to be a (straight) teen girl fluttered for a cute teen boy. Wow. Just wow.And now...I need to go look for my car keys.

Quirky yet lovable characters, a majestic setting, and an underlying sense of optimism make this story a gem. Lots of us can identify with list-making Mara, faced with pressures to succeed but not quite willing to accept others' definitions of success. Her journey, which begins as an escape to an exciting-but-sometimes scary new place to live, tests her courage and sharpens her choices. Learning to ski (at one of the world's premiere, Olympic-class resorts, beautifully described by the author) is a perfect metaphor for her struggle with life. She has to stay loose but focused, and learn some technique in order to have control and keep from falling. Even though there's always an element of risk, Mara learns that it's worth getting out of her comfort zone and tackling more difficult slopes and challenges to savor more of what life has to offer. By learning to accept life's lessons from unlikely persons and places, and not just textbooks, she not only finds love and acceptance but becomes stronger and more secure. She can better take on the big stuff that lies ahead.

Sometimes the pressure of life becomes overwhelming, and we find ourselves suddenly bursting apart at the seams. What happens when the world witnesses such a personal meltdown via the destructable beast: The Internet. Culbertson's protagonist, Mara, finds herself in a situation such as this in this literary gem. As a perfectionist myself, I found myself sympathizing and relating to Mara as she redefines her life in the snow-capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada. Lessons are learned, love is discovered and a deeper sense of self is achieved on Mara's journey in The Possibility of Now. Writing from the heart, Culbertson leaves her readers pondering over what things they want to add to their own Now Lists. After all, the possibilities are vast.

I very much enjoyed the scenery of the book, but felt it was kind of repetitive, taking too much time on the mountain instead of the Valley (although it could be due to I'm not a big Ski fan). I would have liked to see her interact a little more with her dad, though I still found the story enjoyable. Liked the last two chapters (won't say why because it'd be a spoiler). Fan of teen books, fish-out-of-water stories, and skiers will love this story.

The novel captures the pressure of high-achievement adolescence really well, and I thought it made her parents both nuanced participants in her complicated life rather than just the good guys or the bad guys.